Coby Brown in LA Aug. 15

Coby Brown Previews Songs From French Exit at The Echo
with Ivan & Alyosha, and The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers

Wed, August 15, 2012
8:30 pm; tickets $8.00 - $10.00
http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/135925


The seeds for Coby Brown’s new record, French Exit, were sewn a couple years back. Recorded in fits and starts over the course of 2010 and 2011, sessions were paused, scrapped, restarted and reconfigured.

Now, almost two years later, French Exit finds Brown in full bloom. The end result is a record that marks a breakthrough both stylistically and personally for Brown, who also became a father along the way.

“This record took a while to make because everyone had a kid, so we were getting into the studio pretty intermittently. But it gave us the time to really dial it all in.”

While 2008’s Stars & Curses, written after a bout with cancer, was a love letter to being alive, French Exit is a visit with ghosts. The record has a sense of urgency that comes from realizing the clock is running.

The lyrics explore moments of departure, when the familiar becomes unrecognizable, and the struggle that comes from trying to hold on to things designed to disappear.

“I couldn’t shake the feeling that once you walk through certain doors, you can’t go back to where you were, even if you wanted to. And it’s liberating, but it can feel like a smack in the face.”

French Exit also marks a seismic sonic shift for Brown. These songs are short and spare, dressed up in an echo and over before you’re ready for them to be.

Recorded at Chalet Studios in Los Angeles with producer Will Golden, French Exit once again features a stellar band, comprised of guitarist David Immergluck (Counting Crows, Camper Van Beethoven), Fil Krohnengold (Sarah Bareilles, Duncan Sheik), bassist Jonathan Ahrens (Liz Phair) as well as new addition drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, John Cale).
Brown, for one, is grateful for all the time it took. He funded the record through Pledge Music, with a portion of the proceeds going to stupidcancer.com, an advocacy group working on behalf of young adult cancer survivors.

“These breaks gave me time to get involved with Pledge and to have my fans be a part of helping to release this. And I’m particularly excited to have raised some money and awareness for stupidcancer.com”

Currently, Brown has songs in the features “The River Why", “Answers to Nothing”, “Lo-Fidelity” and “Loosies”, and Counting Crows have covered his song "Hospital" on their latest release, "Underwater Sunshine".