Login / RegisterThe incredible indie explosion: Sumner Brothers
“The weather is unkind when you’re outside looking in,” sings Bob Sumner on the Sumner Brothers’ second album, I’ll Be There Tomorrow. Not that the singer and his guitarist-vocalist brother Brian are on the outside these days. The new album, ranging from Bob’s melodious and vulnerable folk to Brian’s more guttural outlaw country, is a triumph. And live, supported by Joseph Lubinsky-Mast (bass) and Leon Power (drums), the Sumners have spent the last 12 months climbing to the top of a local roots scene teeming with talent.
Best local release other than yours:
“I’m gonna say Khingfisher, Live at the China Cloud. Khingfisher is Craig Alan Mechler, he’s from the band Hallow Moon, young guy, and his solo stuff is just some of the most beautiful, intricate folk music being written anywhere. It’s on constant rotation for me, it’s so good.”
The year’s best gig:
“The Neil Young tribute show at the Waldorf Hotel [Forever Young, on July 15]. Elliot C. Way & the Wild North were a highlight with their raging 12-minute version of ‘Cortez the Killer’, but the room was absolutely taken aback the entire night, and the feeling in the air was that it had taken on a life of its own and far surpassed all expectations.”
What classic never leaves the turntable?
“Nebraska, by Bruce Springsteen. It hits so close to home—well, it is recorded in his home, and that’s kinda the way we’ve always done things. So it captures who the Boss is and what really draws me to him.”
Where are we impressing your out-of-town friends?
“Main Street Legion [Army, Navy, & Air Force Veterans Club, 3917 Main Street]. I stumbled in there after a show we did at the Little Mountain Gallery. Funnest night I’ve had in a long time. Every walk of life is there, and if I can find shuffleboard anywhere, I’m a happy, happy man.”
Like LMFAO, who’s sexy and knows it?
“I’m gonna say Frazey Ford from the Be Good Tanyas. And I think she’s sexy because she doesn’t know it. She’s just a gorgeous woman; I’ve thought so for years.”
Uncle Morty left you his fortune. Where are you opening a venue?
“The polar-bear enclosure at Stanley Park. I guess it’s a nostalgic spot for a lot of people who went there when they were kids. And it’s something you can’t find elsewhere in the city; it’s a beautiful downtown setting that’s just real different and cool. I’d put [local troubador] Ben Rogers in there.”
