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Brothers Grimm: Straight ahead local rock

What if I told you that there are a lot of great rock'n'roll bands in Ann Arbor? You probably wouldn't believe me, huh? Whether it comes from some people you know down the hall bitching about how there's never anything to do on a Friday night, or my music writer colleagues shamelessly ripping the local music scene, people tend to pick up the idea that this town is just full of a bunch of lackluster, weak, college rock crap.

Of course, most of us wouldn't think to ask these people how often they get out to the clubs in the Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti area to see some local shows, right? I'll tell you what, next time you read in the newspaper about some local band that is really terrible, I'll bet you a dollar that whoever wrote it hasn't heard a note from the band in question. We might trade dollars every couple of weeks, but I'm positive I'll come out on top in the end.

So, if you can't trust what you hear about the local music scene, how can you trust me? You can't. That's my point. If you want to have something more to do on a night out on the town than sit on yer butt in Borekeepers or the Touch Me Cafe, you need to get out and see for yourself what's going on down in Rick's or over in the Blind Pig.

Maybe if you're a bit more adventurous, you could even drive out to Ypsi and check out some bands you heard were pretty cool at Cross Street Station or Theo's. In actuality, there are some pretty impressive local acts out there that just might surprise you. You might even discover that one of your future favorite bands was sitting right under your nose and you didn't know it.

One band that might surprise you if you give them the chance is the Brothers Grimm. A straight ahead rock band with a powerful sound, these guys have been playing out in the area for about four years, slowly but surely building a devoted following. Of course, it can be hard in a town where a large portion of the rock audience isn't into the idea of hitting the clubs to hear some fresh talent.

"I talk to some people who are like, `Well, I never go out to see bands in bars,'" said drummer Dave Oesterle. "It's just a foreign concept to a lot of people."

"It's really hard to get people accustomed to going out and hearing something new," added bassist/vocalist Garth Girard. "A lot of people, if they want to go out to a bar and hear something, they want to hear something they've heard a million times before." Still, through hard work and quality musicianship, the band has managed to keep moving forward in a town that normally has its fill of a band within a year or so.

"I'd say it's kind of milk toast actually. It's good enough where you can work, you can improve, you can move ahead, but it isn't a real supportive scene. If you're out there, then people are coming out going `we see them playing all over the place, they must be good, let's go support 'em!' Nobody has that mentality," concluded Oesterle.

Combined with the fierce yet melodic twin guitar attack of guitarists/vocalists Ben Vermeylen and Wally Schmid, the Oesterle/Girard rhythm section kicks out some of the coolest, freshest rock tunes in Ann Arbor. The band's music comes off sounding all at once old-fashioned and starkly modern, back-to-basics and over-the-top. Simultaneously, they seem to use the power and grandeur of the Who and the whimsicality of the Replacements.

The Brothers Grimm's sound, though still rooted in classic (the Who, Jethro Tull, Zeppelin, Traffic) and midwestern rock (the Replacements, Bob Mould, the Holy Cows) has grown a bit looser over the past few years.

"I started out where I liked a lot of real precise things, like a lot of Cream and Rush and Zeppelin, a lot of lick-oriented stuff, but I've kind of moved more towards looser stuff," Vermeylen explained. "Putting together some big orchestration can be all right, but I don't wanna be Yes or anything."

Tthis shift has resulted in some great pop songwriting, but with enough interesting playing going on to keep listeners on their toes. The music is also very danceable, an aspect that always helps out at the clubs. "I think that people remembered that they can dance to rock'n'roll," Oesterle said. "I think people are starting to figure that out. That it doesn't have to have this big techno, somebody hitting them on the head with a rubber mallet thing to dance to it."

Another interesting aspect of the Brothers Grimm sound is the fact that they have three distinct singer/songwriters in Vermeylen, Schmid and Girard. The writing is presented beautifully on their new CD "Going Cowboy," which the band self-produced and released, and is easily one of the best-sounding local releases of 1995. Recorded at Al's Audio Diner here in Ann Arbor, the disc is packed with great song after great song. It flows together incredibly well for a self-released album. "It's kind of like Michigan weather," commented Oesterle. "If you don't like the song, wait five minutes and it'll be a completely different one. Eventually you're gonna come across one that you like."