Briffaut

“It would be ridiculous to start a band and be like, ‘Let’s sounds like Led Zeppelin mixed with Cher,’” Daniel James Eaton from Colorado Springs-based dream pop band Briffaut told AXS. “Bands should just be what they are and focus on bringing enjoyment to themselves and others and making concise works that will hold up over time and that reflect the times and places they find themselves in.” Playing Eslinger Gallery at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 as a part of the UMS, Eaton along with Briffaut’s drummer and backup vocalist, Alex Koshak, recently chatted about the band, its history, and current projects in this exclusive Q&A.

AXS: Are you Colorado natives? If not, where is everyone originally from?
Daniel James Eaton (guitar, vocals): Most of us are Colorado natives except Dan Mikolajczyk [bass] who grew up in Detroit.

AXS: What brought Briffaut together?
Daniel James: Briffaut came together when I met Alex Koshak [drums, vocals] and the we started playing in musical projects together. A lot of work with Grant Sabin and the other Blank Tape Records bands.
Alex Koshak: I joined the band about three or four years after I traded Daniel some weed for one of his King of the Ganges records, I really loved that record and Daniel asked if I would join him for a show at the Black Sheep with Kevin Devine, I played drums and keyboards and the sound guy was very annoyed with us because the rest of the show was all solo acoustic acts and we were this weird band with a weird set up.

AXS: How long has Briffaut been together? What have you learned during that time?
Daniel James: Briffaut has been together for about five years and has gone through a few different line up changes. It started as my solo project but it ended up being a band between me, Alex and some other. Throughout the years Alex and I stuck with it and the rest of the band has fit into place over the years.
Alex: I've learned a lot about collaborating being in this band and how to approach arranging songs with an open mind.

AXS: Where was your first show in Colorado, and what was the experience like? Who else did you play with at the show?
Daniel James: The first full band show was with Kevin Devine at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs in 2011. Briffaut has stuck around ever since, with members also being involved in various other projects, similar to the people running Denver bands like the Chimney Choir. Bands like Charioteer, Sugar Sounds, The Hash Naps Grant Sabin and the Full Moon and We Are Not a Glum Lot to name a few.

AXS: Have any Colorado musicians inspired Briffaut?
Alex: We all love Chimney Choir, everytime I see them they have a new ambitious creative idea they're trying out, and the scale of their projects has always been impressive, my favorite thing they did was at one of their compass release shows at the Leon Gallery, they had the whole audience follow Macon around the block while they did a set change. I thought that was brilliant. We've all been influenced by our friend Inaiah lujan from the Haunted Windchimes, he's been like a guru, very supportive of Briffaut

AXS: What projects are Briffaut currently working on?
Alex: We're working on new songs, with a couple of new band members in the mix, working on achieving a very authentic sound.

AXS: Does Briffaut have a goal in mind for the sound the band produces? Are there certain influences or themes the band tries to inject into its own music?
Daniel James: We try not to get too caught up on influences. Most of us listen to older music like Pink Floyd and King Crimson and the Beatles and things like that. Bands like Can and other psychedelic type bands. But we like all sorts of things. Neil Young, Daft Punk, Desmond Dekker, all sorts of things. But when it comes to us playing we feel that we have an original sounds that is based on our lives and that can only be us. It would be ridiculous to start a band and be like, "Let’s sounds like Led Zeppelin mixed with Cher". Bands should just be what they are and focus on bringing enjoyment to themselves and others and making concise works that will hold up over time and that reflect the times and places they find themselves in.

AXS: For someone who has never seen or heard Briffaut, what would you tell them to entice them to watch your set?
Daniel James: I think a younger person would like Briffaut. People who like modern music will dig it. Older guys will dig it too and say it sounds like Floyd. Younger girls will say it sounds like Grizzly Bear or Panda Bear or Deerhunter or one of those animal names. An older lady might think we remind her of the Animals from the 60's. I think all sorts of people would like Briffaut and people need to be more curious about live events in general and stop living on the internet and on their phones.

AXS: What would your ideal live show look like? Where would it take place? Any particular time of year? Would a specific band/musician share the bill with or open for Briffaut?
Daniel James: Our ideal live show would be something like Live at Pompei meets a beach house show meets our own original kind of thing. I think it would be nice to play a show where the stage is a giant elevator and it goes up and down floors of a building that is having parties on every floor. and the stage goes up and down so everyone on all the floors can hear it and really excited people can chase the shows up and down when there favorite songs are playing.

AXS: What shows are you looking forward to over the next few months?
Alex: Looking forward to the UMS!
Daniel James: I'm looking forward to UMS and playing more shows in Denver and just all the cool weird shows that happen at the Flux Capacitor in the Springs and the good house show culture that the Springs has.

AXS: What do you enjoy most about Colorado’s music scene, and why?
Alex: What I enjoy most about the scene here in the Springs is the local venue Flux Capacitor.
Daniel James: We have a pretty good music scene here. - Alli Andress