Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade

Here at Hymie’s we get the worst band crushes. Sometimes we can hardly wait to see them again, and we worry about what to wear to their next show or how we can impress them by playing awesome records when they come into the shop. Our regular customers just go along with it, and bless ‘em for putting up with us playing Buffalo Moon‘s Selva Surreal every day for an entire winter and the first Is/Is album until we wore our copy out last summer.

So ever since they played in the shop last Friday night, Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade have been our latest crush. Don’t tell ‘em though because we’re super embarrassed that we’ve been playing their new disc, Whiskey with Goliath, every day. We already know about half the words, and yes we sing along.



Whiskey with Goliath opens with just about the perfect roadtrip track to come out of the midwest since Dave Dudley passed away a decade ago. “Drugstore Hucksters” gives even us comfortable homebodies a mean case of white line fever, and establishes the band’s earthy charm. Here and throughout the disc Laidlaw’s rich voice is backed by Very Small Animal’s Tim Harlan-Marks, who also plays bass, and Ashley Hanson, who also plays ukulele. Becky Gaunt provides the rootsy flavor with her sometimes raw/sometimes sweet fiddle accompaniment, and drummer Sean Geraty provides a full sound that keeps the band from the languid quagmires of folk-rock.

Laidlaw’s clever wordplay take center stage in several tracks, and his laid back performance alternates between the comfortable sound of 90s country rock and “outsider” folksies like the late Vic Chesnutt (who Laidlaw seems to channel in the idiosyncratic “Idioms”). There’s a little bit of Robert Hunter’s epic sweep in Laidlaw’s lyrics, and a little of Jeff Tweedy’s down-to-earth expressionsism that’s made Wilco enduring into the end of their second decade. The rockin’ road song “Setup” has been getting play on the Current (request it, will ya?) and it’s a fun send-up in the spirit of Run DMC’s “You Talk too Much” and the Ramones’ “Loudmouth.” Maybe it’s a little less mean.

They have a show booked for March 22nd at Cause Spirits and Soundbar on the other side of Lake Street, so until then you’ll have to settle for Whiskey with Goliath. You can click on the band’s website up above, or you can come by the shop for a copy. If you find buy a copy from them, maybe you could find out if they like us too, ’cause we’re super into them. - Hymie's Vintage Records

Here at Hymie’s we get the worst band crushes. Sometimes we can hardly wait to see them again, and we worry about what to wear to their next show or how we can impress them by playing awesome records when they come into the shop. Our regular customers just go along with it, and bless ‘em for putting up with us playing Buffalo Moon‘s Selva Surreal every day for an entire winter and the first Is/Is album until we wore our copy out last summer.

So ever since they played in the shop last Friday night, Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade have been our latest crush. Don’t tell ‘em though because we’re super embarrassed that we’ve been playing their new disc, Whiskey with Goliath, every day. We already know about half the words, and yes we sing along.



Whiskey with Goliath opens with just about the perfect roadtrip track to come out of the midwest since Dave Dudley passed away a decade ago. “Drugstore Hucksters” gives even us comfortable homebodies a mean case of white line fever, and establishes the band’s earthy charm. Here and throughout the disc Laidlaw’s rich voice is backed by Very Small Animal’s Tim Harlan-Marks, who also plays bass, and Ashley Hanson, who also plays ukulele. Becky Gaunt provides the rootsy flavor with her sometimes raw/sometimes sweet fiddle accompaniment, and drummer Sean Geraty provides a full sound that keeps the band from the languid quagmires of folk-rock.

Laidlaw’s clever wordplay take center stage in several tracks, and his laid back performance alternates between the comfortable sound of 90s country rock and “outsider” folksies like the late Vic Chesnutt (who Laidlaw seems to channel in the idiosyncratic “Idioms”). There’s a little bit of Robert Hunter’s epic sweep in Laidlaw’s lyrics, and a little of Jeff Tweedy’s down-to-earth expressionsism that’s made Wilco enduring into the end of their second decade. The rockin’ road song “Setup” has been getting play on the Current (request it, will ya?) and it’s a fun send-up in the spirit of Run DMC’s “You Talk too Much” and the Ramones’ “Loudmouth.” Maybe it’s a little less mean.

They have a show booked for March 22nd at Cause Spirits and Soundbar on the other side of Lake Street, so until then you’ll have to settle for Whiskey with Goliath. You can click on the band’s website up above, or you can come by the shop for a copy. If you find buy a copy from them, maybe you could find out if they like us too, ’cause we’re super into them. - Hymie's Vintage Records

Now hear this: singer/songwriter Brian Laidlaw

Published on November 7, 2011 by Susannah Schouweiler in Music, Poetry, St. Paul
6

A few weeks ago, during an end-of-summer outdoor arts festival presented by mnartists.org (where I work for my day job), I heard Brian Laidlaw for the first time. He was closing out the day’s performances with an acoustic set around the campfire, playing with the Family Trade, one of a handful of ensembles and solo musicians with whom Laidlaw performs regularly.

He’s got a buttery, singer-songwriter sort of lilt and an easy, fluid hand on the guitar. His deft take on the indie folk sound is appealing, no doubt, but his lyrics — intelligent, sometimes poignant, sometimes witty and often unabashedly and refreshingly earnest — are what have driven me to seek out more of his work. Turns out, he’s got a new CD coming out shortly: “wolf wolf wolf.”

That he’s also a poet (really – he’s got an MFA in poetry from the University of Minnesota), is evident from the carefully crafted narrative line in each song on the new album. In fact, “wolf wolf wolf” is billed as an “audio counterpart to his master’s thesis.” He claims the work of another fine lyricist, Neil Young’s “Harvest”, as his inspiration for the new suite of songs; Laidlaw and his band recorded the songs for the new album live, in one room, and tracked the entire CD over the course of three days with producer Brett Bullion (who’s known for his similarly stripped down work with musicians like Haley Bonar, Dark Dark Dark, and Halloween, Alaska).

As I listen, I find myself struck by the gentle but insistent old-fashioned decency and community spirit behind these tracks. They’re a composite anthem to the Heartland in hard times, revealing the soul of an idealist, albeit a melancholy one. From “Shorebird:” “lift all the safety latches/we’re gonna turn into ashes sometime/they said it’s not the smartest/I said I’m gonna be an artist/I’m gonna pay it forward/sometime.”

It’s no surprise, really, that Laidlaw is also a member of a new project, the Yes!Let’s Collective — a collaborative effort by a number of like-minded musicians and artists who play and make work together. I’m charmed by the group’s indefatigable hopefulness and “we can do something so cool together!” spirit; and the collective’s various members’ musical talents are pretty impressive as well.

The video up top features a song by Laidlaw and Ashley Hanson as part of the new duo Alpenglow. Start the player just below the video to listen to a number of tracks from the new CD, courtesy of the artist and SoundCloud.

Laidlaw will celebrate his CD release for “wolf wolf wolf” with a big show on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Turf Club, 1601 University Ave., in St. Paul, Minn. Tickets are $6; doors at 9 p.m. In addition to Laidlaw and some other artists from the Yes!Let’s Collective, Martin Devaney Band and Bella Ruse will also perform. - Knight Arts

Now hear this: singer/songwriter Brian Laidlaw

Published on November 7, 2011 by Susannah Schouweiler in Music, Poetry, St. Paul
6

A few weeks ago, during an end-of-summer outdoor arts festival presented by mnartists.org (where I work for my day job), I heard Brian Laidlaw for the first time. He was closing out the day’s performances with an acoustic set around the campfire, playing with the Family Trade, one of a handful of ensembles and solo musicians with whom Laidlaw performs regularly.

He’s got a buttery, singer-songwriter sort of lilt and an easy, fluid hand on the guitar. His deft take on the indie folk sound is appealing, no doubt, but his lyrics — intelligent, sometimes poignant, sometimes witty and often unabashedly and refreshingly earnest — are what have driven me to seek out more of his work. Turns out, he’s got a new CD coming out shortly: “wolf wolf wolf.”

That he’s also a poet (really – he’s got an MFA in poetry from the University of Minnesota), is evident from the carefully crafted narrative line in each song on the new album. In fact, “wolf wolf wolf” is billed as an “audio counterpart to his master’s thesis.” He claims the work of another fine lyricist, Neil Young’s “Harvest”, as his inspiration for the new suite of songs; Laidlaw and his band recorded the songs for the new album live, in one room, and tracked the entire CD over the course of three days with producer Brett Bullion (who’s known for his similarly stripped down work with musicians like Haley Bonar, Dark Dark Dark, and Halloween, Alaska).

As I listen, I find myself struck by the gentle but insistent old-fashioned decency and community spirit behind these tracks. They’re a composite anthem to the Heartland in hard times, revealing the soul of an idealist, albeit a melancholy one. From “Shorebird:” “lift all the safety latches/we’re gonna turn into ashes sometime/they said it’s not the smartest/I said I’m gonna be an artist/I’m gonna pay it forward/sometime.”

It’s no surprise, really, that Laidlaw is also a member of a new project, the Yes!Let’s Collective — a collaborative effort by a number of like-minded musicians and artists who play and make work together. I’m charmed by the group’s indefatigable hopefulness and “we can do something so cool together!” spirit; and the collective’s various members’ musical talents are pretty impressive as well.

The video up top features a song by Laidlaw and Ashley Hanson as part of the new duo Alpenglow. Start the player just below the video to listen to a number of tracks from the new CD, courtesy of the artist and SoundCloud.

Laidlaw will celebrate his CD release for “wolf wolf wolf” with a big show on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Turf Club, 1601 University Ave., in St. Paul, Minn. Tickets are $6; doors at 9 p.m. In addition to Laidlaw and some other artists from the Yes!Let’s Collective, Martin Devaney Band and Bella Ruse will also perform. - Knight Arts

Tomorrow night we have the special pleasure of dancing alongside the ever-jolly Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade preceding the highly anticipated Internet Cat Video Festival. To that end, we have heard rumors circulating of a Cat Power/Cat Stevens mash-up by said band which is sure to act like crowd cat nip.

Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade rollicked onto Open Field earlier this summer for an intimate Northern Spark fireside concert. Old-timey, fresh-faced, and family-friendly, Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade marry the sound of Appalachian folk music with light-spirited poetics and bright harmonies. Brian Laidlaw, a San Francisco transplant, crafts instantly infectious tunes that –much like cat videos– are too addictive be ignored. Come early for the 7pm Acoustic Campfire finale! - Walker Art Center Blog

Tomorrow night we have the special pleasure of dancing alongside the ever-jolly Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade preceding the highly anticipated Internet Cat Video Festival. To that end, we have heard rumors circulating of a Cat Power/Cat Stevens mash-up by said band which is sure to act like crowd cat nip.

Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade rollicked onto Open Field earlier this summer for an intimate Northern Spark fireside concert. Old-timey, fresh-faced, and family-friendly, Brian Laidlaw & the Family Trade marry the sound of Appalachian folk music with light-spirited poetics and bright harmonies. Brian Laidlaw, a San Francisco transplant, crafts instantly infectious tunes that –much like cat videos– are too addictive be ignored. Come early for the 7pm Acoustic Campfire finale! - Walker Art Center Blog

California native Brian Laidlaw considers himself a poet first and musician second. After several years of touring, Laidlaw settled in Minneapolis to earn his Masters of Fine Art in poetry at the University of Minnesota. He wrote the album "wolf wolf wolf" as the audio counterpart to his masters' thesis and released it in the fall of 2011. In this edition of Live from Minnesota, Laidlaw shares his poetry, music and insight on blending of these art forms. For more information, go to brianlaidlaw.com. Produced for KFAI by Flor Trevino. - KFAI Radio

There’s nothing I dread more than February, the middle of winter, other than perhaps Wednesdays, the middle of the week… until now.

Early last week good old Facebook informed me that Brian Laidlaw and friends from Yes!Let’s Collective have an outstanding gig (a residency called “February Colonization”) at Amsterdam Bar & Hall in downtown St. Paul every Wednesday of February. Thank goodness someone else realized how badly we need something to look forward to on the lamest day of the week during the grayest month of the year.

The music feels like folk/folk-rock, but don’t let the easy listening (the kind that makes you want to sing along) fool you. Brian is an obviously talented writer whose poetic, geographic, and rather intellectual lyrics carry the listener along a true narrative arc. These musicians love to play, and the joy they so clearly take from their art is contagious.

Amsterdam Bar & Hall is spacious enough to not feel crowded, designed with acoustics in mind allowing for conversation (not shouting!) while musicians are on stage, and offers a selection of Dutch-inspired beverages and snacks sure to warm the body while the music warms the soul. Its high ceilings and industrial dark interior seem a little cold at first, but the atmosphere is colored with warmth and intimacy once the music starts.

I am now looking forward to every Wednesday this month and am no longer counting down the days until February is over. Brian has also handpicked other local musicians to play with each night – musicians that had inspired him when he first came onto the Twin Cities music scene. The final Wednesday, that magical extra leap year day Feb. 29th, is promised to be a big celebration with all sorts of musical collaborations from the entire Yes!Let’s Collective and special guest Lucy Michelle. - mnartists.org

Performing frequently around the Twin Cities, poet and songwriter Brian Laidlaw pairs his music and lyrics with the enthusiasm and talents of The Family Trade. An ethereal gift to the eardrums, Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade are like waking up on a Saturday morning, where every position is comfortable and cozy. With a mandolin, violin, cello, ukulele, guitar, bass, and drums in tow, their folksy jams are songs you can sing along to after only one listen. Laidlaw’s lyrics lay out smooth against the background of so many strings, ebbing and flowing with each crescendo and diminuendo. On stage, the band members swell with the music as they strum and sing along.

First things first, how does a big ol’ band like The Family Trade come to be? Slowly, naturally, progressively, it would seem. “At the time when this band formed, I was living in a very musical house. We’d often find ourselves hosting impromptu song-swaps on our porch, with a cast of local songwriters sharing their works-in-progress and other folks jumping in, singing harmonies on the fly, adding other instruments, and so on,” Laidlaw says. “The Family Trade arose from those informal sing-alongs; after several of my musician friends knew how to play my songs, the ‘sing-alongs’ shifted almost imperceptibly into ‘rehearsals.’ Pretty soon we were playing at venues bigger than the front porch.”

It was an incredible blessing to discover an awesome band hiding right inside my circle of closest friends.

Hailing from California, Laidlaw had his own band back in San Francisco. But when he moved to Minneapolis to pursue his MFA in poetry at the U of M, he missed the joys of performing and writing music. “When The Family Trade took shape, it was an incredible blessing to discover an awesome band hiding right inside my circle of closest friends,” Laidlaw explains.

Laidlaw remembers the band forming officially early in 2011, which is how long ago the email chains had started. “At that point, we had just decided that we were going to be a real band, and we were writing back and forth for awhile, trying to pick a band-name. There are some strong contenders in that chain,” says Laidlaw. “‘The Cabin Walls’ and ‘The Prairie Sound’ are among the ones I still really like.”

Of course with a band of such size and talent, there is bound to be turn around as members’ lives sync and fade with the demands of being in a musical group, and Laidlaw admits that “we’ve had some turnover in the personnel, but we keep recruiting new friends to fill in when old ones go off adventuring.”

Having experience in bands before and having come together so organically, with a big group of talented musicians, writing each song for The Family Trade is an interesting balance. “I write all the songs. But the arrangements are wonderfully collaborative; my chords and lyrics simply provide a framework for the harmonies, rhythm section, and strings players to work their magic,” says Laidlaw.

Every single member of [The Family Trade] is also an accomplished songwriter in his or her own right.

But, he is quick to add that “every single member of [The Family Trade] is also an accomplished songwriter in his or her own right. Ashley Hanson writes and performs with the Dusty Porch Sisters; Tim Harlan-Marks writes and performs with Very Small Animal; Sean Geraty writes and performs with a Nashville band called Spark Fire; Becky Gaunt and Greg Byers write and perform as a duo called the BGGBz.”

Of course, not every song starts out the same way. As a poet, Laidlaw has a unique perspective on the songwriting process. “I almost always end up writing the lyrics first. My poetry has become increasingly fragmentary and experimental in the last few years…so songwriting is my perpetual playground for rhyme and meter. I usually write a full set of lyrics in my notebook, in silence, and then pick up an instrument and build a melody that suits the meter and contour of the lines,” Laidlaw said. “I’ve written songs that way for nearly a decade, but it was only in the last few months that I realized how atypical my method is. I teach songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music, and the vast majority of my students seem to compose with a guitar in their hands. I’ve been experimenting some with that ‘music-first’ approach recently, and it’s resulted in more energetic melodies and less linguistically dense content.”

The Family trade, as well as the other bands the members are involved in, are part of a Twin Cities arts and music cohort called the Yes!Lets Collective. This musical collective is kind of a gathering of who’s who in the Twin Cities Music scene, boasting:

“The Yes!Lets Collective is a cohort of Twin Cities musicians, artists and organizers. With an ethos of unwavering enthusiasm, we seek to unite ‘performer’ and ‘audience’ through events based on community building and collaborative art-making. Our goal is to foster an environment in which all participants, regardles - Paper Darts Magazine

Performing frequently around the Twin Cities, poet and songwriter Brian Laidlaw pairs his music and lyrics with the enthusiasm and talents of The Family Trade. An ethereal gift to the eardrums, Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade are like waking up on a Saturday morning, where every position is comfortable and cozy. With a mandolin, violin, cello, ukulele, guitar, bass, and drums in tow, their folksy jams are songs you can sing along to after only one listen. Laidlaw’s lyrics lay out smooth against the background of so many strings, ebbing and flowing with each crescendo and diminuendo. On stage, the band members swell with the music as they strum and sing along.

First things first, how does a big ol’ band like The Family Trade come to be? Slowly, naturally, progressively, it would seem. “At the time when this band formed, I was living in a very musical house. We’d often find ourselves hosting impromptu song-swaps on our porch, with a cast of local songwriters sharing their works-in-progress and other folks jumping in, singing harmonies on the fly, adding other instruments, and so on,” Laidlaw says. “The Family Trade arose from those informal sing-alongs; after several of my musician friends knew how to play my songs, the ‘sing-alongs’ shifted almost imperceptibly into ‘rehearsals.’ Pretty soon we were playing at venues bigger than the front porch.”

It was an incredible blessing to discover an awesome band hiding right inside my circle of closest friends.

Hailing from California, Laidlaw had his own band back in San Francisco. But when he moved to Minneapolis to pursue his MFA in poetry at the U of M, he missed the joys of performing and writing music. “When The Family Trade took shape, it was an incredible blessing to discover an awesome band hiding right inside my circle of closest friends,” Laidlaw explains.

Laidlaw remembers the band forming officially early in 2011, which is how long ago the email chains had started. “At that point, we had just decided that we were going to be a real band, and we were writing back and forth for awhile, trying to pick a band-name. There are some strong contenders in that chain,” says Laidlaw. “‘The Cabin Walls’ and ‘The Prairie Sound’ are among the ones I still really like.”

Of course with a band of such size and talent, there is bound to be turn around as members’ lives sync and fade with the demands of being in a musical group, and Laidlaw admits that “we’ve had some turnover in the personnel, but we keep recruiting new friends to fill in when old ones go off adventuring.”

Having experience in bands before and having come together so organically, with a big group of talented musicians, writing each song for The Family Trade is an interesting balance. “I write all the songs. But the arrangements are wonderfully collaborative; my chords and lyrics simply provide a framework for the harmonies, rhythm section, and strings players to work their magic,” says Laidlaw.

Every single member of [The Family Trade] is also an accomplished songwriter in his or her own right.

But, he is quick to add that “every single member of [The Family Trade] is also an accomplished songwriter in his or her own right. Ashley Hanson writes and performs with the Dusty Porch Sisters; Tim Harlan-Marks writes and performs with Very Small Animal; Sean Geraty writes and performs with a Nashville band called Spark Fire; Becky Gaunt and Greg Byers write and perform as a duo called the BGGBz.”

Of course, not every song starts out the same way. As a poet, Laidlaw has a unique perspective on the songwriting process. “I almost always end up writing the lyrics first. My poetry has become increasingly fragmentary and experimental in the last few years…so songwriting is my perpetual playground for rhyme and meter. I usually write a full set of lyrics in my notebook, in silence, and then pick up an instrument and build a melody that suits the meter and contour of the lines,” Laidlaw said. “I’ve written songs that way for nearly a decade, but it was only in the last few months that I realized how atypical my method is. I teach songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music, and the vast majority of my students seem to compose with a guitar in their hands. I’ve been experimenting some with that ‘music-first’ approach recently, and it’s resulted in more energetic melodies and less linguistically dense content.”

The Family trade, as well as the other bands the members are involved in, are part of a Twin Cities arts and music cohort called the Yes!Lets Collective. This musical collective is kind of a gathering of who’s who in the Twin Cities Music scene, boasting:

“The Yes!Lets Collective is a cohort of Twin Cities musicians, artists and organizers. With an ethos of unwavering enthusiasm, we seek to unite ‘performer’ and ‘audience’ through events based on community building and collaborative art-making. Our goal is to foster an environment in which all participants, regardles - Paper Darts Magazine