Broken Glow

This album reeks of the 90s. It reeks of filmy basement practice spaces and beer (decadently cheap) in Bushwick and points east. I say this in the most loving way possible.

The 90s were a fucking awesome time for rock music (in my opinion). It wasn’t a time for musical epiphanies so much as it was a headache that you muscled through that ended up sounding really good. This album pursues a similarly noble struggle.

The point of these songs is not to monumentally rupture standing chord progressions or create a new genre that makes it’s way up to the president’s inbox. (I mean if that was the point this album would probably suck, which feels obvious, but people like me have to keep this in mind, 4’33 in the bath, etc). This band brings us back to a place of internal organs and a suffering amazement. It does this effectively and successfully, and burgeoning rockers and man-sluts take heed or model acne cream.

On a final note, I feel like the people in this band are really nice. I am not sure why I think this. Maybe because the band sounds tight without the tight-ass vibes. It’s quickly evident that the music wants you to have a good time above all else. I feel I could book them at a bachelorette party in good faith. So if you’re planning on getting hitched in Bushwick lemme know. xx - thesupercoda

A mix of local and West Coast rock, metal, hardcore and hip-hop will be in full swing Tuesday at the Music Vault in Hardeeville.

The multi-purpose venue has partnered with Savannah’s Rock 106.1 radio station for a concert by California bands (hǝd)p.e. and Sunflower Dead, along with a variety of opening acts from Savannah.

Local bands in the lineup include Miggs, Knife, Broken Glow and Coastlines.

“We’ve been working with Ryan Koch from 106.1,” said Music Vault owner Nikki Saxon. “He’s super excited and has been doing some fun things to promote the show.”

Koch, the station’s music director, hosts an all local, regional and independent show on Sundays. Before joining the station, he spent most of his time booking and supporting bands for the Rock House on Tybee Island, Ga.

(həd)p.e. has been one Koch’s favorite bands since 1997, when he played in a Detroit-based band called Simple Wisdom that toured with alternative metal acts Trust Company and Adema.

“I think this is going to be an amazing show,” Koch said. “I tell all the listeners, ‘Join me in the mosh pits on Tuesday, Aug. 26.”

Koch recently interviewed (h

əd)p.e. lead singer Jared Gomes on his radio show. Gomes’ wife grew up in Richmond Hill, Ga.

“It’s exciting that the Music Vault is bringing all these acts to town for the people of the Lowcountry and Savannah,” Koch said. “We don’t often get the opportunity for the closeness, either local or regional, for people to really fall in love with a band.

“With a 1,500 capacity that can hold level B and C artists, people can finally see and interact with the bands on a more personal, intimate level so they can fall in love with them. … I think the Music Vault is helping put these bands in front of people’s faces, which is great.”

The Music Vault has been embracing local acts as well.

“Local bands are getting shut out of high caliber shows,” Koch said. “Music Vault opened their gates to the local music scene. Anything I can do to help them out, I will.

“They’ve brought out a lot of great music from the local scene so far, which I think is stellar. … The efforts are not only being noticed, but it’s caused people to join forces and make some great events happen.”

Koch’s love for the venue extends beyond the shows it books.

“I like that it’s not in downtown Savannah,” Koch said. “You can get in an industrial warehouse that has great music. And it’s really working so far.” - Bluffton Today

If you spend much time at The Wormhole, chances are you’re familiar with the band Broken Glow.

The duo moved to Savannah full-time about a year ago, and while they admit that staying in one place isn’t really in the program for them, they are enjoying the prolonged stint in the Hostess City.

While Broken Glow is currently a two-member band, their rock sound is anything but small. Garrett Deming stays out front on vocals and guitar while Paul Burba hangs back on the drums.

The pair recently put together their second studio album, “Live Like an Animal” and a release party is set for June 21 at Pour Larry’s.

Recorded, mixed and mastered in Savannah by Tyler Cutitta of local band Omingnome, the album boasts six new tracks.

“The album is new material from the last year and a half,” Deming said.

The guys write their own music, and he describes the band’s sound as “bluesy grunge rock” but added that “this album in particular shows a lot of different sides of our sounds.

“Some tracks are on the verge of heavy metal, some pop ... ballads. We like to play a lot of different types of music.”

Several local artists also make guest appearances on the album. Sara Clash of SubZero, Culture Vulture and Chicks Throwing Bricks added vocals and Tony Bavaro of Omingnome played bass.

Collaboration with local artists is a big part of what the guys like about making music in Savannah.

They are a part of the force of artists who put together Musaic (a blend of music and mosaic) Magazine, a DIY arts magazine, which releases June 20.

“It’s really just a platform for people who are independent and want to find a way to get exposure for their art,” Deming said.

“Many of the artists and musicians that we are friends with and collaborate with live just south of Forsyth Park. We merged with everybody and formed kind of a collective to collaborate and promote each other. What came out of that was Pale Blue Dot,” he said.

The Pale Blue Dot house is a DIY venue on Seiler Avenue, and the location for the Musaic Magazine launch party June 20.

While collaboration seems to come naturally for the duo formerly based in Brooklyn, the pair admits adding members to the group is a complicated process.

The band’s last album was released the summer of 2011, and the group has made several lineup changes since then, marked by the death of lead guitarist Brenner Eugenides in March 2012.

Deming and Burba have been playing together for six years. While they have been playing live as a duo for the last year, they admit they find themselves trying to book gigs where friends and other artists can fill in to add to their sound.

“There is no digital sound effect to make another voice in the band,” Deming said. “Another voice to interact with will broaden the sound of our group.”

The guys are currently looking for a new bass player, too, but admit the search is tough.

“We treat it as a full-time job,” Deming added. “Our lives have become about making the band a thriving entity, so it makes it hard for someone to come on board.”

Burba, one of the original band members, recalled the day Broken Glow added Deming to the lineup.

“We just started jamming,” he said. “It was like magic. The first time I met Garrett, it was like we were brothers.

“We even smoked the same cigarettes,” he laughs.

“You have to come into it as a bro. That’s kind of the way that we are.”

Deming agreed and said the guys also live together.

“Our main drive is making the band happen. It’s more than just the fact you play music together,” Deming said. “The chemistry we have is important, especially if you want to jam and improvise — it has to be just instantaneous.

“We never play a set the same way twice; we never play the same song twice. You may see us three nights in a row but we are going to play a different show every time.”

And everyone will get a chance to see Broken Glow perform a live show at their CD release party on June 21. Sister Beards, Xuluprophet, Shapes & Their Names and Knife of Dope Sandwich Productions will also perform at the event.

“The amount of support and collaboration we got on this album has made Savannah a place we want to stay,” Deming said.

Burba agreed but admitted that he turns 30 this year and perhaps he’s also tired of moving around.

“Since I was 18, I moved every year, maybe twice, to another state or to another part of the state.

“Permanent is funny word ... but we are definitely here for the time being. We love Savannah,” Burba said. “We were only supposed to be here for a few months and now we have been here for over a year.

“I am going to stay here as long as I love it.” - DoSavannah

They hail from Brooklyn, the venerable mecca for up-and-coming artists and musicians toiling in a city shrouded in certain uncertainty. But one Northeast duo traveled south to find peace, solace and relative success amid Spanish moss and the welcoming musical community of the Hostess City.

It’s a tale of trial and tribulation, of overcoming hardships and sticking together for Garrett Deming and Paul Burba of Broken Glow, who return to the Wormhole on Jan. 7 for their live album release party with Cousin Sleaze and Mysterium. Though, really, they never left at all.

The band plays every open-mic night at the Wormhole and at many gigs around town — a city they unrelentingly credit with their continued success, but most importantly, their happiness.



Savannah over Brooklyn? Some might argue that, career-wise, that’s just not the way a band makes its stake in the industry. How did you begin and end up here?

Garrett Deming: Our guitar player at the time, Brenner, got a job running a studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. So we would go there and rehearse and record and we wound up meeting some great bands. We lived in this really cool loft building that was full of artists and musicians and models and just every kind of creative, under-35 you could imagine. It was wild.

So we were in Brooklyn a couple of years. It took us both about a year to get down here.

Our lead guitar player, Brenner, had passed away about a year and a half ago. Being in New York anyway, there’s a lot of pressures. It’s really expensive and it’s difficult, but after a tragic loss, I was feeling like I needed a change of scenery.

We wound up digging it so much I told Paul that he had to come down here.

Paul Burba: I was just kind of biding my time up in Brooklyn because they were semi-planning on coming back up. Then things went south with how I was living and what not, and they heard about it and saved me from the end of my rope, so I came down here about six months ago with two backpacks and a bicycle. We left pretty much everything else up in Brooklyn, including my kit.

When we first got down here, we were going to the Wormhole every week because they do open mics every Monday and Wednesday. That was the only practice I was getting.



You referred to the scene up there as more cut-throat, and found yourselves more at home here. How would you describe the difference to someone who hasn’t been to the big city?

Deming: One thing that I’ve gathered from being down here is that it’s a little bit easier to get people in on a community effort, I think, because New York has that reputation, that hub of culture or whatever. People in New York lose sight that there’s a world outside of New York, and I certainly fell victim to it.

I find that here, in general, people are doing it because they love to do it. Not that they don’t want to make it their main pursuit, but I think the fun of it is easier in a place where people aren’t necessary vying for spots ... It seems to me people do it down here because it’s fun, because they love to.



Paul, what did you mean by “end of your rope?”

Burba: I was going through a rough breakup. I was kind of in between ideas, didn’t know what was going to be happening. As I was going through all that stuff, Garrett and I started talking, and so he told me to pack up and come down to Savannah for a few months and to figure it out from there.



How has that, inevitably, affected your music?

Burba: The last year I was in Brooklyn, I was practicing every day. The drums was one of the things that was getting me through the days after Brenner passed away and my breakup, and stuff like that. It just got too hard. It was too weird. It was too strange. I played with a couple of different musicians up there, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted to get back to playing with Garrett.

As soon as I got down here, I fell in love with Savannah, and the the culture and the people. As soon as I got here, it felt like all the stress melted away. It’s very refreshing to know that everyone is super supportive of what everyone is doing, that everyone is more acknowledgable of each other.



With that said, you describe your music as “rock ‘n’ f***in’ roll.”

Deming: Through the five years that we’ve been a band, we’ve seen some really awesome times and we’ve seen some real hellish times. And we’re pretty affable, clownish, easy-going guys. But we definitely — Paul was talking about using the drums as his release — I definitely can echo that, being on stage being that catharsis. We all do go through s**t ... I think it’s important to find positive ways to deal with those things, so we do that through our music. But, as a result of that, the music is loud.



The band, in its current incarnation, is somewhat of a testament to the last-man-standing idealism.

Deming: Yeah, for sure. We definitely feel that way. We’ve had band members leave for all kind of reasons and for the most part, we’re still friends with the guys who’ve played with us. But for us, it’s like, I don’t know what else I’d be doing.



And this upcoming performance, live album release, illustrates some of that.

Deming: Yeah. The upcoming album is called “Taking It to the Hole.” We’re calling it that because it was recorded live at the Wormhole. The tracks are from the November Art March.

Burba: I want to put out a general thank you to Savannah and the people here, because it’s been very therapeutic here and it’s very much renewed my faith in humanity. It’s a great place. I can’t say enough good things. - DoSavannah, Savannah Morning News

JC Dobbs – Part Deux

Another band that played that night was a group called Broken Glow. Broken Glow might hail from Brooklyn, but this northern foursome makes frequent trips into New Jersey and the world beyond. The band gave me their current self-titled EP at Dobbs, and I gave it an extended listen. Their playing skill is good, and the band sticks to what they know best: Traditional ‘60s rock clashes head-on into the tempestuous pathway of the Deftones, Earshot and Quicksand.

Songs like “Month Of May” hit sonically hard before dissipating into dynamic sparkle and clean tone, supporting Garrett (vocals) without drowning him out. Guitar work comes courtesy of Brenner and features buckets of blues-rock likeability. His sound is on the edge of breaking up without getting lost in unintelligible feedback and squeal. If I had to guess, he’s playing a Les Paul, and has a good hold on that syrupy tone.

“The Great War” dances close to the edge of “Sober” by Tool. They are not cooking in the same backyard, but it’s pretty close to that fire. The song manages to turn from that errant direction as the band proceeds, and at 2:46 into the song, the minor key change breaks it all up and puts the tune back on a level playing field as Brenner drops a blitzkrieg of harmonic minor runs all over the tail end of this composition.

My favorite cut is the last song, called “Dogs And Demons.” Gnarly, syncopated rhythm guitars chug alongside heavy-duty bass and drums (courtesy of Andrew and Pauly) as Garrett wails out onto the fog-drenched moors of Sir Loxley’s estates. I made that last part up myself. The only thing missing here are fire fountain pyrotechnics and amps that go to 11 as the band sizzles and pops old school ‘70s.

While this style of music is not everyone’s bag, I have to admire and respect a band that puts their heart and soul into what they believe in, not what is popular or trendy. Go check them out when you get a chance.

As for my overall trip onto good ole’ South Street, I could have done without the $8 beers, the temper tantrum of the singer freaking out because he had to go on at 11 p.m. (the band was holding an album release party… for 12 people.), and the jaded security, but all-in-all the sound was good and the oblong club will probably have another good run in phase two of its lifespan. For more on Broken Glow, go to reverbnation.com/brokenglow.

- The Aquarian Weekly

At first listen, Broken Glow sound like any other dreary band. The opening of their EP Watercolors is a slow melodic song called Month of May. It’s not that the song is exactly bad, but then again it’s obviously far from their best. Sometimes it’s difficult when making music to get the perfect song.

But then you ask, well, what is the perfect song? Ah! Well, if you carry on listening to Watercolors, you’ll find it. Sabrina. It may be half way in through the 5 track EP but it doesn’t matter. Sabrina is a mix of bands like Queens Of The Stone Age and Velvet Revolver. It’s what would happen if Led Zeppelin had a love child with Slash’s solo projects. The track that Sabrina follows, The Great War, is a straight up rock song. It’s not much else. It’s good, but it doesn’t have as much of a special feel about it like Sabrina does.

Luckily, the EP continues to impress with the epic It’s Not Alright. Who thought it could get better after Sabrina? But it does, not once but TWICE. Dogs & Demons sees out the record in style. It’s dirty, it’s epic and it’s a fantastic piece of rock. The guitar work is great and mixed in with vocalist Garrett’s voice it sounds just like a track plucked straight from the back catalogue of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. There’s not many bands that can replicate a similar sound to such rock greats and Gods like Hendrix, but Broken Glow can. It might not be all the time, they do have room to improve but if they carry on to produce music like the second half of Watercolors, rock fans everywhere are in for a real treat. - SupportYrScene

Broken Glow recently released their new album Filament, which you can listen to now through the band’s bandcamp here. The trio which has been around since 2008 are known for their heavy rock sound and that certainly doesn’t change on their new album, which was recorded on reels of tape at the Habitat Noise Studios.

The raw vocal powers through this record with ease, and work so well throughout, tracks like Running Scared really highlight that – and with some strong writing, the album has a lot going for it. There’s some big choruses and with the melodies the band create, it makes for an album that you can’t stop yourself moving to.

This band’s influences though are vast and it shows on every song, with melodies that are taken from rock to reggae, it makes for a diverse listen throughout, tracks like Smoke bring those more reggae sounds, but the big riffs on tracks such as Fish Out Of Water bring a strong rock vibe, but it works together, the album produced to really showcase these songs in the best way possible. The guitars bring a great energy to the record throughout, giving these the power they need to be great songs, working together, making some awesome riffs, tracks such as Blister in particular.

Filament is a great listen throughout, with great riffs and a fun energy that races throughout this record, making it an album packed with some awesome highlights that live are going to be something else. Those highlights for me are Running Scared, Fish Out Of Water and Blue Dream. This band really have perfected the sound they want to make, though it feels like it needs a polish, this album sounds great from start to finish.

8/10. - Thinking Lyrically

Who is answering the questions?

This is Garrett, singer and guitarist of Broken Glow.

Can you tell us about the formation of Broken Glow?

The band was originally formed in 2008. Paul (drums), Jon (vocals) and Brenner (guitar) had all gone to high school together in Connecticut, and after college they began playing old blues and rock covers. Jon met me while at college, and recruited him as a second guitarist and songwriter. After meeting twice together the group had accumulated 8 original songs, after which I moved from my native New York to join the other dudes in Connecticut. We lived in a country house in the woods about a half hour outside of Hartford, where we wrote and recorded our material and honed our live act. In 2011 after moving to Brooklyn, NY Jon left to pursue his master’s degree, and I took over vocals, after which we released Watercolors. Brenner passed away in 2012 from complications of diabetes, and the band took about 6 months off to mourn and regroup. After finding ourselves in Savannah, GA, we released Live Like An Animal, which Paul and I recorded in roughly 13 hours. Soon Sara joined on bass to round the group back out and we’ve been rocking ever since.

How did you get to the band name Broken Glow, and what does it mean to you?

While making music together was an easy and natural process, it was fairly difficult naming the group. After months of brainstorming, we sat around together while perusing song lyrics from bands we admired. “Broken” was taken from a line in The Beatles’ Across the Universe (…images of broken light), and was paired with “Glow” from Led Zeppelin’s Dancing Days (…as the evenings start to glow). We never paid much attention to the meaning of the words, though over the last 8 years it’s come to signify the brilliant with the flawed, the beautiful with the ugly, perhaps the dichotomous nature of man?



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To an unfamiliar reader, how would you describe your sound?

We’ve generally used the descriptor of “blues rock played with a barbed wire pick.” In a review of our first EP Watercolors (2011), we were described as “a love child between Led Zeppelin and Slash’s solo projects.” More recently, as we’ve embraced the group’s disparate stylistic influences, our music is heavily rooted in grunge and blues rock, while displaying tinges of jazz, Eastern music, folk and metal. In general, though, our attitude and approach is that of a no-nonsense rock n roll band.

What bands have influenced you over the years, and why?

In the early days we relied heavily on bands like Aerosmith and Guns N Roses, not to mention the titans of classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.). These bands’ heavy blues influence always spoke to us, and as all rock music sprouts from the root of the blues this seemed only natural to us. Heavier modern bands such as The Deftness, System of a Down, Alice In Chains and Lamb Of God also find their way into our sound in a major way. Much of this is the music of our childhood, thus it naturally permeates our musical landscape. Bits of folk music (Joni Mitchell and her use of heavily colored chords), jazz (Coltrane’s improvisational freedom and Monk’s intuitive compositional sense), and punk (The Clash’s antagonism against authority and singable-yet-subversive musical sensibilities) also make their way into our music.

How did you get to the album title ‘Filament’, and what does it mean to you?

We have been working a long time to record a full length album, and Filament is the fruit of that labor. Much of the music we collectively appreciate is music written as part of an album – not simply individual songs slapped together, but a comprehensive, if not necessarily thematic, musical experience. As such, we strove to create a sampling of songs that not only stood on their own as piece of music, but that, when listened to in order as an album should be, brought the listener on a journey. Our abilities on our instruments, as well as our tastes music, have grown and expanded over the years we’ve been together, and as such we wanted to represent all of the various styles which influence our group. We believe that style or genre is simply the clothes that music wears, and as such there is quality throughout style. In showcasing various elements of our sound, something needed to run consistent throughout. This is where Filament comes in. The filament is the part of the light bulb which produces the actual light, and considering the band name, light bulbs have always played a visual role in representing us. Regardless of the color or shape of the bulb, the filament is the source of the light, while the other features merely shape the original source. Our intent on this album was to get at the root of what makes us continue to play. It is our true expression, our honest thoughts, feelings, and emotions in the form of organized sound. With this in mind, Filament refers to the music, the essential element that holds us together as a group. It’s a reminder that no matter how fast we play, what key or scale we choose, or the lyrical content, the music stands as a testament to our goal, which is to create and express.

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Can you elaborate on some of the other main themes and influences that run throughout ‘Filament’?

While we maintain that listening to music is a subjective experience open to individual interpretation, there are obviously intents behind each of the songs. Thematically, Filament contains many elements, but as the primary songwriter and lyricist of the group, I can tell you what my thoughts are regarding its content. The album essentially is a journey through self discovery, beginning with an awakening and recognition that the current abuses of power structures and the cult of personality are a facade (Iconoclast). Following this, the next two tracks (Running Scared and Smoke) are introspective, dealing with struggles that many self-aware people deal with in the light of a harsh world (paranoia, addiction, self-doubt). The fourth track, Monk Mode, shifts tone both lyrically and musically. The term “monk mode” refers to conscious self-deprivation as a means of realization. To be more specific, no reward comes without sacrifice, and often to attain some kind of breakthrough (be it philosophical, spiritual, or material), one must forgo habits or distractions in pursuit of attaining a higher level. Fish Out Of Water, though devoid of any proper lyric, is meant to replicate the feeling of suffocation and isolation, a state often experienced by one who walks off the beaten path. The following track, Blue Dream, is of a lighter tone and is a call for brotherhood and community as a means of overcoming injustice. Next is Blister, a rollicking and somewhat silly tune whose lyrics bemoan the acquisition of a blister, only to find that in the end it has become an ally in the shape of a callous. This is both literal (callouses on a guitarists’ finger aid in playing the strings), but also in a metaphorical sense, as often the greatest reward is found only after grueling and often painful work is put it. Cousin is perhaps the most somber selection on the album, a rumination on family, aging, and looking forward to life. Finally, the straight blues of Well brings the album to a close. As mentioned earlier, the wellspring of rock music is the blues, just as the necessary element to life is water. Thus it seemed fitting to write a song about drawing water from a well in the form of a blues song.

What can you tell us about the recording process for ‘Filament’?

In keeping with our theme of organic expression, we went to Donald Moats of Habitat Noise Studios in Wilmington Island, GA to record on reel-to-reel tape. While digital recording techniques and software afford the engineers and musicians involved a seemingly endless list of options and tricks, it seemed fitting to use analog techniques in our attempt to capture the elemental essence of the band. Recording onto tape results in a much truer representation of the sound being produced – the sound waves are transferred in real time and space to a physical form, as opposed to digital tracking which chops the waves into tiny pieces and pastes them back together. The bulk of the tracks (all but a few minimal overdubs) were recorded live in 3 days’ time with the entire band in the same room. We felt this technique was appropriate specifically because it is the way most of our favorite old albums were made. BeforeProTools and Logic afforded endless editing capabilities, musicians were required to play their own parts in real time (perhaps a shocking concept to the “millennial generation”), and endless takes were not afforded to musicians on tape which had to be physically cut if editing was necessary. As such, the great masters of old were truly proficient on their instruments, and their albums are faithful representations of their playing. While today anyone can have vocals auto-tuned or punch in guitar tracks a thousand times, we shy away from those crutches in favor of a more organic sound. There’s something magical about the chemistry of a tight band, and devotees of live music know that the air moves a special way. Our goal was to capture that sound, the magic of a live band, which is why all the tracks were recorded live without a click track and without punching in. I did overlay second guitars and solos, our producer Chris added minimal guitars, and we did a bit of vocal layering after the fact (not to mention my piano part on Cousin). Those finishing touches aside, the album as you hear it is a faithful representation of our live sound. We released the album at a huge party, which was held at Southbound Brewing Company, a local brewery. We collaborated with the head brewer to create a custom beer, on tap during the event, and played alongside local rockers BBXF right on site while local radio station Rock 106.1 broadcast live from the event. Simon Ross of Planetary Projections provided a psychedelic liquid light show, and Chazito’s food truck on site providing victuals. Hell of a party!

What song means the most to you from ‘Filament’ at the moment, and why?

That is a difficult song to answer, as we’re already writing new material. Personally, Monk Mode is my favorite tune on the album. I believe it shows a side of our band we’ve only begun to explore, and I am currently in a “monk mode” as I abstain from intoxicants while writing new material and pursuing my personal studies in ancient mysticism and metaphysics.

What songs are you really enjoying playing live from ‘Filament’ at the moment, and why?

Blue Dream and Well are probably the most fun to perform live at current. The former is a real crowd pleaser, and its memorable chorus and 70’s-style riff rock vibe are right in our wheelhouse. Well is fun to play, and lends itself most heavily to improvisation. I’ve recently been playing a weekly gig with local blues band Jubal Kane, and this song is indicative of that influence.

What was the hardest part about putting ‘Filament’ together for you guys, and why?

Honestly mixing was the hardest part. Well, not hardest, but most time consuming. The album was mixed by Chris Horton (producer) and myself, and it was a new experience for me. Constantly listening to the same song over and over through various speakers and in slightly different mixes is fatiguing on the ears, and it also makes you second guess yourself. When someone else mixes your album, your job is done as soon as you leave the booth. This time, however, our work had just begun. The recording was completed in August 2015, and the final mixes weren’t finished until just before our release party on February 19th, 2016. That’s nearly 6 months of listening, re-listening, tweaking, changing, etc. By the time the album was finished, I barely wanted to hear it anymore!

How did the artwork for ‘Filament’ come together, and what does it mean to you?

The front of the album contains a stylized broken lightbulb, an image which has been apart of the band’s aesthetic for years. This incarnation was designed by our drummer Paul. The title of the album and track listing on the back are meant to replicate a dictionary entry, again implying the fundamental nature of the album. The band portrait on the inside was taken by our good friend Matthew Fitzgerald in our current hometown of Savannah. Producer Chris Horton appears in the portrait, as he briefly joined the band on second guitar during the mixing process. The real gem of the album art, however, is the original work by local artist Jake Schlosser. A 3-panel fold-out of a cosmic monk punching the universe, we commissioned the piece with few parameters – listen to the album and create what speaks to you. As the other panels are in greyscale, the vibrant purples on the interior artwork stand in stark contrast and make the package complete. We do our best to commission local artists for their work, and will be releasing a short-run custom t-shirt design by local illustrator or rapper Miggs Son Daddy this June.

Touring wise, can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road?

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve taken proper tour, though we do travel out of town from time to time. Once in Hardeeville, NC we rocked so hard that the PA speaker began to smoke (not the first time)! We had a great time in our 2014 north-eastern tour as we returned to our old Connecticut stomping grounds and got to see the brief reunion of Sara’s old band Chicks Throwing Bricks in Philadelphia. Our YouTube channel, though relatively sparse, contains a 12-minute tour diary entitled Miles Of Mayhem, which I compiled from over 33 hours of footage taken on the road in 2011.



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How would you say the sound of Broken Glow has grown/progressed over the years?

I think we’re more open to outside influences. It seems that the early days saw us putting limitations on ourselves, concerning “what kind of songs” we should play. We didn’t want to stray too far from established stylistic conventions, thus we stayed within the “riff-rock” paradigm, excepting a few outlying songs (the nihilistic jazz-chord drone Now It Can Be Told for example). Part of that may well have been a result of our skill level, which has naturally grown over the years of incessant playing and practicing. These days it feels freer, and our songs are generally the results of our free form jams, thus more organic and less calculated.

What sets you apart from any other band out there right now?

That’s hard to say, as there is a lot of really interesting, original music being made below the radar of the general public. As related to heavily distributed rock bands, I’d say our message of positivity through somewhat aggressive music is signature to us. Many bands on American radio seem to embrace hate rather than love, separation rather than togetherness, confrontation rather than resolution. When we’re angry, we’re angry at evil shit. When we’re heavy, we’re groovy. It seems we have more in common philosophically with hippies than metalers, yet find more musical common ground in the opposite direction. I’d also say that our insistence on keeping all production in-house – no management ever, outsourcing of duties only to close friends and associates, self-booked, most art done by group members, – is something we hold dear to us. Just don’t trust Mr. Suit & Tie…

What is the music scene like in Savannah, GA?

Eclectic. The downtown area is a heavily tourist-driven area, and much of the music there is blues and familiar tunes. The further you move away from the river, however, there the music changes. There is a thriving DIY punk scene with killer bands like Cray Bags, Tokalos and The Anxiety Junkies, metal bands like The Apprehended and Sins Of Godless Men, subversive acoustic “folk punk” musicians such as Josh Taft and Whiskey Wednesday, inventive math rock bands like CultureVulture and Kyle, groovers like XuluProphet and Kota Mundi, hip hop giants like Miggs, Basik Lee and Dope Knife… not to mention rock bands like BBXF, Coeds and Rotten Blush. A huge cahmpion of the Savannah music scene is Ryan Koch, DJ at Rock 106.1, who regularly attends and announces local shows and hosts Underexposed, a weekly music show during which he gives local groups access to the airwaves. Perhaps the coolest part of the Savannah scene is that any number of these bands can be seen on bills together, cross-genre, and the open mic at spots like The Wormhole and Barrelhouse South provide opportunities for these musicians as well as others to collaborate and mingle. It’s a very social scene, which I think serves to benefit everyone involved.

What else can we expect to see from Broken Glow in 2016?

Per usual, we will be playing around Savannah here and there. August sees us in Charleston at Hybrid Audio Solutions to record a brand new single,and we’re working on an event in the fall which would bring together the town’s blues musicians for a showcase event. Also, hopefully, a Spinal Tap set around Halloween…

Facebook.com/BrokenGlow - Music Crowns

For the uninitiated, give us a Brief History of the band:

Broken Glow came together in the summer of 2008. Based out of Hartford, CT, the group quickly recorded a demo, received regional radio airplay in New England and in 2010 moved to Brooklyn, NY. In 2011 the band released “Watercolors,” a 5-song EP of all original material. While recording their follow-up album in 2012 lead guitarist Brenner died. Shaken, the band took a hiatus, ultimately resulting in a relocation to Savannah, GA and the release of “Live Like An Animal” in 2014. Now a powerhouse 3-piece, the band has just released “Filament,” a full length offering of new material.

And what’s been the highlight so far ?:

Recording “Filament” was a challenging and rewarding experience. This was our first time recording on reel to reel tape, so you learn about the limitations, as well as the possibilities, as you go along. After 3 days in the studio we’d tracked nearly everything, and once mixing was done we partnered with Southbound Brewing Company, a local micro-brewery, to make a custom beer for our release show, which was held on site at the brewery. Definitely the most fun show we’ve thrown.

Big plans for the future?

We’re currently planning a few excursions around the eastern USA, particularly in our low country area as well as New England and the Tri-State area. At some point this year we’ll be in Charleston, SC to record a brand new single at Hybrid Audio Solutions. Sara is touring this summer with her other group Tokalos.

Describe your music in 1 word..

GrooveGrungeBluesRock

What is the most common misconception about the band?

That’s a tough one, although there was an interesting misunderstanding we had with the FBI back in 2011 that turned some heads. It’s a long story, if you’re interested you can read about it here https://brokenglow.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/bushwicks-most-wanted-broken-glow-the-fbi/

Tell us something interesting / amusing / stupid about the band..

We love kittens, period. Sara has 4 crates’ worth of vinyl records including harp music, freedom songs, Duke Ellington, Swedish punk, Berlioz, Black Sabbath and George Carlin. Paul is a serious grill man and makes a mean tomato sauce. Garrett has a keen interest in James Joyce and ancient mysticism.

Who would be your ideal tour-mates?

Our friends. Touring can be a rough gig, especially on a nearly non-existent budget. With this in mind, traveling is far less stressful when you can trust the people you’re with and depend on them in tight situations. You have to share food, driving duties, merch sales, loading gear, everything. We don’t tour with roadies or a staff, so if you’re going to go with another band it’s more fun to go with people you dig.

And what would be on the rider?

Food. Getting paid is great, but getting fed is killer.

People say rock’n’roll is getting too safe, too tame. What’s the most “rock’n’roll excess” thing you’ve done?

We’ve had some seriously wild times in the past (passing out in the bathroom, getting locked into the bar, breaking out, then playing there the next night while no one is the wiser…), but these days we focus more on our music, our community and our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in drugs and partying and wild excess, but it’s ultimately unproductive and self serving, not to mention it can be difficult to survive that lifestyle in the long term.

That said, rock music IS getting safe, but in a different way. In the USA, many of the established radio rock bands are making safe music, relying on the same old tropes and formulas they’ve been using for years. In our minds rock music is about free expression, writing music that speaks to what we think and feel. Since people think and feel different things all the time, freely expressed music should reflect that, but it seems mainstream rock music has been accosted by the purveyors of corporate pop music, which leads to formulaic songs that are written around demographic charts and popularity polls rather than mining the depths of one’s experience. - CackBlabbath

Remember that first time you were introduced to rock and roll? I imagine if you ask 100 different people about that experience, you’ll get 100 vastly different answers with only loose connecting threads. Some may have gone to a show with their parents. Some may have listened to an older sibling’s record.

I vividly remember my first experience with rock and roll. I first caught the bug through grunge rock. I was in middle school and I remember when I heard the first few riffs slip through my parents’ car radio. It was “Rooster” by Alice In Chains. The slow-building crescendos, Layne Staley’s shrill yet melodic vocals, Jerry Cantrell’s killer guitar work; I can still hear it all. And as someone who grew up on R&B, Soul, and the occasional hip hop, the experience left me jarred and wanting more.


So, why would I bring that up? Well, local Savannah trio, Broken Glow, are no strangers to that grungy, 90’s alt-rock sound. Their newest album, Filament, has a slew of tracks that would fit perfectly into your favorite playlist right along side Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and other staples of the alt-rock scene. That’s not to say that their a one trick pony though and Filament excels at showing that. Their opening track, Iconoclast, definitely draws more from the Alice In Chains vein of their influences while other tracks like Smoke and Blue Dream have a much more blues tinged sound. One stand out track, Fish Out Of Water, has a certain Middle Eastern flair to it that can’t help but draw comparisons to tracks by System of a Down in the best of ways.

Filament is an experience to say the least. That’s not to say it’s perfect in every way, but it certainly deserves to be enjoyed in one continuous play-through at least once. If anything, Filament offers a global view of what drives Broken Glow as a band and where they plan on going in the future. And it certainly looks like Broken Glow’s future is one to keep an eye on.

RIYL: Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, System of a Down - hissing lawns

Broken Glow, as an entity, is about as fluid as their sound. From Connecticut to New York to Savannah, through numerous members, living situations, and climates, the rock band has thrived—but in its eight years of existence, the project never birthed a full-length album.

All that’s changed. With Garrett Deming on vocals and guitar, Paul Burba on drums, Christopher Horton on guitar, Sara Clash on bass, and Donald Moats of Habitat Noise Studios in the producer’s chair, the band is ready to unveil Filament in a celebration at Southbound Brewing Company.

A monster of a rock ‘n’ roll record, Filament offers something for everyone, from blues to riff-rock to prog to metal. At their release party, with special guests BBXF, the band will perform the record in its entirety. There’s a special beer created exclusively for the event, food from Chazito’s Latin Cuisine, a live broadcast from Rock 106.1, and visuals from Planetary Projections.

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We caught up with the band on their musical and physical journey, their influences, and the fun of making Filament.

On the band’s storied history:

Burba: Technically, it was 2007. Me and two of my best friends from high school reconnected after college. I moved back to New Hampshire and the lead guitarist, who was the brain of the entire thing, Brenner Eugenides, called me up and said, 'I can't keep playing in this cover band. I want to make my own project. Do you want to play drums for me?'

I said, 'When do I move in?'

He had gotten our other good friend, Jon Connors, who met Garrett in college. When Jon moved back from Ithaca, we started the whole thing and realized we needed more, so we called up Garrett, and he moved down.

Deming: We moved into this house in backwoods Connecticut as a band, then in September of 2008, moved to Brooklyn, because Brenner had gotten a job running a studio in Greenpoint.

That's where I met Sara, actually. Some of the other local bands around—Omingnome, Culture Vulture—all lived in the same building. I met Sara at their apartment, early 2011. We were in New York for a couple of years, then Brenner tragically died. I moved down to Savannah—Sara was playing down here.

Clash: We were touring up through the Florida coast and came through Savannah on accident. I moved, then most of our friends moved down.

Maxine Florio had gotten a house down here and used it as a place for bands who were traveling. That’s how we met her, when we came through on tour. It all started at her house.

On recording Filament on reel-to-reel tape:

Deming: We're a rock band, but we're not the rock band that's going to be playing to a metronome and every measure of the song is dissected. We're a bit more improvisational.

Burba: We've always loved those old recordings, like those Led Zeppelin albums that were recorded in like, 36 hours. We wanted to get back to the roots of what rock really is: a bunch of people getting in a room, loving their instruments, and doing something that speaks to them.

Deming: There's something about the air in the room: you can isolate all the instruments, you can triple-track guitars, you can do drum machines, but there's something about the energy of the band that's like when you see a live band. Yeah, you hear all the instruments, but there's something about the chemistry. The bands that have always stuck with me are the bands you can almost hear that as an element in the record. It's not just the song, the vocals: it's the whole package.

On Filament's cross-genre appeal:

Deming: If you look through our record collection, we listen to The Pointer Sisters, Roberta Flack, Jerry Lee Lewis...I think that, because we have a lot of different interests musically, that shows up on this album.

Our last album we recorded with Tyler Cutitta, just me and Paul. We wanted fresh recordings—there was so much tragedy, our friend had just died. We wanted to get new material out. We recorded that thing in nine hours. Those six songs all sit in the same wheelhouse, but it’s very clearly a definitive sound.

On [Filament], we wanted to showcase all we can do. So, ‘Iconoclast’ is probably as close to metal as we get, but then you have ‘Smoke’ which is almost a radio pop song, to ‘Well,’ which is straight 12-bar blues.

Burba: This is our influence-based album.

Horton: If you listen to it all the way through, it doesn't sound like anything's out of place. They all flow together and it all sounds like us, but totally different genres.

Deming: I think in naming the album Filament—we've always used lightbulb imagery, but the filament is the part of the bulb that actually produces light. It's about getting to that essence. This is what we're about, without pretense, at the core.

On the band's signature beer, a pale ale with hints of biscuit, honey, and oats, brewed with Southbound for Friday's release party:

Deming: We picked out the malts, barley, and mash—it's going to be a Belgian saison infused with coffee. The cool thing about being a part of the brewing process is, it's not a Broken Glow beer named after us—we had a part in brewing the whole thing.

Horton: It's kind of like, the album is our baby, but the beer is our baby, too! - Connect Savannah

Broken Glow recently released their new album Filament, which you can listen to now through the band’s bandcamp here. The trio which has been around since 2008 are known for their heavy rock sound and that certainly doesn’t change on their new album, which was recorded on reels of tape at the Habitat Noise Studios.

The raw vocal powers through this record with ease, and work so well throughout, tracks like Running Scared really highlight that – and with some strong writing, the album has a lot going for it. There’s some big choruses and with the melodies the band create, it makes for an album that you can’t stop yourself moving to.

This band’s influences though are vast and it shows on every song, with melodies that are taken from rock to reggae, it makes for a diverse listen throughout, tracks like Smoke bring those more reggae sounds, but the big riffs on tracks such as Fish Out Of Water bring a strong rock vibe, but it works together, the album produced to really showcase these songs in the best way possible. The guitars bring a great energy to the record throughout, giving these the power they need to be great songs, working together, making some awesome riffs, tracks such as Blister in particular.

Filament is a great listen throughout, with great riffs and a fun energy that races throughout this record, making it an album packed with some awesome highlights that live are going to be something else. Those highlights for me are Running Scared, Fish Out Of Water and Blue Dream. This band really have perfected the sound they want to make, though it feels like it needs a polish, this album sounds great from start to finish.

8/10. - Lyrically Thinking