Press

August 2011

Recoil Magazine

[original article here]

Branden Mann and the Reprimand

Interview by Eric Mitts

For many, music is a new religion. Count Kalamazoo singer/songwriter Branden Mann among the ranks of those converted.Raised in the church, Mann began playing in bands back in 1993. His commitment to Christianity at the time influenced his songwriting, making the majority of the music he wrote either “praise and worship” or proselytizing the “unsaved.” In 2001, he began to question a lot of his beliefs, and underwent an intense personal study of religion that completely changed his worldview and his music.

“I was angry at Christianity for presenting itself as a moral authority that could not be questioned: or else,” Mann told Recoil. “I realized that no matter what religion one chose, another religion was going to say they were wrong. According to probability and the assumption of one right answer, it appeared to me that everyone was probably going to Hell. So I had to figure out for myself what I believed in order to be a functioning, contributing member of society, and not fear eternal damnation. The only solution I could find was Atheism, combined with a godless worldview similar to Taoism. I believe in the here and now, and I believe in science. I believe there are things we don’t understand, but we just don’t understand them yet.”

Although Mann’s beliefs had changed dramatically, he continued to write about them, now condemning the way he used to think, and the way the church had taught him to be.

“I started playing open mic nights around town with my new material [back in 2006], and it seemed that I was singing with a new voice,” he said. “I had more confidence in the words I was singing, and my vocal style began to take shape.”

Around that same time, Mann had also started playing saxophone with Bill Clements in his jazz-fusion group, alongside drummer Tommy Ufkes. He introduced a couple of his songs to them at a practice, and they agreed to be his backup band, The Reprimand.

“It fulfilled my desire to incorporate folk and alt-country music with some hip-hop and jazz drums and bass – and when we played live, we were very well received,” Mann said about the start of the band.

In the years since, the group has continued to grow and change. Ufkes remains the only other member from that first lineup, as they’ve regularly performed with bassist Jeff Weller after parting ways with Clements due to creative differences following the release of their live debut album, Get Down To Business, in 2009. While Mann also continues to occasionally perform solo with just his well-worn guitar, he performs with anywhere from two to six other musicians in Tthe Reprimand, sometimes pulling in members of other bands or friends on the spot.

“We still play the same songs, but I feel like our live show has really evolved,” Mann said. “Since Jeff has been in the band, we have easily played over one hundred shows together, and recently, in addition to adding electric guitar and the occasional keyboard, we’ve included some percussion and trumpet.”

Branden Mann & the Reprimand will release its first studio album, The Chemicals Won’t Balance, Aug. 26 at the Old Dog Tavern in Kalamazoo. The band recorded the 12-song set with Mike Roche at Broadside Studios in Kalamazoo. They began last July with the intention of doing a four-piece recording, but as the band’s live lineup and sound continued to change, they evolved the record into something more powerful. Guests on the album include Ben Kim (of Kalamazoo’s Brother Bill) and Ufkes’ brother Tim on keyboards. They finished the mixing and mastering in mid-June, and hosted a listening party last month to give fans a preview, and help decide on the album’s cover art.

“Although some of the songs on this studio album are also on the live album, aside from myself and Tommy, we’ve got a completely different band,” Mann said. “When Mike Roche and I were talking about the project, one of my concerns was that the studio album wouldn’t be able to be replicated at a live show. He asked me: ‘How many of your live shows are the same?’ I realized that none of our live shows are the same; depending on any number of variables, each show is very unique. We don’t use set lists, and a lot of times we’ll completely change one of our existing songs just for the hell of it. Mike encouraged me to forget about live shows versus the studio, and to focus on doing everything I would want to do with a studio album that I could with the resources I had. And I feel like that’s just what I was able to do. I wrote all of the song concepts – chords, lyrics, tempo – and let my band have a lot of creative liberty. I was able to take the parts they came up with and use them to enhance whatever it was that I was sonically trying to communicate with any given song.”

Lyrically, Mann deals with a lot of his own personal struggles in his songs, and admits that sharing them with friends and strangers gives him a certain sense of validation.

“I almost feel like when I’m on stage I take on the role of a pastor, or depending on who you talk to, a cult leader, in that I write lyrics about common experiences, my opinion of them, and how I feel they should be interpreted or dealt with,” he explained. “When someone relates to a song and can find validation of their own feelings in it, it inadvertently makes them feel better about themselves. In that way I feel like there is a lot of responsibility, in that I don’t want to lead someone into a direction that would be destructive for them – but at the same time, I feel that everyone should think for themselves, and make good decisions based on what they feel is best for them.”

He’s taken on a similarly liberating role, regularly hosting the Old Dog Tavern’s open mic nights on Tuesdays, where he hopes to extend the down-to-earth, comfortable feeling he had when he first went there to everyone who walks through the door, or up on stage, regardless of their level of talent.

“I think the thing that sets Old Dog apart is that almost everyone who walks in the door feels at home,” Mann said. “When I first went there, the atmosphere alone had a warmth that I hadn’t experienced at other bars or restaurants in the area. The owners, Amy and Shawn Smith, were there – working behind the bar, serving their customers one-on-one, trading stories like they were amongst old friends. Because of my experience there, and all they have done to support and encourage me, I would feel like I was being disloyal if I chose to do the CD release elsewhere.”

Mann’s connection to the Kalamazoo music scene goes back to his own days starting out at open mics, as he continues to play with the friends he met there in Kalamazoo bands Fishlips and Casey Jones & the Beatdown, as well as collaborating with members of Brother Bill, The Hex Bombs, The Mushmen, and The Item 9 Band.

“I’ve always liked the Kalamazoo scene,” he said. “There is an open mic night almost every night of the week, and if you hang out at any given one for any amount of time, you’ll run into other people who want to start a band, or who you could collaborate with… It’s a very creative town, in all aspects of the arts.”

Branden Mann & the Reprimand will release The Chemicals Won’t Balance Aug. 26 at the Old Dog Tavern. The band will also play Aug. 12 at the Old Pointe in Gross Pointe Park, Aug. 13 at My Dad’s Place in Detroit, and Aug. 20 at The Bus Stop, an outdoor venue located on the back of the Electric Jug Band’s Ted McNett’s property in Vicksburg. For more info, check out sites.google.com/site/brandenmannandtr.

March 17, 2010

Western Herald : Kalamazoo, MI
by Garrett Schuelke
[original article here]

Branden Mann and the open mic

After a start at an open mic at Harvey’s On the Mall, local rock group Branden Mann and the Reprimand is broadening its horizons.

The next upcoming show for BMTR is Friday, March 26 at Louie’s Trophy House Grill. After that, they will perform with local spoken word duo Kinetic Affect on Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3 at Studio 246. Finally, they are scheduled to perform again at Louie’s Trophy House Grill on Saturday, April 17.

This summer, BMTR hopes to tour outside of Michigan, and is currently attempting to get an endorsement by a Seattle guitar company, according to vocalist and guitarist Branden Mann.

Branden Mann and The Reprimand came to be after guitarist and vocalist Branden Mann, who at the time was a member of the jazz-fusion group The Bill Clements Group, showed BMTR bass guitarist Bill Clements some of his work, according to Mann. Tommy Ufkes was later recruited to play drums for the group.

Bill Clements, notable for his style of bass playing and the fact that he has no right arm, has his own music career as the bass guitarist in his self-named band, The Bill Clements Group. He also released an album in summer 2005 titled “Undergroundalienbass”.

Tommy Ufkes, who, according to his biography on BMTR’s official Web site, has been a mainstay in the Kalamazoo music scene for years, is also a member of The Bill Clements Group.

Influenced by musicians like Woody Guthrie, Ben Harper, and Prince, along with bands like Pearl Jam, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket, BMTR recorded their first demo in 2008 titled “Songs from the Soggy Basement.” One year later, they released a live album in November 2009 titled “Get Down to Business”.

BMTR first started playing the open mic at Harvey’s On the Mall in 2007, after being told about it by local comedy rock group Fishlips.

“I think playing the open mics have given us a lot of exposure,” Mann said. “We play around town a lot.”

Mann said that the shows have attracted a large crowd.

BMTR were soon asked to come back and perform every week. Eventually, BMTR got the chance to play at other venues around Kalamazoo. They also had the chance to perform with other acts such as Dooley Noted, Kinetic Affect, Out of Favor Boys, and Brother Bill.

“[BMTR] perform good rock and roll,” said Kelly Bolen, manager of Harvey’s On the Mall. “They have good beats and lyrics, and they can really get a crowd going.”

“[BMTR] are all incredibly talented guys,” Bolen added.

For more information on open mics and other events, Harvey’s On the Mall may be reached at 269-492-7506, or visited online at www.myspace.com/harveysonthemall.

More information about Branden Mann and the Reprimand can be found on their official Web site at brandenmann.com.

March 30, 2010

Album Review : Get Down To Business
by Dustin Brondyke
[original article here]

A blues-meets-folk approach on rock with vocals reminiscent of a Creedence Clearwater Revival era John Fogerty, Branden Mann & The Reprimand’s album Get Down To Business is everything an album in this genre should be.

5/5 stars

April 16, 2010

The Frontmen of Kalamazoo
by Kalamazoo Noise
[full article here]

Compiled by NOISE! Staff
Kalamazoo NOISE / kalamazoonoise@gmail.com

Have you ever attended a local concert where you catch some nasty awkward silence between songs? You know, where the room goes quiet, everyone kind of looks at each other, and the lead singer on stage mumbles into the microphone: “I just have to tune here real quick.”

Well, if you haven’t run into this, then chalk that up to a great Frontman – one that steals the room and grabs the reins of the party and directs it wherever he or she wants. It’s a lot tougher than it looks, too. Just ask them. But there are a unique group of musicians that make it look easy, and for that, we commend them. In no particular order, here are what we consider to be some of the best Frontmen you’ll run into throughout the Kalamazoo area.

…

Branden Mann
Branden Mann and the Reprimand
Why he rocks: Hmmm…where can I go to peep a down-to-earth folk singer that dabbles in just about everything, including hip-hop? In Kalamazoo, that’s a rhetorical question. Branden Mann, who heads up his own band, Branden Mann and the Reprimand, recently laid out for us a list of bands he listened to during various musical phases of his life. It was literally almost a page long and ranged from Dolly Parton to System Of A Down.

“I’ve been playing music since I was four years old, back in 1982,” Mann said. “I took an interest in almost anything that sounded good to me. Sometimes my judgment was a bit off and it’s a bit embarrassing to admit some of it, but I think those misses contributed to some of the unique qualities of what I’m creating these days.”

Jotting down some of the most thought-provoking ditties in town, Mann said it’s just a matter of being real.

“In all honesty, I write from my experiences,” Mann said. “Having been involved in the church when I first started writing songs, I wanted to write things that people could relate to. Since I’ve abandoned faith and left the church, I still feel that urge to write relatable lyrics.”

November 12, 2009

Kalamazoo Gazette : TICKET! : Ad Lib
by John Liberty
[original article here]

Ad Lib: Kalamazoo’s Branden Mann & The Reprimand to ‘Get Down to Business’ at Louie’s Trophy House Grill

By John Liberty | Kalamazoo Gazette
November 12, 2009, 1:30PM

Photo: Shawano Cleary / Special to the Gazette Branden Mann & The Reprimand perform in late June at Louie's Trophy House Grill. The trio recorded this performance and will release the live album Nov. 20 at Louie's Trophy House Grill.

KALAMAZOO — The members of the Kalamazoo pop-rock-blues trio Branden Mann & The Reprimand can come from such different places musically, a studio album might not do them justice.

Plus, none of the band’s songs are “cut-and-dry” and each member will drop in different parts at certain times based on their sense of the set or song. It’s almost like a math problem, Mann said.

So in an effort to share the band’s varied styles, frontman Branden Mann decided to record a live performance and release it to the public. At the end of June, and very near his 31st birthday, guitarist/vocalist Mann, drummer Tommy Ufkes and bassist Bill Clements plugged in at Louie’s Trophy House Grill and played a 90-minute set.

The group whittled the set down to 13 songs and will release the live album, “Get Down To Business: Live at Louie’s,” starting at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at Louie’s, 440 E. North St., with opener Brother Bill. Kalamazoo’s Stacy Koviak provided a photograph for the album. Admission is $3.

“Most of the time we play, it sounds different every time, because each one of us have such drastically different styles,” Mann said. “ … Bill will be really anxious and I’ll be more laid back. We wanted to capture it live. I guess it sort of has an improvisational feel to it.”

So did the band feel more pressure knowing it was being recorded?

“Not really,” Mann said. “A lot of times I’ll bring along my recording stuff, so I have something to mess around with. It was like one of those, but someone else was doing it. It was more relaxed, I didn’t have to stress myself out over it.”

That someone else was Mike Schuur of Kalamazoo’s Sun Spot Recording. After the performance, Mann went over the material and selected the best songs, or those without too many mistakes. The result shows BM&TR’s range — from soulful acoustic to rhythm-driven rock.

The rhythm portion shouldn’t be a surprise. In 2005, shortly after moving to Kalamazoo, Mann teamed up with longtime local musicians drummer Ufkes and bassist Clements after a conversation about music at a local bookstore.

Mann said he told Clements he used to play saxophone and Clements invited him to jam with his band, the Bill Clements Group. In 2006, Mann had what he calls a “dramatic theological shift” and began writing songs — some about religion, as well as other topics. Mann, 31, was raised Baptist in Elkhart, Ind., and went to college to become a youth minister, but said he is now an atheist.

He said he believes there is “no one answer” when it comes to religion. He touches on the topic on the album’s final track, which actually combines two songs, Mann said. It’s called “Staring Down a Barrel of Monkeys” and the latter portion, “Bang, Bang.”

“Monkeys” starts off from the point of view of a suicidal person, but evolves into song with a positive message, Mann said. It’s “about living your life … and not getting stuck in psychological holes.”

“Bang Bang” is inspired by a post-9/11 religious atmosphere where, it seemed to Mann, members of some Western religions were condoning violence against Muslims and Islamists because of the attack.

He said it felt like people were “forced to give up our convictions to be a part of the whole” — if you didn’t berate Muslims or Islamists, you weren’t American enough, Mann said.

In keeping with its shifting style, the song sounds like a country song and evolves tying in a range of genres, including hip-hop, Mann said.

“It tends to be — not to toot my own horn — a crowd-pleaser,” he said.