Matt Arthur: Vocals, Gutar, Banjo
Don Bratland: Guitar, Vocals
Doug Bratland: Bass Guitar
Dave Drentlaw: Drums
Chris Moen: Mandolin, Lap Steel
Wendy Smith: Accordion
Influences
Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, and a whole lot of blind blues singers of the 1920s and '30s.
Childhood: Raised on a farm outside Hope, Minnesota, with 13,000 chickens and a pirate radio station in the silo.
Young adulthood: Seven years in the weird and incomparable Minneapolis band Prest Asbestus during the glory days of the twin cities music scene.
Mid-adulthood: Back in rural southern Minnesota. Served a stint on the Ellendale town council and put out a 16-song CD of original gospel songs, The Way I See It.
The Bratlanders were formed in late 2003 when we decided to work up 50 Johnny Cash covers and put on a tribute show a couple months after Johnny's death. Since then the band has expanded to six members, seven instruments, and about four hours' worth of rootsy American rock & roll.
Online Now!
