Vic Chesnutt, Tom Waits, The Minutemen, John Prine, Douglas Adams, Todd Steed, Danielle Howle, Flaming Lips, M. Ward, Will Oldham, Cat Power, Greg Brown, Benjamin Smoke, Einsturzende Neubauten, John Denver, Roger Miller, KISS, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Howlin' Wolf, Butthole Surfers, Blues Explosion, The Carpenters, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash.
風格近似
An idealistic monkey with a creative writing degree and a home recording studio.
Here's what the critics are saying about my band, Quartjar:
CD Review by John Sewell for Metro Pulse Quartjar - Years of a Monkey (Moot Point)
With 20-odd years of experience in umpteen combos and solo projects, Knoxville's scenester/socializer/man-about-town, that's right, Randall Brown, makes a confident step into the "legendary local fixture" bracket as his latest vehicle, Quartjar, presents "Years of a Monkey." While the album is unquestionably Brown's show, the able backing of drummer Donnie Mahan and bassist Doug Engle provides a full band feel, delivering a varied selection of sounds that showcase Mr. Brown's copious talents.
While the bulk of the album could be classified as intelligently rendered rock, Monkey features enough forays into blues, world music, and countrified sounds to make pigeonholing impossible. Never purposely eclectic, Mr. Brown is merely following his muse and capably employing the vast sonic palate at his disposal. Something of an aural grab bag, Monkey's exotically packaged musical gifts are all keepers.
Steeped in local lore, Brown is yet another unpretentiously Knox-centric artist who ranks in the local canon alongside standard-bearers RB Morris and Todd Steed . In fact, the aforementioned Mr. Steed makes an appearance on the album, along with a virtual who's who of area musicians that includes Greg Horne, Chris Cook, Laith Keilany, and Peggy Hambright, among others.
The album's real selling point is the lyrics. Ever the bard, Brown offers whimsical and introspective verse, telling stories and liberally adding dashes of humor. But this time around, Brown seems much more confident than on earlier releases. And his newfound lyrical swagger and literary sensibility is exactly what makes this Monkey a lifelong member of the Local Greats team.
Here's some vintage video of me with Tonite! Nude Girls, circa 1989. We were way ahead of our time:
Here's a little piece of video art from my pal, and former Quartjar bass player, Greg Wood:
And here's a real performance:
Quartjar frontman Randall Brown also makes weird songs on his own that don't necessarily fit into the rock-band thing. This is a page to present songs, songs sketches and off-the-cuff demo versions of such things.
The music box features: "Evolution Works": from the Quartjar album "Years of a Monkey" "I Love Every Last One of You": aka the Longbranch holiday song. Features a gang of pals from around town chiming in on a party choir: Becky, Jane, Reenie, Jack, John, Rikki, Rob and Doug. "Superpowers": an off-the-cuff daily affirmation; possibly the chorus to a longer song. But maybe I'll leave it as a piece unto itself. "Sunsphere Rise": a collaboration: lyrics by Jesse Fox Mayshark, music and Tom Waits impersonation by me
Recordings by Mr. Brown, released exclusively on Moot Point: "First Time With the New Feet" (cassette-only, early 1990s; out of print) "Randall Brown Is A Space Monkey" (cassette-only, mid-to-late 1990s; out of print) "The Home-made EP" (self-burned CD, 2002, out of print) "Years of a Monkey" with full-band, Quartjar (fancy-packaged CD, 2007, readily available in hard copy or download via many online sources)
Meanwhile, Quartjar's album "Years of a Monkey" is available at iTunes and the following other sites:
QUARTJAR: Years of a Monkey
It's an eclectic mix of edgy, bluesy rock with smart lyrics and a sense of humor.
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