Jeremy Charbonneau
drums/sings/farms out his beard for profit
Peter Colclasure
keys/accordion/guitar/sings
Leonardo Hartomo
bass/badass name/wardrobe/hair
Influences
leonard skinner, leonard cohen, The Beatles, VU, David Bowie, The Shins, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. relationships, poverty lines, down times, good times,jaco pastorious, a seasonal cold/flu, rock me joseph alberto amadeus,white stripes, brian wilson, pavement, the wipers,and the plastic ono band.
Smile Brigade is into simplicity; a strong melody, a good hook and the knack for putting it all together.
It's that simplicity and knack that make their music hard to get out of your head. Over the past three years, the band has been tucked away in their practice space working on infectious melodies. Their songs range from mildly sugarcoated pop, to sleazy and riff-laden rock, to melancholic lullabies. All the while they maintain a fluidity of impenetrable hooks, rich vocal harmonies and tactful composition.
--reviews
"The debut from this Seattle quartet boasts solid songwriting that covers territory from searing guitar stompers to organ-driven '90s throwbacks to Americana-laced ballads." -Eyl- Denver Westword
“These tunes are a blend of enjoyable pop music that, in some camps, could almost fall into the folk-pop Wilco-like category” –Fense Fensepost.com
“The group makes sweet sounds that are definitely something to expose those pearly whites for. The album ranges from distorted heavy rockers infused with sweet vocals to poppy numbers that are sure to put a wry grin on your face.” -Philip Fairbanks adequacy.net
“Smile Brigade has been honing their particular brand of pop music—
which manages to be dark and sardonic, yet breezy and fun at the same time.” –Levi Slade thestranger.com
“combining classic vocal harmonies with rougher arrangements, with the occasional sparkling surprise.” -Ned Ragget allmusic.com
“Wrapped in a blanket of aptly distorted interlude mini-songs, this album is set pretty comfortably in a bed of hazy guitars and sigh filled vocals. This could get any coffee drinking college kid swaying to the sound of its light structure and relevant lyrics. Following an almost folk format, SB is able to create some pretty lucid dream-like serenades with chorus vocals and abound acoustical fortitude.” –Pernell skylinepress.net
“J. Hiram Boggs lends his rich vocals-a slight growl at times recalling John Mellencamp and, at others, Jeff Tweedy-easily to the countrified ballads, but it's on the piano-and-reverb-drenched "Distorted Ivory Coast" and "Devastating" where his voice truly impresses. Boggs' vocals bridge the rift between the experimental and the traditional, making otherwise out-of-place songs fit in perfectly." -Katie Sauro Seattle Sound Magazine
"This hazy indie-pop band from Seattle have the ability to give every song it's own little twist while keeping a constant smile on their listeners' face. Dig Smile Brigade live on KEXP."-W. Myers KEXP 90.3 FM
live show @ the Paradox w/ A. Luxem on bass and Charlie Walsh on percussion
Busking in the streets of Little Tokyo, LA before our show at the Cocaine. Fun times
order the album on vinyl by clicking the go metric! logo
Wish I could but I'm going out of town. For some godforsaken reason I'm going to Arizona in July. Worst. Idea. Ever. But Melissa will be there mos def. With bells.
Check out this weekend’s “Road Trip” episode (6/27 – 6/29) of Undiscovered as we’ll be featuring music from Smile Brigade and many other great Independent-label artists!
Artists played on Undiscovered are heard in 7 markets! Listen on: KBRE in Merced, California; WOSC in Salisbury, Maryland; WEGW in Wheeling, West Virginia; WHBR in Parkersburg, West Virginia; WAMX in Huntington/Ashland, West Virginia; WAQX in Syracuse, New York; and WTFX in Louisville, Kentucky! Four of our affiliates stream their signal on-line so you can hear the show from anywhere! (links on our website)
Undiscovered- we bring Indie music to broadcast radio!
ahh man you're kiddin me... i had really bad migraines that night so i figured music wouldn't really help :/ plus the finals factor sorta doomed my decision, i'm sorry i keep missing you guys! once again i'm going to have to wait until next show >.<
Sweet! I'll be there, it starts at 9pm correct? Yea we still need to catch up since I haven't seen her in ages, but she looks amazing! We should catch up soon too man :)
love the new site edo! i see the band'll be playing on the 16th! I'll see if i can make it this time! But hey - u shud check out my myspace and click on my latest design for Small Guitars Co.
thanks for the comment, christian hansen is responsible for the poster...it all started w/ a paper place mat and went from there...hope to see you soon!