The Blessed Broke
Don't miss this two-man band at The Pistol on Sunday
The Blessed Broke's debut album
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Blessed Broke's debut album
Audio clip
"When It's All Gone" by The Blessed Broke
Audio clip
"My Confessor" by The Blessed Broke
Don't compare Brian Frame to a really great musician... unless you want to make him really uncomfortable.
Though he counts Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, John Lee Hooker and Neil Young among his many influences, Frame says he gets uncomfortable when people compare him to them or any songwriters he holds in high regard.
"I don't want people to think I think I'm Dylan or Van Zandt," he says. (We'll refrain from taking this opportunity to mention that he has a bit of a Van Zandt thing going on.)
Frame, 30, has been playing shows around Kansas City, including Rural Grit at The Brick, since 2006. On Sunday, he and his band, the Blessed Broke, will debut their first, self-titled album at The Pistol Social Club in the West Bottoms.
A whole lot folk and a little bit slow rock, Frame describes the Blessed Broke as an ongoing songwriting project.
In 2003, he moved back to Kansas City (where he had previously attended the Art Institute) after stints in Pittsburgh, PA and his home state of West Virginia. That's when he started writing. As far as his songwriting process, well, that's dependent on any number of things — the weather, a sentiment he's feeling or even an interesting line read by a newscaster — he often jots down in a little notebook for future reference.
"It's pretty random." he admits. "You just sit down and do it until you think you have something good."
Frame definitely has something good.
With wisps of Smog and the candor of Will Oldham, the Blessed Broke brings an Elliot Smith darkness to a genre more often reserved for boisterous front porch parties. Perhaps it's merely a coincidence that the band's debut album cover is a shot of Frame's own front porch.
The album, which was recorded in one day at J. Ashley Miller's (The Ssion) Northland studio, features seven tracks ranging from slow and folksy ("When It's All Gone") to, well, slower and folksier ("My Confessor"). Frame sings and plays acoustic guitar, with Andrew Luker on electric, Jeff Kologe on drums and Cynque Adams on bass.
Like many Americana ensembles, the Blessed Broke is a constantly rotating cast of characters with Frame at its center. For now, the group performs as a two-man band, with Frame and Luker both playing guitar.
Catch them this Sunday night.
The Blessed Broke plays at The Pistol (1219 Union) Sunday, December 20 at 8 p.m. with Bird Names, Spaniel and Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk.
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