![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brandon.jpg\" "\\"Brandon\\"")
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Hosannas have just embarked on their “Gigantosaur Tour” (tour dates listed way below) and are coming to Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara next Tuesday, September 21st.\u00a0 We caught them<\/a> at the Muddy when they last played there in May.\u00a0 It’s rare when a band can wow you live when you haven’t heard a single song of theirs prior to attending, but wowed we were by the intelligence, complexity and delivery of this band and their songs.\u00a0 We highly recommend you attend next Tuesday at the Muddy, where the up-and-coming Gardens and Villa will open.\u00a0 Touring this time, Hosannas will be comprised only of brothers Brandon and Richard Laws, after a recent lineup change.\u00a0\u00a0 Coincident with the tour, on October 12th Hosannas will be releasing their new record “Together” (on their own label, Tree Farm, in partnership with HUSH), which was recorded, mixed and produced with John Askew in Portland at Scenic Burrows Studio and Type Foundry. \u00a0 To prepare, you can check out their great new song, When We Were Young, <\/em>off the new record here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In advance of their arrival, we caught up with Brandon Laws via email for the following interview:<\/p>\n The last time we saw you in Santa Barbara you were going to have your nose re-set the next day after a run-in a few nights prior in NorCal. \u00a0So how have those kick-boxing lessons and target-practices worked out for you in preparation for this tour?<\/strong><\/p>\n I still owe on those hospital bills… but at least the nose is straight now.\u00a0 In all seriousness we are skipping the venue where that happened.<\/p>\n You and your brother (and others) have been building on Hosannas for a few years. \u00a0How did you get into music and start up the band?\u00a0 Who or what influenced you to begin?\u00a0 Were you guys self-taught or guided?<\/strong><\/p>\n We didn’t have a particularly musical immediate family, I remember getting my first guitar when i was a teen and really into heavy metal.\u00a0 My mom is pretty conservative and I think that initially there was an aspect of rebellion to it… We have both studied music in college and on our own.\u00a0 Richard has been trained classically on upright bass and spent several years playing in jazz groups.\u00a0 I have spent many years in my bedroom making pretty weird pop music.<\/p>\n You grew up where, and then did you college or not?<\/strong><\/p>\n We are actually from Northern California (Sonoma County).\u00a0 And I went to UCSB.<\/p>\n Were you a Music major at UCSB or did you just take some classes?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was there for 3 years (graduated early) with a degree in Poli-Sci and a minor in Music.<\/p>\n Where did Richard college and is that where he studied classical bass and play jazz?\u00a0 Who are your and Richard\u2019s jazz faves, and can you point to any jazz-influenced moments in Hosannas?<\/strong><\/p>\n He studied privately from Mel Graves (who was then teaching at Sonoma State), and before that Richard went to Santa Rosa Community College where he took a bunch of music classes and got his AA. \u00a0We also both took private lessons for several years.\u00a0 Richard is a more heavily into jazz than I am.\u00a0 I’ve always really liked the stuff by Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus and less known stuff like Penguin Cafe Orchestra [Lefort:\u00a0 A great British chamber ensemble well worth checking out]. Richard isn’t with me or he would list a dozen or so jazz faves.\u00a0 We don’t really play jazz music, but we are definitely into improvisation, and we’ll be releasing a live e.p. next spring that has some pretty free moments on it.\u00a0 Jazz has always appeared in our music more in the live setting than on record.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read that the band has been influenced by Kraftwerk and Beach Boys, and we hear that.\u00a0 But what other influences, both old and recent, have helped to make up the Hosannas sound?\u00a0 How would you describe that sound?<\/strong><\/p>\n So many influences.\u00a0 Every album I’ve been really into has had an influence.\u00a0 As of late we have been listening to a lot of synth music from the Seventies like Tomita and Yellow Magic Orchestra. \u00a0 I’m also pretty into new electronic music like F!@#ck Buttons [Lefort:\u00a0 What is with all these new F-bomb entitled bands?] and Caribou.\u00a0 Overall there has been a lot of more traditional music mixed in too, a lot of Doo Wop and a great deal of foreign music.\u00a0 A lot of music from India is amazing.\u00a0 A couple years ago I found several boxes of cassette tapes from all over the world.\u00a0 We’ll usually bring 30 or so tapes along for tour and find something inspiring there.<\/p>\n The second part of that question is very difficult for me to answer.\u00a0 We have a brand new set for this tour that doesn’t share that much in common with what came before.\u00a0 More a cappella.\u00a0 But also more intense noisy stuff.<\/p>\n