Interview Sat May 03 2008

Now or Never

By Jason Behrends

At the age of 24, Chicago's Brendan Losch has already accomplished a great deal. He just self-released his second full length album, Until We Meet Again, and is dedicated to recording a song a week throughout the year. He also run the fantastic music blog, Count Me Out, and has opened for many successful acts including Bowerbirds, Nicole Atkins, The Dodos, Woven Hand, and others. On June 23rd he will open for friend and fellow talented musician Michael Nau (a.k.a. Cotton Jones Basket Ride) at Schuba’s.

When I saw Brendan had released his new album I felt it was the perfect time to ask him a few questions.

JB: You recently released your second LP, Until We Meet Again. What can you tell about this album?
BL: Yes, I have. Well first I’d like to say that it is currently available on iTunes and a limited supply of homemade copies are available at shows. This album is basically a collection of some lo-fi demos that I have recorded/released over the past year or so. Originally I was planning to re-record most of these tunes, but they were sounding a little forced and they just didn't seem to have the "spunk" that the original recordings had. I don't know, I dig it, hopefully others will too.

JB: How is the "song a week" challenge going? Has this been a bigger challenge then you anticipated?
BL: It’s coming along pretty well. I know the whole idea has been done before, but I definitely think it's helping me become a better songwriter. Unfortunately it's not as structured as I’d like it to be, for example sitting down every Tuesday night and spending time on it, but then again, the creative juices aren't also flowing. So yeah, overall, I’m happy with most of the songs that have come out. I’ve even played a few in the live set.

JB: You also run the music blog Count Me Out. Why a blog? You know what they say about bloggers, right?
BL: No, I don't know what they say. That we're crazy and have too much time on our hands. Why a blog? Why not a blog, I say. To be honest, I don't know why I didn't start one earlier. I’ve been searching music blogs for years and always, in one way or another, have talked about music in my own personal blogs. But yeah, I’m enjoying it and I hope others are as well. I’m definitely paying more attention to music, as a whole, these days and i think that's pretty sweet.

JB: The Great Society Mind Destroyers... It sounds like you have either joined a cult or the cast of a reality TV show. What's the true story?
BL: The Great Society Mind Destroyers is a group that I have recently joined that consists of a few Chicago land singer/songwriters. The initial plan/idea was to work on each other’s songs and learn how each of us go about the process. So yeah, we do that and just jam a lot. We hope to be playing shows in the near future, once thing get a little more organized. However, I believe there is going to be a name change and the gsmd is going to turn into another project, which is basically going to be a noise band.

JB: What are you listening to these days?
BL: This is always a tough question for me because it's constantly changing. i just listened to the new raconteurs album and think it's pretty great, along with the upcoming fleet foxes and my morning jacket albums. I’ve also been listening to Neil Young - live at Massey hall 1971 a lot.

JB: Reading...
BL: Hmm, well I love to read, but I’m such a bad reader. I usually tend to start a book, get half way through, and then not come back to it for some time. Some recent examples would be: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, and Bob Dylan's "Chronicles"

JB: Favorite Chicago Venue?
BL: There are a bunch of quality venues in Chicago, but I’d probably go with Schubas, both to play at and to view a show at.

JB: Favorite flavor of Snapple?
BL: Hmm, to be honest, I haven't had a Snapple in quite some time, but I believe I always used to enjoy the Pink Lemonade

JB: What's next for Brendan Losch?
BL: Definitely more songs and shows in the Midwest. I eventually plan to tour, but just can't afford to right now. Definitely constant Count Me Out updates. I’ll also be working with another band, Bullets in Madison, in the near future as a multi-instrumentalist, definitely looking forward to that. So yeah, that's about all for now.

[mp3] Brendan Losch - Now or Never

For more information on Brendan Losch please visit his personal blog, but don't forget to check out Count Me Out. Brendan will be opening for Cotton Jones Basket Ride at Schuba's on June 23rd @ 9:00pm tickets are $8.