The Belle Brigade
Encyclopedia
The Belle Brigade is an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Barbara Gruska (born c. 1983) on guitar, drums, and vocals, and her younger brother Ethan Gruska (born c. 1989) on guitar, piano, and vocals. The duo released its first album, The Belle Brigade, in 2011 to positive critical response.
. Their great-grandfather was Raymond Scott
Quintet drummer Johnny Williams
, and other relatives also worked as professional drummers. Barbara Gruska studied jazz drumming at Oberlin College
and CalArts
and drummed for performers such as Jenny Lewis
and Inara George
. Ethan also studied at CalArts. While giving birth to Ethan, their mother, Jenny Williams Gruska, suffered a stroke; she recovered, and her story became the basis for a 1994 NBC
television film entitled A Time to Heal
(for which their father wrote the music) and later for their song "Lucky Guy".
Barbara and Ethan began a band together in 2008. Their first album, The Belle Brigade, was produced by Matthew Wilder
and released on Reprise Records
in April 2011. The duo has toured with such acts as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
, G. Love & Special Sauce
, k.d. lang
, Dawes
, and Blitzen Trapper
.
and Simon & Garfunkel, has been described as having roots in the classic California pop rock and country sounds of groups like Fleetwood Mac
and The Flying Burrito Brothers
as well as The Beatles
. Ethan Gruska has said that their strongest influence is Paul Simon
's solo work.
Their debut album has received critical attention and praise. Los Angeles Times
music writer Randall Roberts described their album as "a dozen California pop gems" and said of their first single, "Losers": "A defiant, classically structured song about being sick of social games, pretense and irony, "Losers" feels like one of those works of alienation that's existed forever, one that would ring true just as clearly had it been released in 1957 or 1974." L.A. Times record reviewer Mikael Wood called the album "the sound of a record nerd’s dream come to messy, muscular life." Newsday
critic Glenn Gamboa referred to their "doe-eyed innocence . . . that makes their sun-kissed '70s SoCal sound even more appealing." Paste
reviewer Alexandra Fletcher listed their song "Where Not to Look for Freedom" as one of her "10 New Songs For The 2011 Summer". And El Paso Times
reviewer Doug Pullen called the album "charming, compelling, timeless and inspiring—and worthy of repeated listening" and said it was his "favorite album this year."
They also feature a song on the Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 Soundtrack
, "I Didn't Mean It."
Biography
The Gruskas come from a musical family. Their father, Jay Gruska, is a movie and television composer, and their grandfather is multiple-Oscar-winning composer John WilliamsJohn Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
. Their great-grandfather was Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
Quintet drummer Johnny Williams
Johnny Williams (drummer)
Johnny Williams was an American jazz drummer and percussionist from the early 1930s to the late 1950s...
, and other relatives also worked as professional drummers. Barbara Gruska studied jazz drumming at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and CalArts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
and drummed for performers such as Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis
Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
and Inara George
Inara George
Inara Maryland George is a Los Angeles, California-based singer-songwriter, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark...
. Ethan also studied at CalArts. While giving birth to Ethan, their mother, Jenny Williams Gruska, suffered a stroke; she recovered, and her story became the basis for a 1994 NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television film entitled A Time to Heal
A Time to Heal (film)
A Time to Heal is a 1994 TV movie starring Nicollette Sheridan, Gary Cole and Mara Wilson....
(for which their father wrote the music) and later for their song "Lucky Guy".
Barbara and Ethan began a band together in 2008. Their first album, The Belle Brigade, was produced by Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known for his 1983 Top 5 hit, "Break My Stride"....
and released on Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
in April 2011. The duo has toured with such acts as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is an American rock band from Waitsfield, Vermont.-Career:Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' lead vocalist is multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter, who attended St. Lawrence University for two years before pursuing music professionally...
, G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce is an alternative hip-hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" blues sound that encompasses classic R&B. The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G...
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Dawes
Dawes (band)
Dawes is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, composed of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, along with Wylie Gelber and Tay Strathairn...
, and Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental alternative country/folk band signed to Sub Pop Records. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a sextet, with Eric Earley , Erik Menteer , Brian Adrian Koch , Michael VanPelt , and Marty Marquis...
.
Critical response
The Belle Brigade's music, marked by harmonies reminiscent of The Everly BrothersThe Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
and Simon & Garfunkel, has been described as having roots in the classic California pop rock and country sounds of groups like Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
and The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
as well as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Ethan Gruska has said that their strongest influence is Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's solo work.
Their debut album has received critical attention and praise. Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
music writer Randall Roberts described their album as "a dozen California pop gems" and said of their first single, "Losers": "A defiant, classically structured song about being sick of social games, pretense and irony, "Losers" feels like one of those works of alienation that's existed forever, one that would ring true just as clearly had it been released in 1957 or 1974." L.A. Times record reviewer Mikael Wood called the album "the sound of a record nerd’s dream come to messy, muscular life." Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
critic Glenn Gamboa referred to their "doe-eyed innocence . . . that makes their sun-kissed '70s SoCal sound even more appealing." Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
reviewer Alexandra Fletcher listed their song "Where Not to Look for Freedom" as one of her "10 New Songs For The 2011 Summer". And El Paso Times
El Paso Times
The El Paso Times is the English-language newspaper for the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas. The paper was founded in 1881 by Marcellus Washington Carrico. It originally started out as a weekly but within a year's time, it became the daily newspaper for the frontier town.The newspaper has a daily...
reviewer Doug Pullen called the album "charming, compelling, timeless and inspiring—and worthy of repeated listening" and said it was his "favorite album this year."
They also feature a song on the Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 Soundtrack
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (soundtrack)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. It is the fourth soundtrack in the saga's chronology, and was released on November 8, 2011. The soundtrack is once again produced by...
, "I Didn't Mean It."
External links
- Official website
- "The Belle Brigade: A Biography" at Paradigm Talent AgencyParadigm Talent AgencyParadigm is a full service entertainment agency based in Beverly Hills, with offices in New York, Monterey and Nashville, and is considered be one of the "Big Five" US talent agencies...
website