Strange Brew: Band reveals new drummer

That's the guy, on the right: Aaron Zaroulis.

It didn’t look or feel like a Monday night at the Grog, especially one in the dead of winter. The place was packed, the base coming out hard to give The Brew a proper sendoff for its national tour to support “A Garden in the Snow” and “Light from Below,” the first two discs from “Triptych,” an insanely ambitious three-disc unboxed boxed set.  Final tweaks for the third are going on now, for "Hard Enough to Break,” the third album, for those of you keeping score. By this point, everyone had heard the big news. Kelly Kane, the Brew brother, charter member, who had been with the band since the beginning, fresh out of high school, back to the Blue Fungus Brew days more than a decade ago, would not be joining the band on this stomp through the country, and, in fact, had played his last date with the band, and would be hanging up his drumsticks for a while. Why? Sorry, no big scoop here. No personality clashes or creative differences or pilfering or girlfriend stealing. Simple economics. For an emerging band, touring requires a financial as well as a personal and artistic commitment. It costs money, in other words, and when you have a mortgage to deal with, taking off a month and hitting the road, bringing the music to the people can be, well, let’s just say that sometimes the romance of the road sometimes bumps up against some ugly realities. 

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Big news Brewing for Amesbury rockers

Wow, they've been sitting on this for months now, not saying a word, despite endless badgering from reporter-types, and unauthorized posters offering more than they could deliver, but they promised it would be the most ambitious project they've ever been involved in, but something they just couldn't talk about, even though you could tell they were dying to spill it — and it turns out that they were telling the truth: Next month, the Brew will release "A Garden in the Snow," the first title of a three-disc, 30-plus song collection called  "Triptych. The other two albums — "Light From Below" and "Hard Enough To Break" — will officially drop in December.  The albums will be released in separate shows in three venues in two states.  Word is that "Triptych" is composed of three interlocking sets of songs that compress the many influences and experiences of the Amesbury-based quartet, which has been gigging and writing together since forming nearly a decade ago in Amesbury. "A Garden in the Snow" is an impressionistic, indie-rock album that explores the possibilities of song craft without restrictions.   "Light From Below"  is the heavier-hitting release of the project, reflecting the band's commitment to live, improvisational rock — and includes a blistering cover of  Led  Zeppelin's "Going to California," paying homage to Zep while making the song their own.  "Hard Enough to Break," the third album, showcases the band's  obsession with the golden age of FM radio, paying tribute to the pop form with tight arrangements that pay tribute to pop form, while maintaining the band’s passion for going all in. All of "Triptych" features The Brew’s notable use of three- and four-part vocal harmonies, situational lyrics and fat-ass hooks. The albums will be released on the band’s Riverwood Records label. All three albums are available on the band's web, as is a detailed tour schedule, but here's are the bare-knuckle facts, down and dirty: "A Garden in the Snow" comes out Nov. 4  at The Brighton Music Hall, which, despite its name, is in Allston. "Light From Below" will be released on Dec. 9th at Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine. "Hard Enough to Break" will have a local release on Dec. 17, when the band turns up at the at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury.

What's new with the Brew? Lots, but ...

Saturday afternoon, downtown Newburyport, a sweltering summer day. The air thick, oppressive. It’s a zoo. The streets lousy with tourists and vendors, the air thick with the greasy stink of fried dough. The day-long Riverfront Music Festival will begin in about an hour. Chris Plante, the keyboard player for the Brew, is hustling through Market Square, a tight, focused but weary expression on his face, obviously dragging ass. No, the Brew, the homegrown band Plante has been performing with for nearly a decade, a quartet that will be opening for rock legend Gregg Allman next month in Lowell, will not be playing the Port festival. Lucky for them. The boys were just hours past their last gig at the Spot Underground in Providence at 2 a.m. By the time their trusty tour bus, a Dodge Sprinter that sometimes doubles as wiffle ball field, as fans of Brew video blogs know, pulled into their driveway in Newburyuport, the sun was coming out, giving the band a couple of hours to decompress and grab a little shut-eye before dealing with the brutal, life-and-death struggle for a parking spot and a table at Joe's in this madness and, of course, dancing around questions from the local press about the band's next album. His brother, Brew bassist Joe Plante, who just stepped over the low fence into the dining area, is ready to help out. Bottom line? Yeah, it's been three years since "Back to the Woods" dropped and, yeah, they say, the band is about due for a new album and something is happening, something really big, in fact, "the most important thing we've ever done," says Chris Plante, but ... well, they can't talk about it right now. There will be an announcement by the end of the summer. Brother Joe backs him up. "It's the biggest thing to happen to us," he says. But, but ... "We just can’t talk about it." There's a tired grin on brother Chris' face. Tease! He admits it. "Yup." But says he doesn't enjoy it. "Seriously," he says. "We just can't say anything about it right now."

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