Sibling Sounds

In just three days they recorded their Heavy Days album and for years Jake Orrall only played a three-stringed guitar. “I think I'm close to exhausting all the possibilities with that, although I could add another string I guess,” he laughs.

Jake (vocals, guitars) and brother Jamin (drums) have been a leading tour de force of Nashville's burgeoning indie rock scene; if the Tennessee capital is the stronghold of sweaty, neo-punk rock, JEFF The Brotherhood are the reigning champions. “I don't really think about the competition or being the best as I focus on the music, touring and writing new material,” he tells.

For over ten years, the brothers have exerted time, energy and a lot of damn patience to move away from a DIY work ethic to one that enlists a bit of outside support; support that arrived thanks to the record deal signed between JEFF and Warner Brothers Music in May 2012. Their first release under the major label umbrella was their seventh studio album Hypnotic Nights, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. The album coincided with a performance on the Late Show With David Letterman. Despite shifting from minor to mainstream, he says little has changed with their musical exploits. “Apart from having access to more resources and having more money, nothing's changed,” he laughs.

Well, that's not strictly true. “A few years ago if we wanted a saxophone player to appear on our album we couldn't afford one. We're now in a position to call upon an array of musicians. It's having access to all these people that has probably changed the most,” he tells.

Another thing he's noticed is the amount of 'real work' required. “We have to do more promotion and more interviews for the likes of radio. It's more of the regular shit than we're used to.”

But who are JEFF The Brotherhood? Depending on the source, the brothers are either a pair of party-hungry prowlers or serious musicians renowned for tight compositions and songwriting with a feverish reputation for live performance. “I think we fit in somewhere in the middle. We're not very serious. We're just normal people in a rock band who like to have fun playing music. There's not much more to say really.”

That rock reference has tilts towards indie/punk pop, albeit the rawer edged indie pop – think the brisk sounds of Weezer with the larrikin attitude of any conventional rock band. They also come armed with an impressive repertoire of psychedelic punk rock and pop, delivered with humour and rollicking good style.

They also work hard – they've played all over the globe and arranged tours without the assistance of a designated tour manager. Jake reckons they managed to perform at around 200-250 shows a year, have recorded eight albums in ten years and released swag of EPs. What's more remarkable is for nearly nine of those years they achieved most of it with few dollars and resources. It's DIY music management at its crudest. “I'd like to think that hard work pays off but we also got lucky,” he says.

“It's like any normal brother relationship, the only difference is that ours is a working relationship. There is conflict of course but there's conflict in any relationship.”

So 2013 is shaping up to be another bumper year, although there's a caveat. “We're hoping to tour less and write more as there's no time to write on the road. I'd also like to think that we'll be more successful this year, although we could get dropped by our label – you never know. That's the nature of this business,” he says.