By: David de Young
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Garth Morrisette and Ben Connelly of Frank Brownstone & Associates - Photo by David de Young
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This nerdy looking, middle-aged, gimmick-loving group of stuffed shirts could be the next hip pop group.
I first read about the trouble at the former investment banking firm, Frank Brownstone & Associates in The Star Tribune last month. Concerned, I perused their website (http://www.frankbrownstone.com), and saw a familiar face: Apparently a corporate headhunter had identified former Steeplejack, Ben Connelly, and the company had hired him on in the key position of lead guitarist for re-orged corporation, which was undergoing a drastic strategic transition from the financial services industry into the business of rock and roll. I immediately emailed FB&A’s Executive Vice President of Marketing, Anthony S. Mendoza and requested their statement of holdings, er press kit and CD.
The disc that arrived in my PO Box was full of solid, listenable pop, a recording that though far from groundbreaking was nevertheless a strong collection of enjoyable songs that would be welcome on any juke joint juke box or would be good company on a long drive home from work. The accompanying press release indicated that at an upcoming Station 4 show attendees might find that rare needlecraft item or “decorative canister of pasta” along with their CD at their merch booth (an intriguing marketing strategy!), so I vowed to attend the show.
I made the drive to St. Paul’s Station 4 and was 20 minutes late to the gig, forgetting that Station 4 is twice as far away from Minneapolis as is the Turf Club. I arrived during “Miracle Mile,” the final song from Frank Brownstone & Associate’s appropriately titled debut CD First Annual Report To Investors.
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Frank Browstone & Associates at Station 4
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It should be noted that, in the spirit of bands like Steely Dan, Mr. Bungle and Rilo Kiley, there is no band’s namesake in the band. Frank Brownstone was FB&A’s founder and former CEO, who fled to Bermuda after departing the company during the re-org to avoid an investigation into anomalies in record keeping and stock trading. Taking his place as head of the company/band is Garth Morrisette, new CEO, chief songwriter and lead vocalist, who in a press release said the band’s challenge was to “honor the corporate legacy left by Mr. Brownstone, while at the same time erasing that legacy from our music altogether.” Rounding out the new company are VP of Marketing, Tony Mendoza on vocals and bass, Steve Hurinenko on drums, and the aforementioned Mr. Connelly on lead guitar. (As an intriguing – and true! – scoop of music news, Mr. Connelly’s son Rocky recently appeared on stage with Green Day at the Excel Center and played guitar for one song. It should be noted that Rocky was the well behaved of the two young musicians invited up on stage by Green Day that evening, and is not to be confused with the one who smashed the bass and ended up getting thrown out of the venue.)
Though some of FB&A’s songs were plodding at times, the music was always reassuringly warm and steady. The timing of the show was nicely broken up by outtakes from the album, including a commercial for the new company. Towards the middle of the set, the song “Loud and Out of Tune” a ironic paean to a horrible corporate rock musician blended into a snippet of “Suspicious minds.”
In the spirit of local bands like The (formerly Olympic) Hopefuls, who rose to fame wearing matching track suits, FB&A wears matching, well, suits, of course. And not second hand mod-type suits with skinny ties, but boring, conservative, contemporary business suits with equally non-descript ties. As many of the band members are in their mid 40’s, you might have guessed this would create an interesting dynamic in the venue. While they were unloading, Morrisette told me, some members of the other bands wrongly thought they were the band’s managers or record executives of some sort instead of the opening band.
Okay, I know the corporate shtick is a gimmick, but it’s a fun gimmick. And the songs are good enough I can recommend both their CD and seeing them live with no reservations.
My verdict: Buy and hold.
Location Info:
Station 4
Artist Info: Frank Brownstone & Associates
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