Brandon Bristow Rivermouth           BRANDON EARL BRISTOW


Brandon Bristow has been wryly commenting on the human condition from the moment he could strum a guitar chord.

Right out of high school, B.B. formed “Slight Return,” a heavy, all original rock band that played  the coast from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. There were some hard personnel changes through the years  yielding the “Agave Blues” band and the “Three Laws of Motion” band, during which B.B. honed his skills as a producer and songwriter.

Today, Brandon’s  projects and  bands feature his full name right up front, citing the “if you want something done right” philosophy.

Born in the early seventies, in Ojai, California, to a family that would not let the 60’s go down without a fight, Brandon always understood peace and love to be the highest achievement, yet it was anger that fueled his desire to say what needed to be said. “From the fates of nations to our daily interactions, we as a whole are getting it very wrong, music is one powerful medium and a poke in the eye is all some folks seem to understand”. says Bristow while sipping his morning coffee comfortably behind the glass in his full service (invite only) recording studio in Oakhurst, CA, now dubbed Rivermouth HQ.

Utilizing his connections in the surfing community, B.B. has  produced  about twenty  songs and custom tracks for 3 different surf films from this High Sierra mountain vantage point   “ABSOLUTE MEXICO” by Josh Pomer, “LIVE” (A Surfing and Music Experience) by David Parsa, and “LONGBOARD HABIT”(surfing without a cure) a  Burnt Toast/Katz Eye production by Rich Lehrer & Paul Katz. Brandon freely admits his first love to be surfing and has been a full-time free surfer for 30+ years; the surfing, an escape, while the music was to become his main connection to the outside world, which Brandon has seen fit to keep at a “reasonable distance” which places him squarely on a mountaintop, in the ocean or on the stage.

It is from this distance that this self-described “EARTH CENTRIC LONGBOARDER with SERIOUS RECLUSE POTENTIAL”  launches into his trademark vocal meditation on the powers that be. Character-driven songs inform us to be wary of religious and political agendas at play in today’s America with a clear and present persona that is always inviting the listener to remember how good it feels to join up with the side of peaceful conservation. “Sometimes you have to paint a pretty dark picture in order to underline how important it is to be loving and kind to one another.”

B.B. delivers his all original songs  in an acoustic “unplugged” format often with the help of Bart Williams on percussion  and David Parsa on guitar. “Honesty in music is nothing short of magic and the feeling is nothing short of religious.” We are very interested in tapping into true life and natural source energy,” psychedelic?……. sure.   After a brief time working for Malibu-based Higher Octave Records (a then owned Virgin Records “smooth jazz“ label) as an assistant to their chief producer William Aura (Third Force), B.B. has proudly declared his creative independence  and  has released two albums simultaneously  in 2007 “FREEDOM CHANGES MEANING” with long-time friend/musician and film producer, David Parsa, and “RIVERMOUTH.” Featuring a huge variety of musical styles and  loads of guest musicians, RIVERMOUTH is an audio scrapbook of the last ten years as an active singer/songwriter/producer.

Brandon Bristow is presently working on his third official release tentatively titled “SOLIMAR“ and planning a fierce “all out gigathon” for the summer of 2009.
 
Past short run releases on cassette and CD-R include:
Slight Return - Past Present
Agave Blues-Planet Wide
The Ocean View Sessions with Davey Miller
Agave Blues - the Bald Street Recordings
                                                                                       
Present independent commercial CD releases  include:
“FREEDOM CHANGES MEANING” Brandon Bristow & David Parsa 2007
“RIVERMOUTH” Brandon Bristow 2007

 

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