Who are we?
The Frontier Brothers is an Austin based rock quartet. We are four in number. Please take a look at our attractive faces.
Brett Moses
Age: 22.
Instrument(s): Stage Piano (Nord Stage 72), Synthesizer (Alesis Micron), Harmonica, Tambourine
Personality: Energetic & inquisitive
Music fact: Secretly loves tween piano pop.
Marshall Galactic (Newman)
Instrument(s): Guitar (Gibson Les Paul Goldtop), Vocals
Personality: Mysterious, moody, and intense. Prone to strange periods of positivity.
Music fact: Lyrical style inspired by Steve Malkmus, Bukowski, and Cher
Travis Newman
Instrument(s): Drums (Proud owner of a pearly white Fibes kit. Go Austin!)
Personality: High intensity, congenial, competitive
Music fact: Could barely play the drums when he joined the band. Practices many hours a day. Now he’s a force to be reckoned with
Matt Hudson
Instrument(s): Bass (although he plays everyone’s instruments before practice)
Personality: Shy, funny, nerdy, hard-working
Music Fact: Plays in a million bands and still finds time for extensive video gaming. The newest member of the band.
How did we get started? (according to Brett)
Ignore the folk-lore, it isn’t true. The Frontier Brothers started much like any other band. Marshall and I were high school classmates and mutual music nerds trapped in Fort Worth, Texas. I was riding high on a reputation made in middle school talent shows, where I played my “original compositions,” an unholy combination of improvisational jazz and soothing Jim Brickman-esque piano pop. Marshall was the brooding guitar virtuoso sitting by his locker, wooing the girls.
Anyway, we didn’t play together until our junior year. We found ourselves stranded and miserable at ISAS, a fine-arts festival for arty preps. Someone (was it me?) had the bright idea that we collaborate for the talent show “coffee house.” In the span of an hour we composed “The Robot Song” and a lovely cover of Meatloafs “Bat out of hell (I would do anything for love).”
Surprisingly, the talent show performance was a mind-blowing success. Marshall signed the only breast of his entire career (as of yet!). We were a hit. Everyone was asking about our “band.” Well, I don’t know why but we landed on “The Frontier Brothers” for a band name. It’s not such a bad name, right? And I think it was fate. I’m about to tell you why.
The summer after we graduated, Marshall and I decided to get serious about the band. We wanted a drummer. We postered the town, High Fidelity style. The day before our scheduled audition with drummer Ned, a 35 year old father of 2, Marshall’s brother came home from college. He told us he wanted to play drums. Well, why the heck not? He wasn’t much of a drummer but he had killer musical instinct and we didn’t want any Neds in the band anyway. And so, two years after we formed “The Frontier Brothers,” Marshall’s real-life brother joined the The Frontier Brothers. Fate, right?
Fast forward three years. Our little hobby band has grown and matured into our lifelong passion and pursuit. We moved to Austin. We found Matt, our amazing bassist. And really, we’re doing pretty damn good! We’ve gone on quite a few national tours, rocking the big cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philly, Houston and the small towns: Victoria, TX, Winston-Salem, NC, Southbend, IN. We walked Bourbon street wrapped in shiny spandex for the sake of self-promotion. We parked our RV & Trailer in downtown New York (against all odds). We were featured in Spin Magazine. SPIN MAGAZINE! I still can’t believe it.
Okay, you’ve probably heard enough. Now here’s the pitch. We really, truly, deeply, irreversibly love this band. This is the mission of our lives. And the truth is, we’re going to keep doing this whether you like it or not. But, well, we hope you like it. It’s more fun that way.
-Brett