55thandBrooklyn is a hip hop/rock group composed of five friends who came together at the University of Washington to jam and have been playing together in various groups ever since. After seeing them play live, it was apparent that each of the band members come from different musical backgrounds. This aspect of a band, in my opinion, can be one of the biggest driving forces in creating really good and unique music.
Each member of the band brought something different to the table and as a group, 55thandBrooklyn is able to blend the styles seamlessly to create quality tunes. There was never a dull moment in their set and they definitely know how to have a good time with their music. If I can tell the band is thoroughly enjoying themselves when playing live, it is the cherry on top and makes me appreciate their music that much more.
I got to hang out with the band for a bit after their practice last week to have a quick chat and to ask them some questions. Check it out:
TVD: How did 55thandBrooklyn come together?
55th (Peter Muller): Whitney and I have been playing together for about four years. As memebers of HMC (Husky Music Community) there was a lack of opportunities at UW for student musicians, it is hard to find gigs, places to practice, and other resources. Musicians in our fraternity would play in our jam room so we started to play shows there and played as the house band. Some of the HMC artists were featured in The Daily (UW student newspaper) and started getting more attention that way. 55thandbroklyn started as a blog with electronic looping, a lot of the songs we play today started with those old tracks.
55th (Whitney Killian): The songs on the blog started really digitalized and we have worked on translating them into more of a live sound.
TVD: What do you see in the future for the band?
55th (Peter): Music would be fun to do as a career but for right now we do it because we love it. We don’t just want to make the music that the industry wants to hear. We are student musicians and not music students which makes it more difficult. With possible changes within the band, there will eventually be more synthesized drums.
TVD: If you could collaborate with any group or musician who would it be?
55th (Austin Silva): Yanni – I think we could all agree on that.
55th (Peter Muller): Another group like us. Macklemore, Kid Cudi, Sublime. Whitney’s such a good vocalist that we don’t need to collaborate with a singer.
TVD: What are you listening to now?
55th: Dyno Jamz, Mumford and Sons, Macklemore. I think Ryan Lewis has a unique way of producing that sounds really good. Common Market, Blue Scholars, Tom Pepe (Knowmads), Stefan Paul George, the Avett Brothers.
TVD: What have been some of your favorite concert memories?
55th (Eric Thesen): Warped Tour when I was really young, getting rag-dolled in the mosh pit.
55th (Peter): Seeing Paul McCartney, Ben Harper, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eddie Vedder play “Let It Be” at the Bridge School Benefit Concert.
55th (Austin): My first concert was Van Halen and I only knew one song and remember waiting the whole time to hear it. After the concert we were waiting for my dad to pick us up and some old lady mooned us.
TVD: What’s your favorite record store in Seattle?
55th: Easy Street Records, Neptune Music Company
TVD: One of my favorite questions…what are some favorite trends from the 90s?
55th: Acid wash, Pokémon, scrunchies, Spice Girls, the Mariners, Third Eye Blind.
55th and Brooklyn – “So Close to Christmas”
Thanks to 55thandBrooklyn for spending some time with me! Stay updated with the band and check out their Facebook and their blog full of music.
