You know that feeling of pleasant surprise when you finally open a jar lid that's stuck? That's what the latest EP (titled IIIP) is for Briefcase, a Minneapolis based rock trio, they say that the release is a cathartic pinnacle, capturing the complexities of the past few years through each band member's experiences (each contributed a tune). Influences are far ranging depending on who you ask -- Pavement, BRMC, The Clean, black metal, even U2.

We were keen to find out more about the band so had a chat and covered some interesting topics including their local music scene, their corrupt police department, first gigs, earliest musical memories, renting Bon Iver’s cabin and their dream festival lineup, for all of this great stuff and way more, carry on reading!

We know you’re a trio, we know that you’re based in Minneapolis and we know that you refer to yourselves as a ‘friendly neighbourhood rock band’, please tell me something about a member of the band that you’ve never told anyone before

Jeff manages a spreadsheet tracking the setlists of every single show U2 has ever played. There, I’m glad that it's finally out there…

 

You’re from Minneapolis, please describe the music scene there for me

I can’t compare it to scenes in other cities, but from an indie rock perspective, it’s extremely healthy and diverse. There is no shortage of musical talent or their appetite for wider appeal, and so there’s a number of bands that have recently broken out like the Gully Boys, Dad Bod, Bad Bad Hats or Bugsy to name a small fraction. Of course there’s also the sage’s of the scene that have taken different forms over the years, from Muun Bato to the Orange Goodness, that continue to churn out impressive material. Overall, we feel very lucky to be able to go out and watch these bands play whenever we want, nonetheless play gigs with them.

 

Please feel free to drop a few names of local music venues that are doing their bit to keep the local music scene going

First Avenue (of Prince fame) is the mothership but it’s the smaller venues that allow the scene to cross-pollinate and grow. We’ve lost a few venues over the past decade, but legacy bars like Turf Club, 331 Club, Acadia, Mortimer’s, Palmer’s, Terminal and newer ones like The White Squirrel have helped keep the scene vibrant and expanding.

 

I’ll admit, being someone who didn’t study Geography at school, I didn’t know where Minneapolis was, I have now educated myself and see that it’s sandwiched between North & South Dakota and Wisconsin, tell me something great about living there?

Ummm… the local music scene! But outside of arts/culture, being in the land of +10,000 lakes means plenty of year-round outdoor options. The three of us are big skiers/snowboarders and try to shred together at least once a season. During the summer, it seems like there’s a music/arts festival every weekend, so we’re covered.

 

And what sucks about living there?

Personally, we don't have much to complain about since we're healthy and talking to you about playing music with our friends for fun.
But, when it comes to education, health care markers, and employment, Minneapolis has some of the highest disparities between its white population and its indigenous and people of colour in the country.

Do bands tend to play in Minneapolis when they tour the USA or do you have to travel to other cities?

We’re not NYC but most acts come through here. We are far enough from the next large market that smaller bands, acts without a large crossover audience and international acts often stay within the four hour radius of Chicago. My biggest beef is with Radiohead who haven’t played here in 25 years.

 

Would you say that you all come from musical families? If so, who played/plays what instruments?

My (Brian) mom was a guitar player ala Carpenter’s covers; Meleck’s dad is a singer and his mom plays piano; Jeff’s mom played jazz standards on the piano while his dad watched baseball games.

 

At what age did you become interested in music and particularly being in a band?

I had no intention of ever starting a band until a few of us started messing around with a friend’s instruments in his basement one day years ago — which led to songs, then shows and a record. After that band dissolved, I realized I had an itch that could only be satisfied by creating music with other people.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

My dad popping Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” on the the (new) CD player back in ’83. Mind = blown.

 

Do you remember your first live gig (as a customer?) If so, please tell me who it was, where you saw them, who you attended with and any memories from the show

Technically, not my first, but the earliest and most influential concert was when I saw Pavement play Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium in 1993. I think Stereolab opened for them. But I remember crowd surfing up and onto the stage and was standing there next to Malkmus and Spiral Stairs in shock. They stared at me then said, “Are you gonna jump or what?” and so I stage dove onto the outstretched arms of the first few rows. I think whenever you have an early musical experience like that you tend to put that band on a pedestal, which is the case with them for me. I mean, my dog’s name is Malkmus.

For Meleck it was the Commodores. They had ridiculously swantastic outfits and a fog machine which seemed magical to three year old me.

For Jeff it was Third Eye Blind and the Bodeans at the MN state fair. He was a late bloomer.

 

You released the EP on 17th January, I see that you played The White Squirrel Bar on 21 Jan with support from Goodbye Mordecai and Alley Mattress, how did the evening go? Did things get messy?

It’s not a rock show unless things get a little messy! It was a helluva great night that almost didn’t happen. Things were tentative due to the Omicron surge, then a snowstorm, and Meleck was delayed flying back from Detroit that day (he showed up an hour before we played). But it was great to have a full house celebrating all the work that went into IIIp and excitement around the new tunes.

I loved the flyer that you created for the show, do you create these yourselves or do you have a resident artist amongst the hordes of followers that lends their services when required?

Meleck is our resident illustrator who not only designed the gig flyer, but also the IIIp album cover and band t-shirts. Jeff’s our accountant and I think I’m the project manager… haha.

The idea behind your latest EP “IIIP” is conceptual in its predetermination that each member would write and contribute a tune, was this the case with the final product or did you all actively get involved in each other’s tracks?

We’re all songwriters in the band so it was an opportunity to surface that uniqueness by deciding to approach the EP that way. At the end of the day we’re still a band, so we all weighed in on the tracks — guitar solos, adding/eliminating instrumentation, vocals — but the structure and overall aesthetic of the three tunes never changed. I’d like to think that they are reflective of each of our styles yet very complimentary to our collective sound.

The EP was mixed and mastered by Adam Plantenberg, have you worked with Adam before? If not, would you work with him again?

Adam is an extremely talented friend of the band’s and a drummer (formerly of The Invincible Kids)  — Hopefully he’ll work with us again after this last batch. Ha!

Have you all been playing your respective instruments for the same time or are there members who were born with a guitar/drumkit in their nursery?

Jeff and Meleck are both multi-instrumentalists and have some musical training under their belts. On the flip side, I didn’t pick up a guitar until my college roommate taught me a few folk songs and then I learned the rest by listening to records and figuring out chords and songs by ear. Jeff was born a violinist and guitar player so he learned bass to play in Briefcase. Meleck is first and foremost a serious drummer with chops but has no problem cranking out tunes on a guitar or keys.

You also joked about renting Bon Iver’s cabin for a week, do you feel that if he agreed to let you do this, you would magically write a bunch of songs in a week?

It’s worth a shot! Why, do you know him?? We constantly talk about spending a weekend at a cabin to write/record but have thus far been thwarted by pandemics and family duties. We do have at least another EP of unrecorded old tunes that we’re trying to figure out what to do with, while trying to accommodate newer material that continues to flow. It’ll all come out eventually in some form or another.

I see that the band actually formed in 2014, that’s 8 years ago, if you have released three EP’s in three years, what were you up to for the other five years? Perfecting your sound and look? 

Ha… well technically the first few years were Jeff and I hanging out in his garage and noodling around song ideas. Meleck joined us a couple years later and that’s when we formed Briefcase. I’ll take “perfecting our sound” over “slow moving beast” to define that timeline any day…

If you were asked to nominate 3 acts to headline a major music festival, who would you choose and why? They can be dead or alive….

Jeff - Courtney Barnett and Angel Olsen covering The Hold Steady, or the other way around

Meleck - Snarky Puppy with Metropole Orkest featuring Kathleen Battle, Genesis from 1975, or PFunk from 1978.

Brian - Led Zeppelin

We’re off to the pub, what are you guys drinking?

Brian, a Schlitz (local cheap beer); Jeff, a glass of red table wine; Meleck, a Meleck-tini (aka an exceptionally strong dirty martini).

You all bring something different to the table, indie (Brian), blues rock (Jeff), and metal (Meleck), do you ever disagree over how a new track should sound?

Often. We’re coming from three different places trying to accommodate three different tastes, while adhering to what we believe the Briefcase sound to be. But more often than not it’s healthy creative discussion not argument. We went back and forth on “Case for Darkness” quite a bit because it was sonically so different than the rest of our tunes — at one point it was much more layered with guitar feedback and louder drums, but eventually ended up with the more pared back version along with some brilliant modifications by Adam.

I often find that bands with multiple musical interests get along far better than ones that share the same interests, do you agree?

I think diversity of musical experience and creative taste is important for producing compelling songs. If you’re all massive Wilco fans you’re probably more likely to create a poor derivative version of “War on War” than something that is more uniquely yours.

Let’s talk about influences for a moment, you share a range of genres, which acts and bands of these genres have helped to shape your sound?

You’ll likely get three different answers here! We decided a while ago that we’d be a three-piece garage band, and what comes with that are parameters that force you to get creative within those confines. So you wear your influences on your shoulder while you work to create with what you have. Pavement, The Black Keys, The Clean, Surf City, Luna, Creeper Lagoon are all continuing to influence what I write.

Meleck: It depends on the songs, because at this point there is such a large and rich catalog to draw from. For this e.p. I was pulling from Rick James, Watain, The Strokes, Angel Olsen,Toro y Moi–and if I’m honest, the Brothers Johnson’s version of Strawberry Letter 23.

Jeff: Meleck introduces me to new artists all the time like Emma Ruth Rundle. For this album I was listening to a lot of her, Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, and Real Estate.

Have any of you ever met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go?

I know Jeff’s touched the hem of Bono’s jacket and I’ve accosted Malkmus on the sidewalk before a gig in Mpls. I think both meetings fall into the category of mundane for anyone not a superfan of those two, but qualify as life affirming for us. Bottom line is they were both cool and gentle dealing with our fawning so that bolsters their status even more.

Meleck met the Brand New Heavies at a club years ago and they were thoroughly unimpressed with my stammering–but they were nattily dressed so that left a mark.

 

Tell me your best joke…. 

A magician walks down an alley and turns into a bar.

What’s next for Briefcase? More live shows? festivals? Another EP? Tell me everything!

We have a number of shows lined up this spring and summer, and will hopefully get up to Bon Iver’s cabin and lay down some tracks for EP4. :-)

 

There are a ton of social media sites out there, what are the best ones to use to keep up to date with your musical happenings?

I think we’re most active on Instagram. We’re not spring chickens over here so it’s hard for us to keep up with all that on the daily.

 

Lastly, would you rather have X-Ray vision or the ability to make yourself invisible?

Brian: I’m an introvert (usually) so give me invisibility.

Meleck: Invisibility. Agreed, X-ray vision seems like the lecherous choice.

Jeff: Invisibility. Clothes and stuff are there for a reason.

 

We’d like to thank Brian, Jeff and Meleck for taking the time to chat with us and wish them every success with their recently released EP and many more (messy) gigs that are in the pipeline. I’ve listed a few of their social media sites below, please pop in and say hello, give them some likes, some shares and some love, these guys deserve your attention and if you’re ever in the Minneapolis area, why not look them up and see if they’re playing any shows, they’d LOVE to see you there, see the question above about what they drink!

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