PureVolume

From the heart of Texas, (yes, Dallas) the BURDEN BROTHERS are a big rock
band that have been making an impact since the release of their debut CD ,
Buried in Your Black Heart in 2004. The record was a touchstone, not only
rampant of radio play with tunes Shadow and Beautiful Night, but for well
received touring agendas with the likes of Velvet Revolver, Papa Roach and
Finger 11.

Formed by platinum-selling Toadies vocalist, Vaden Todd Lewis and acclaimed
drummer Taz Bentley (Reverend Horton Heat, Izzy Stradlin), the band was not
thinking big when it first started. We didnt even put a band together until after
the first CD was recorded, Bentley says. Vaden and I met back in the day when
the Toadies and the Rev would tour together. We talked about hooking up to
jam sometime. I eventually left the Rev and began writing songs of my own I
made plans to go to Seattle to record them with some friends there. Right before
I left, and I mean literally a few days before getting on the plane, I heard that
the Toadies had disbanded. I called Vaden and asked if he'd like to tag along
just to clear his head. Sure enough he did. We laid down about four tracks in
Seattle with Matt Cameron, Kim Thayill, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin. When
we got back to Dallas, we continued jamming and writing together, often with a
revolving group of other friends, and the Burden Brothers were born. The line
up now includes Zack Busby (bass), Casey Hess and Corey Rozzoni, both on
guitar. Now, The Burden Brothers have a brand spanking full length, simply titled
Mercy.

Mercy took a little over a year from pre-production to completion and its
immanent release. The band had just parted ways with their bassist and was in a
kind of limbo when pre-production started. Bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson (Gnarls
Barkely, Beck, Air, Ima Robot) was recruited for the LA recording sessions, but a
permanent bassist, Zack Busby would soon join after playing a few fill-in dates.
Busby recalls, "I was asked to join the band several months later on New Years'
Eve 2005, right before we took the stage in Fort Worth. Of course I said Yes."
Only a few of the songs on Mercy had been completely written and played live
before recording started. When the band entered the studio the majority of the
tracks were works in progress -- pieces of music with no lyrics. "By the end of
the recording of Mercy we had grown as a band and had the luxury of taking
time to let it become it's own animal. The results show it was worth the extra
time and effort. It was a great experience and a lesson in 'good things take
time'" says Rozzoni.

Grammy award winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, U2, Beck, Hole) was
tapped to produce the new album. "When I heard the Burden Brothers, I
thought this was a band with immense potential. I was instantly stuck by
Vaden's voice and the high energy of the band"
Chiccarelli recorded with the band in both Los Angeles and Dallas. But before the
tracks were mixed, a handful of new tracks had already been written. David
Castell (Blue October, Edie Brickell) was brought in to finish the record. The
additional time and recording sessions gave the band a chance to try some new
ideas on the previous tracks and really open things up.
M ercy shows a band that has grown in depth and diversity, as well a band not
afraid to take chances. Lewis says "My favorite records have always been the
ones that took risks, that weren't afraid to try different approaches to a common
theme. This is what we were going for with Mercy. We strove to cover a lot of
ground between the loud and angry punch of 'I am a Cancer' and the somber
and wistful feel of 'Life Between'." "This kind of approach may surprise a few of
our fans, but I think this is an album that they can listen to for a long time."
Rozzoni adds "I feel like I gave birth... to a 7 headed child with schizophrenia!"
"It's like a good movie. It has it's nice, sweet part; it's deep, thought provoking
part; it's dark, brooding part; it has the car chase. It's all there."
The songs and themes in Mercy combine to create a story of, both, love and
loss, hope and despair. A good chunk of the lyrics were based on stories told to
me by someone very close to me-- stories about giving up on society and hitting
the road. Forgetting everything you were brought up to believe, then somehow
finding out what you are at your core. This is a very special record for me,
Lewis says. He continues, While this record may be much different than
Buried, the purpose of the live shows hasn't changed one bit. We set out to
bring it every night, everywhere, everytime, no matter what. We want people to
get their money's worth, to have a good time, so we strive for that. This band
has some serious live experience under our belts, both collectively and
individually, and it's what we grew up doing.
It's what we live for, closes Busby.

The Burden Brothers Mercy, featuring the single, Everybody is Easy
(we sink / we swim), will be released on Kirtland Records on October 31, 2006.