Portland Press Herald – GO!
2/18/10
“10 to Watch”
by Bob Keyes
Gunther Brown’s music is earthy, eloquent and entirely honest. The four-piece band from Portland reminds one of early Jayhawks, with maybe a touch of Wilco. It’s Americana music, with roots that spread to folk, rock and old-time country.
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Portland Phoenix
4/15/09
“What Can Brown Do For You”
by Sam Pfeifle
WATCH CLOSELY Gunther Brown.
Our local alt-country renaissance continues this weekend with Gunther Brown’s debut release, a five-song, 20-minute EP called Eustis Ridge.
They’re alt-country enough, anyway, despite frontman Pete Dubuc’s (you
might remember him from WCLZ) penchant for low-end gravelly vocals that
get downright singer/songwritery, and, of course, it doesn’t really
matter. This is a new band with chops to watch.
The overall vibe is a bit sedate and down in the mouth — even the bar-stomp
“Great Eustis Jailbreak,” with cool piano backing, seems to have a
governor on it — but there’s nothing wrong with some indie rock seeping
into a record. Guitarist John Boyle (he’s a Portland music-scene ex-pat
returned from Seattle) is excellent, with a Nashville pop to his licks,
but some irony in his tone, and the way they use Chris Devlin on keys
is interesting.
They could use more of the backing vocals that open “Minnesota,” and a
little more giddy-up in their step from time to time, but they’ve got a
polished sound and some soul, which makes Eustis Ridge worth a visit.
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Portland Press Herald
4/16/09
“The Night Is Young”
by Aimsel Ponti
Local Americana/folkster band Gunther Brown is thrilled to bits about the release its debut EP, “Eustis Ridge,” and the release show is tonight at One Longfellow Square.
Pete Dubuc’s rough and raspy vocals are terrific, as is John V. Boyle’s guitar, mandolin and dobro playing. “Say Goodbye” is the first of five songs. “As you walk away, nothing left to say, kick the ground and know that hard times are here again,” sings Dubuc.
The rest of Gunther Brown is Ethan Gamage on bass, drummer Derek Mills and keyboardist Chris Devlin. Devlin starts off “The Reason” with slow and mysterious keys that soon are joined by electric guitar. The song is an acerbic recount of a relationship that fell into the bottom of the well. Boyle’s guitar adds to the angst and poignancy. “Hello Tonight” is a return to optimism, and I’m awarding bonus nods to Mills and Devlin on this one. Dubuc and Boyle’s vocals both fuel “Minnesota,” and Boyle’s guitar work glistens.
“Great Eustis Jailbreak” is an old-fashioned romp into the county jail, complete with hidden liquor, ammo and an overly confident warden woven into hand-clapping, countrified rock. I officially dig all “Eustis Ridge” tracks and hope that that Gunther Brown (www.myspace.com/musicofguntherbrown) finds its way back into the studio for more.
Gunther Brown CD Release Show, with Dark Hollow Bottling Company & The Lomax. 7:30 p.m. today. One Longfellow Square, Portland. www.onelongfellowsquare.com; 761-1757. $8; all ages
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The Maine Switch
7/23/09
“Highly Influenced”
by William Earl
Gunther Brown jams in Ryan Adams mode.
Over the past year, a staggering number of local releases have been entries from a new batch of alt-country groups. Although this genre resurgence may not be a nationwide trend, it makes sense that Portland musicians would be drawn to the field. As the southern tier of the state blends down-home morals with slices of urban development, Mainers’ personalities are as disparate as the music’s class-blending mix of rock and roll and honky-tonk.
Or maybe it could be that the members of Portland upstart Gunther Brown just really love Ryan Adams. That certainly seems to be the case, as their introductory five-song EP “Eustis Ridge” sounds eerily close to the work of the prolific solo artist and former Whiskeytown frontman.
It’s uncanny the extent to which the group mimics “Jacksonville City Nights”-era Adams, with lead singer and guitarist Pete Dubuc perfectly mimicking the rasp, meter, lyrical thrust and pitch of the vocalist. Furthermore, the rest of the band grooves in the same manner as Adams’ primary backing band, The Cardinals.
The resemblance cannot help but sway a review. Obvious questions arise: Would Dubuc’s vocal resemblance be noticed if he was fronting a dissimilar group? Is alt-country imitation the best way to keep momentum in an increasingly passé genre? Will the fans even care? Ultimately, none of this particularly matters. Sometimes it is most effective to judge music on the basic “Does it sound good?” principle. Fortunately for the quintet, the disc is solid.
Highlights include the sparse sing-along “Say Goodbye,” the bluesy shuffle of “Great Eustis Jailbreak” and the old-school geographical yearn of “Minnesota.” Musically, the band is always on point, with standout performances coming from multi-instrumentalist John V. Boyle and keyboardist Chris Devlin.
But much like the hard-working men profiled so lovingly in alt-country classics, this job gets done without much flair. Yes, the songs are written tightly and instruments are played up to par. Unfortunately, it is something of a back-handed compliment when the most efficient way to describe a band’s sound is “adequate.”
Looking beyond the creative neutering, fans of Adams and his ilk will be pleased with this record. It is a solid release with musicians playing in the pocket and jams that move. But since the best albums engage listeners with new ideas, it is hard to give “Eustis Ridge” anything more than a halfhearted recommendation.
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The Kennebec Journal / Morning Sentinel
4/16/09
“Pete Dubuc Interview”
by Lucky Clark
Pete Dubuc, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist for the new Americana quintet known as Gunther Brown, spoke in a recent telephone interview from his Portland digs — the band’s home base — about what fans can expect at the group’s performance tomorrow night at Guthrie’s, 115 Middle St., Lewiston.
“We’ve gone in the ‘fun’ direction,” Dubuc said. “I think people will find that the music is pretty light. We’re not taking ourselves extremely seriously here; it’s not about changing the world, ya’ know — we have some fun. That’s what we’re setting out to do.
“We played Guthrie’s probably two or three months ago and we really liked it. It’s a cool spot for original music; it’s a comfortable enough area for the band and it’s a comfortable area for those hanging out, too. You can tell that the people who run it are very interested in music. Not to mention that the food’s really good — they have fantastic food and drink.”
Talk turned back to the band and it was learned that most of the five members hail from different parts of our fair state. “Ethan (Gamage), our bass player, is from Hope; I grew up in Strong, by Farmington; and I forget where specifically our drummer (Derek Mills) is from but it’s way up in Aroostook County,” Dubuc said. “So we’re sorta spread out as far as where our roots are, but we’re pretty Maine, I’ll just say that.”
John V. Boyle (lead guitar, mandolin and backing vocals) grew up in suburban Boston, but is a veteran of the Portland music scene since the 80s. The band’s newest member, who joined in December 2008, is keyboardist Chris Devlin.
Labeling is the bane of any band worth its salt, but for a new group getting some kind of sonic description, it helps in letting folks know what musical direction the band leans. Having said that, was Dubuc comfortable with the Americana descriptor?
“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, I think that’s the term that most fits what we do. The only problem with that term is that you usually still have to further explain it to most people — it always lends itself to further discussion, but I always find it a good starting point.” He continued on by saying Gunther Brown’s music is acoustic based but most of the lead guitar work is electric. “So,” Dubuc said. “It sorta doesn’t too politely fit in either side of that Americana thing.”
And then there’s the band’s name: That, in itself, tend to lead people in the right direction, when all is said and done. “It’s a name that I thought sounded cool; that was personal in nature,” the lead singer said. “And to me, it made sense for the music that we were doing. I mean, if you heard that Gunther Brown was playing somewhere, you wouldn’t think it was a metal band, ya know?” Was there anything Dubuc wanted to get across to the folks reading this “What’s Happening” article about their show in Lewiston tomorrow night?
“If people come to see us, they’ll come see a band that is having fun,” he said. “People are making a lot of great music but sometimes it doesn’t seem that they are having fun, making that music — that’s something that is really important to us; so if they come and we’re not having fun then they’re free to throw things and yell at us to help snap us out of it a little bit. If we had to pick a thing that we wanted to be known as, it would be ‘the band that’s having fun.’ ”