To contact Strawman for Booking please send emails to:

Strawman-Music@Hotmail.com

THE STRAWMAN ACCOUNT

There is only one Strawman. My name is Blayne. I don't write because I want to, I write because I have to. I write to to free the Ravens from my mind, to chase away the demons that would otherwise keep me awake! I write simply so I can sleep at night. Most people don't seem to relate to my music, but for those of you who do, for those of you who understand, I hope they help you sleep at night too.

From the Southwestern desert of Arizona, with well over a hundred original songs, Strawman is Blayne R. Brown on Guitar, Banjo, Vocals, Harmonica, and Percussion. Max R. Finkelstein (MR Fink) has been joining me quite a bit lately on Bass.

All Music and Lyrics, unless noted, are written and copyrighted by Blayne R. Brown. Most of these recordings are done on a simple Olympus Digital Voice Recorder....nothing fancy....not the greatest quality. Just recordings I made while writing the songs...Demos, I guess. But, there is something I like in the simplicity of these recordings. I plan to Occasionally add new songs (I have many) just to mix things up. I am working on some higher quality recordings, but until then I hope these simple demos suffice. 

Strawman is influenced by the beauty of sadness and the sadness hidden within all beauty. Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions, Mazzy Star, and Denali. The Dark Twang of The Revenants and the Love and Hate relationship Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower has with God. The Darkness in everything that is light. The music of The Swans. By the Light found in all Darkness. The Smashing Pumpkins. Mistakes caused by Inconsistency and Human Nature. Will Oldham, Bonny Prince Billy, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, and Palace Music. By the subtle imagery crafted into the music of The Handsome Family. I am inspired by the Walrus, the Eggman, and the Fool on the Hill. By The Beatles at both their highs and their lows, and the Magical Mystery Tour in between. By the Ugliness found in nature and the Beauty in that ugliness. Gram Rabbit of the Strange and Beautiful Mohave desert. By the Spaghetti found in Westerns. Morricone, Calexico, and Wilco. I am inspired by Raw Emotion. By Soundgarden and Nirvana. By the Good found in evil and the Evil that always inevitably spawns from good. The Voice of Emiliana Torrini, Aimee Mann, and Angie Hart. By a single Emotion captured in a Sound. Beethoven's longing and madness. Fear. Fear of the unknown, of what is, and of what could be. Damien Jurado, Johnny Cash, and Joseph Arthur. I am influenced by Insanity and the Clarity with which it is accompanied. Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Nick Cave, and PJ Harvey. By Love and Desire. By the music of Enigma and Portishead. I am influenced simply by the Sun, The Moon and a perfect morning. By the words of Neko Case.

Art should be contemplative. It should make you think. You may not always like what you hear, but in the end it will have integrity. I like to think there is integrity here...in these songs. My music is not happy, but I do not believe that it is sad either. It is what it is...Dark and Moody.