One mind: Ohio band begins new chapter in North Carolina
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One mind: Ohio band begins new chapter in North Carolina
BY DON THRASHER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
C...One mind: Ohio band begins new chapter in North Carolina
BY DON THRASHER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Columbus, Ohio’s fertile jam band scene was the home base for Jahman Brahman during the group’s developmental stage. However, Justin Brown (guitar, vocals), Nathan Brown (bass, vocals), Casey Chanatry (guitar), Rowdy Keelor (drums, vocals) and Joshua Loffer (keyboards) ushered in their next phase on September 1 when they all relocated to Asheville, N.C.
“Ever since college, every time a lease came up, we talked about moving somewhere just because we wanted a change,” Chanatry said. “This was also a way to make sure everyone was in it for the long haul. We also wanted to see if we could start over somewhere else and get away from distractions for a while. We did Oldfield for 18 months and it just felt like the right time.
“Something was coming to a head and we were either going to have to change venues anyway,” he continued. “We sat around a fire one night and talked about where we wanted to move. There were a couple of options and everyone went around and said their choice and it ended up being Asheville.”
Jahman Brahman formed on the Ohio State University campus in 2005, but the roots of the group go back a few years earlier when Chanatry, a 2003 graduate of Centerville High School, met the Brown brothers from Wadsworth Ohio. The band found its final pieces with the addition of Keelor and Loffer, both 2005 Centerville graduates.
“In layman’s terms, Jahman Brahman means playing as one,” Chanatry said. “I took an Asian philosophy class in college with Justin and it just came to us one day when we were talking. Brahman, in the simplest sense, means all is one. When you’re playing really well together, that’s when we say we reach Brahman and are playing as one mind.”
That musical philosophy infuses the group’s debut, “Newfields,” which was self-released October 23.
“We definitely captured the live vibe,” Chanatry said. “We tried to make it a little more produced so there were some differences, but it still ended up being mainly a live feeling. We were definitely lucky because we had as much time as we wanted to keep going back and overdubbing and mixing and showing him what we wanted and what we didn’t want. We were definitely involved the whole time.”
Although Jahman Brahman now calls North Carolina home, the band members haven’t completely left Ohio behind. They have several area shows scheduled over the next few months, including a gig at The Liquid Room in Centerville on Sunday, Dec. 26.
Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
Conquering the Crest - Jahman Brahman
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Like many stories from the dorms of Ohio State University, it all starts with a bottle of cheap liqu...Like many stories from the dorms of Ohio State University, it all starts with a bottle of cheap liquor, a funny hat and an acoustic guitar. But few stories continue on to a crowd chanting for an encore from a band comprised of the same boys who once drank the cheap liquor, donned the funny hat and poorly played the guitar.
Thus is the humble beginning of Jahman Brahman, Kobo's Monday night staple.
While the band has continually drawn a high-energy crowd every week for the last 18 months, they will be moving on and moving forward, taking up residence in Asheville, NC in September. But it hasn't been all roses and encores for the five members of Jahman Brahman. They began as a couple of kids, a couple of dreams and one never-ending adventure.
Founding members, Justin Brown and Casey Chanatry met as freshmen living in Morrill Tower in 2003. While Brown began playing the guitar in high school, Chanatry began after goofing off with the acoustic guitar of Brown's roommate, Todd Silverman, during that first year at Ohio State.
Brown credits Ed McGee of One Under (and former Ekoostik Hookah member), as a big inspiration for their dream of starting their own band. They now have the opportunity to not only play the same festivals as McGee, but share a stage with him, as well.
After a couple of drummers, they found a match with the addition of Rowdy Keelor.
"Mike Anousheh made it possible because he was the one that told me there was a drum kit set up in their house and he alerted me that I should bring a bass drum," Keelor said.
Keelor impressed the boys with his keen sense of rhythm and ability to be flipping sticks and doing "monkey tricks." While he has yet to show off these talents since, the other three decided to keep him around.
In 2006, they reached a huge milestone. At Scarlet and Gray Café, they played their first show, opening up for Papadosio. They were even paid: $14 each. "We just had so much fun and then made enough money to eat food," Keelor said.
In January of 2008, another meaningful jam led to the last piece of the Jahman puzzle. A mutual friend introduced Chanatry to keyboard player Josh Loffer. However, after practicing for a couple of months with the band and getting to play a couple shows, Loffer had to depart from the band for a year-long, soul-searching, hiatus.
Even though he was a much-welcomed addition to the band, they weren't worried they would lose him forever.
"He came back in '08 when I drove to Dayton and told him to get in the car and that he had free rent until he got on his feet," Brown said.
With the return of Loffer, Jahman Brahman reached its complete form. Now it was ready for a new milestone in May 2009: a weekly gig.
Jahman Brahman opened up for Penumbra and Kinetix at Oldfield's on High (now Kobo) on April 20, 2009, and within a few weeks became the headlining act.
"Getting the Monday show allowed us to have an excuse to really get our (act) together," Loffer said. "It drove us to have, one, new material, two, more energy, and three, just being able to put on a show every week and have people come out and enjoy themselves."
"Especially the people that come consistently, it's something they look forward to and just knowing that as a band is uplifting and almost to the point that, this is bigger than us," Loffer said.
Now the band is ready to take another step forward in moving to a new city to expand the Jahman Brahman family. An integral factor to making this possible is the recent addition of the large black "member" of Jahman Brahman: the van. The van gives them the freedom to tour and makes moving to Asheville, NC a little easier, Brown said.
With only two Monday night shows left, Jahman Brahman has come a long way from starting out each night wondering if anyone was going to show up. They have been fortunate enough in the last few weeks to even experience a packed bar chanting for an encore.
"If you go to a Jahman show, not only will you be sent soaring through the cosmos with star-screeching guitar work, heart throbbing bass pulsations, rhythmic blissful drum and mind-bending keys, you will have the opportunity to share a beautiful space with people from every walk of life," said Ehren Cruz, a fellow artist.
Each step is a dream come true for a couple of kids who used to sit in Morrill Tower and talk about what it'd be like to be on stage. The five members of Jahman Brahman are ready to begin a new journey and delve into their new life with the same passion that they put forth on the stage.
Catch the band during their last few weeks as Ohio residents Monday nights through Aug. 30 at Kobo, as well as at Tribes Vibez Aug. 26-28 and at the Werk Out Music Festival Sept. 10-12.
More information can be found at www.jahmanbrahman.com
