Ben Morrison, co-founder of the San Francisco-based Americana band, The Brothers Comatose, grew up surrounded by song. When he was young, his mother played in a folk quartet that rehearsed at home. Later, in high school, his parents hosted regular music parties on Sundays. Morrison – and his brother and band co-founder, Alex – first played the instruments that their parents and friends would leave around the house. Morrison played guitar, Alex played banjo. But betwixt all this music, Morrison first learned to love song at a very precise moment: the day he could first play one on a six-string.
“I was sitting in a circle in the community center playing ‘Proud Mary’ for the first time,” Morrison says. “That was when I could barely play three chords on the guitar; I was about 11- or 12-years-old. Being able to play that and get it to sound something like the original tune was the first time I went, ‘Oh, this is powerful. This is a special thing.’”
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In the years since, Morrison, along with his brother, has written and co-written a number or standout original songs. But Morrison has also continued to channel the thrill he felt that day in the community center, singing a famous rock standard. In fact, later this summer, The Brothers Comatose will release a new EP, Covers From Left Field (merch and tunes), which features a quartet of songs by famous artists – from Bill Withers to The Kinks, Led Zeppelin and Depeche Mode – performed by the band
To release a record like Covers From Left Field, The Brothers Comatose is, in a way, acting like a translator, transforming the heavy rock compositions of Led Zeppelin into twangy Bluegrass gems. But while the brothers themselves have such creative chemistry, the two weren’t always so honky-dory together. In fact, in their formative years, the brothers were often more rough-and-tumble.
“We’d throw down and fight a lot,” Morrison recalls, with a chuckle. “Physical battles. We shared a room and a bunk bed. I’m a year-and-a-half older but he was always basically about as big as I was. So, it was a fair matchup. We’d fight and kick but there was always love behind it.”
Somewhere along the way, however, their energy became much better focused. No longer were bouts of indoor wrestling the norm. Instead they followed the path that had been instilled in them from an early age. They began to take music more seriously. Gradually, they began to collaborate, applying the lessons they’d learned implicitly. They had something meaningful they could share together.
“I don’t remember exactly how it happened,” Morrison says, “but we had a mutual love for music. We wanted to participate in the parties that were going on in our house. We both played instruments and one day we thought we should both play together.”
At first, the brothers started playing songs from bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin. Then, their interests began to run deeper. They investigated their heroes’ influences, they learned more about the history of music. At the same time, Morrison participated in other musical side projects, sometimes trading his acoustic for an electric, testing out the power of amplifiers and pedals. And while he still appreciates those musical tools, he says, in a way, he’s come back full circle. While Morrison grew up with folk and string-based music, it wasn’t until he attended the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park much later that he realized the genre’s full capacity and capability.
“I wasn’t exposed to that kind of music before,” Morrison says. “This up-tempo, punchy stuff. That energetic music kicked me straight in the chest. It was like, ‘Whoa! This is awesome!’”
But there was another component even beyond the music that drew him in. Morrison liked how, in Bluegrass, one could age into the music. It’s a genre in which wisdom and age are admired, not ignored.
“You see a lot of older people playing Bluegrass,” Morrison says. “In a way, the more you age, the more credibility you have there. I remember playing in rock bands in my early 20s and with that style of music, there’s such a quick shelf life. But with folk or Bluegrass or Americana, you’re not that good until you’re an old timer. That struck me as so cool.”
The Brothers Comatose is off to a good start when it comes to their legacy. The band has played popular Bluegrass and Americana festivals all over the country, collaborated with big names like Nicki Bluhm and released videos on YouTube that have earned upwards of 400,000 views. And while today the brothers are separated due to the pandemic, they continue to investigate and create new digital ways to connect with fans.
The band’s latest offering is a music video for their cover of the Kinks song, “Strangers.” To make the video, the band sought submissions from fans showing how they were spending time in quarantine. The result nearly brought Morrison to tears. It was yet another demonstration of the power of music, and one that gave the songwriter some much needed optimism for the future.
“I’m not an emotional dude,” Morrison says. “But those submissions really struck a chord with me. It was beautiful to see the way people were staying sane during the pandemic. Watching it all complied together really gave me hope.”
If you dig the sound of The Brothers Comatose, support their efforts.