HOLLIS BROWN – CLUSTER OF PEARLS
Hollis Brown in anticipation of their new vinyl EP, Cluster of Pearls, will be playing in Asheville August 4 at The Grey Eagle.
Hollis Brown is an American Rock ‘ n’ Roll band. Named after a Bob Dylan song (“The Ballad of Hollis Brown”), the band was formed by Queens-natives and songwriters Mike Montali (lead vocals/guitar) and Jonathan Bonilla (lead guitar). Both 2nd-generation immigrants (Italian-American and Puerto Rican-American, respectively), they soon found their musical brethren across America, recruiting Andrew Zehnal (drums) from Cleveland, Adam Bock (keyboard/vocals) from St. Louis, and Scott Thompson (bass) from Boston.
Hollis Brown’ s latest vinyl EP, Cluster of Pearls (Alive Naturalsound Records), was chosen as one of the 300 select releases throughout the world for Record Store Day 2016. Pressed on Starburst Vinyl, the record is limited to 800 copies and features four previously unreleased tracks and two songs released on vinyl for the first time. Cluster of Pearls follows up the 2015 release of Hollis Brown’s third album 3 Shots (Jullian Records/RED), featuring the Bo Diddley collaboration “Rain Dance,”and the duet “Highway 1”with acclaimed alt-country song-stress Nikki Lane. The edgy, roots-rock indie band from Queens, NY, known for its adrenaline fueled performances, wrapped 40+ amphitheater shows across America supporting Counting Crows and Citizen Cope last Summer/Fall, followed by a month-long headline tour in the UK and Europe. They will embark on a headlining tour across the US, UK, and Europe this Summer/Fall.
The independent act has achieved a significant amount of success since their formation in 2009. They released their debut album Ride On The Train on Alive Naturalsound in 2013 (produced by Adam Landry), garnering song and video premieres from Rolling Stone, Paste, and American Songwriter, along with music placements on Direct TV’s “Kingdom,” Showtime’ s “Shameless,”MTV’ s “Real World,” and the Willem Dafoe/Matt Dillon film “Bad Country”. Following a Lou Reed tribute concert in NYC, Alive Naturalsound asked the band to record a tribute to the Velvet Underground’ s classic album Loaded, as a limited-edition vinyl release for Record Store Day 2014. Hollis Brown Gets Loaded took on a life of its own, with airplay on influential radio stations, resulting in a full CD & digital release.
The band has toured extensively in America and Europe, headlining and supporting such bands as The Zombies, Jackie Greene, Heartless Bastards, Rich Robinson of Black Crowes, and Jesse Malin, and building an impressive fan base on both continents.