New Song "Belief"

We just finished recording a new song called "Belief" which samples the new John Mayer song of the same name. This isn't intended for any proper release, just some material to throw out there. Most people would gawk at the fact we had the nerve to even think about sampling John Mayer but I could give a fuck about what people think.

I gained a whole new respect for him after I heard him play the record in it's entirety over the radio. His views were on point and he really has a passion for his craft and I can not only relate to that but I can't hate on it.

His new record is unlike anything he's done of the past (I'm not into his old material personally), it's almost like a 70's Curtis Mayfield record at times, but just oozes with soul. The track "Belief" is a collaboration he did with Ben Harper who is dope in his own right.

I didn't want to sample the song for no reason, I did it because the music itself inspired me to just take the topic of belief to another level that John didn't really get into. Rock lyrics, in my opinion, tend to be a bit more broad and thought provoking, while rap lyrics are more detailed and to the point, hence the inspiration we got from John.

I also wanted to do the song to give The Braves a new look. I want to break molds early on so we're not pigeonholed into being a certain type of artist. We'll update you when the song is done being mixed.

The Braves' Living Situation

The Braves' loft (living room/practice space)

I'm originally from Toms River, NJ, same with Solo (his pops is from Asbury Park) and Yamez is from Pittsburgh. I moved to New York over two years ago to get our music going. I inititally moved to Astoria (Queens) with Peter Toh. After a few roommate changes Peter moved out to this dope loft spot in Brooklyn earlier this year. That is where he ended up setting up shop with his studio and everything else he has going on. That was February. Solo and I were coming to their spot almost daily to record our album. It was a lot harder for Solo to make it since he was *laughs* still in high school and *laughs* still living in Jersey with his mom. He expressed the desire for him to move up here as soon as school finished and I told him he could. So with that in mind Peter's building was the perfect candidate for us, especially since I was not down to go looking for a place with a brokers fee.

So in mid July we locked the spot down and moved in on August 1st (well August 2nd is more like it). Yamez initially didn't move in with us as he was living with his and our good from Liza (Ladi Doti of FPC). During that first month I had found a roommate on Craigslist. The girl will remain anonymous, but she was rail thin (coke thin), dirty blonde (and I mean dirty), and slightly off. The reason I even let her move in was due to the fact the 1st was approaching fast and I didn't have the extra $800 for cover for the empty space (I shelled out over $5000 to get in in the first place). So she agreed to move in and on the 7th she decided to bring her "stuff" by. Her stuff consisted of a mattress and a suitcase. She also decided to come home at 4am and start cleaning extremely loud which pissed me off to no avail (i have consideration issues). After that night she left and we didn't see her until August 28th. During those days Yamez came through and said "tell that bitch she's out, I'm moving in". So during the whole month I was thinking of a way to break it to her but the more and more she wasn't here the more reason I had to kick her out (for whatever reason I could conjure up). So she comes in on the 28th and says "yeah, um, I don't think this is going to work out, I hope you're not mad at me". I wasn't the least bit mad I was relieved to have her out and Yamez in without stepping on toes.

So September 1st Yamez moved in and it's been a wrap ever since then.


Our living room and kitchen

Studio Update

So it's been about 2 months since we were in the studio finishing mixing the album and we only have two tracks left. Some of you may have heard them before but they are The Reclamation and Reporting Live. The reason we are being held up is due to guest appearances. Canibus has been extremely busy as of late and while he keeps getting in touch with me letting me know "it's coming" we're just growing weary to the point where we're like "fuck it" lets just mix what we have and save the verse for a remix or something. The other track "The Reclamation" is supposed to feature Camu Tao (def jux) who is a friend of mine that has been going through a lot of shit the past few months so I'm not really pushing him to come through, though he already confirmed he woud do so.

At this point, I don't want the material to get stagnate for us (though it's fresh to everyone else) so if nothing changes by the end of the week, we're going to just press forward and finish up mixing the tracks without the appearances. The album is strong as it is, I'm not really a huge fan of guest appearences in the first place but these had reasoning behind them, which hopefully you'll be able to see in the coming months.

Once we finish mixing, we're going to master the record and get it pressed up. I'm thinking realistically we'll have it done and ready in January. To be honest, I could really give a fuck when it comes out, I know we're all very proud of the work we created and everyone that has heard each track has been coming back with positive reviews.


Peter Toh and DJ Yamez laying down cuts

"We Don't Really Sound Like Anybody Else"

ok, so the title of this blog is a phrase I have come across numerous times while on the road.

In case you don't know, I, Sneed, am a tour manager for the band The Exit (www.theexitrock.com) and I've toured the country over a dozen times, from small club tours to arena tours. I meet hundreds of kids in bands and when I pose the question, "what do you guys sound like" more often than not I am answered with "we don't really sound like anybody else". I usually call bullshit espc once I hear their material. Not saying they are rip offs of another group but when there are millions of musical acts it's almost impossible to be 100% unique and not sound like anybody. For instance though I think the Exit is one of the most original groups out there, I can easily say they are sort of like The Police or The Clash at times.

After hearing this phrase I hate so much, a million times over, I finally have begun getting asked the question, "what do The Braves sound like?"

and of all the things I say it's "We don't really sound like anybody else"...haha...

Now I think my reasoning for this is pretty genuine. We're not really doing things that most rap acts are doing at the moment. We don't sound like anybody on the radio or MTV, specifically because of our content but we're also not like most independant or "underground" artists either. I find that we're on the in between of those two worlds. We have beats that are respected in both places and rhymes that straddle that line as well. I could easily see us on MTV but I could also easily see us doing CMJ or touring with a Def Jux artist.

If you think we sound like another act out there please let me know, I'd love to be able to not say "We don't really sound like anybody else"