Changing it Up: An Interview with Ben Morrison, Solo Artist and Frontman for The Brothers Comatose

Ben talks marriage and music with a solo career and the launch of the new BroCo lineup

By Emilie Rohrbach

ER: Hi Ben! Between a new album with The Brothers Comatose, a debut solo album, and a certain romantic event, 2019 seems to have been huge for you! Can you tell us more?

BM: This last year has been the craziest and busiest year of my life. Between touring with The Brothers Comatose and putting out my solo record, I didn't think there would be any time left for anything else...but I also got married, which is pretty awesome. I just wanted to see how much I could possibly pack into 2019. It was a lot, apparently.

ER: How did Brothers Comatose begin?

BM: At this point I believe it was about 12 years ago. My brother and I started playing shows together in small bars and clubs around San Francisco with some friends. Eventually, we started hanging up fliers around town looking for a fiddle player. Phil was the second or third one we tried out and we knew we had a fit right away. The rest is history.

ER: Besides traveling internationally and playing beloved local festivals like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, I hear The Brothers Comatose even has your own festival, “Comatopia” in the Sierra Foothills?

BM: We do. We put it on for 3 years in a row and then due to venue changes and some band member changes, the festival got put on hold. This year, instead of doing the festival, we had a big show at the UC Theatre in Berkeley with a bunch of friend bands and called it “Comatopia by the Bay.” We plan on bringing it back, proper festival style, this year though. We're working on finding a new venue for it as we speak.

ER: As a music teacher, I was thrilled to hear that you guys have traveled as cultural ambassadors for American Music Abroad run by the US State Department. What have those trips entailed?

BM: We've done two of those trips so far: one to China and one to Latvia & Lithuania. They're some of the most rewarding and interesting things we've done as a band. The State Department has a musical ambassador program called American Music Abroad and they send about 10-15 bands a year to different countries to perform and teach all sorts of people in different countries. It was a really great experience.

ER: What made you decide to go out on your own as a musician?

BM: We had a change in lineup in The Brothers Comatose. Our bassist and mandolin player left the band and the rest of us (my brother Alex, Phil and myself) decided to take a break from touring for a bit since we went so hard at it for such a long time. In that break I figured it was a good time to pursue making a solo record and do some touring like that. It's a whole different thing though, with drums, electric instruments, keys, etc...so it allows me to get my musical rocks off in a different way. It was really nice to focus on something else while BroCo was going through some changes. We ended up finding a new bassist and mandolin player for Brothers Comatose and we're back at it with lots of touring and a new album in the works.

ER: Brothers Comatose has a show coming up at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma on March 28th, which is guaranteed to be an awesome night. I am also excited about your show as a solo artist with Clementine Darling and Bear Market Riot on February 7th at Euclid Manor in Oakland. I have a soft spot for Bear Market Riot! I read you guys all met in Mexico - what was that like and what kind of music can we look forward to?

BM: We were all down in Mexico for a songwriting camp called Hit Waves. I was one of the instructors and Clementine and the BMR boys came down to participate. The camp was put on by Brothers Comatose's fiddler Philip Brezina and his friend Tony Amoyal and was an amazing success. I went down to "teach" but I ended up learning so much in the process. It was also great hangs with all those folks and now we're all doing a show together.

ER: What do you think 2020 has in store?

BM: Brothers Comatose will be releasing a covers EP and right now is hard at work on a new album with some touring lined up. I'll also be doing a lot of touring with my solo project in between all the BroCo tours. Looks like another crazy year...but at least I won't have another wedding to plan!

Ben Morrison plays with Bear Market Riot and Clementine Darling at Euclid Manor in Oakland Friday, Feb 7 from 7-10:30. Tickets available through Eventbrite.

The Brothers Comatose play The Mystic Theatre in Petaluma Saturday, March 28 at 8:30. Tickets available at www.mystictheatre.com.

Check out new videos "These Ways" by The Brothers Comatose and "I Hope You're Not Sorry" by Ben Morrison here:

https://youtu.be/95Z3eBmecRQ

https://youtu.be/RPPKkMlqFlY