On The Verge

Jahman Brahman

Asheville, N.C.
Family Style Jams
www.jahmanbrahman.com

Talk about your tribal family. When the five members of Jahman Brahman reached a career crossroads this past summer, they worked it out in the manner that came most naturally: they built a fire, sat in a circle around it and talked things through. That’s the kind of “all for one” thinking that rules the band and its music, according to guitarist Casey Chanatry. By the time that the fire burned down to coals, the group had reached a mutual decision: to relocate from Ohio to North Carolina, using the state as a launching pad for East Coast travel. The resettling coincides with the band’s debut release, NewFields, which boats 11 cuts ranging from Wolfman’s-Brother-sees-a-Fire-On-The-Mountain-through-Rasta-colored-glasses (“Working Design”) to Johnny-Cash-meets-Frank-Zappa-on-a-train (“Orange Station Loop”). Chanatry, keyboardist Joshua Loffer, drummer/vocalist Rowdy Keelor and brothers Justin and Nathan Brown (guitar/vocals and bass/vocals) all grew up in the Ohio music scene, citing fellow Ohioan group ekoostic hookah’s DIY approach as a major inspiration. Jahman Brahman’s main focus is creating an environment for the creativity to flow. “When it’s really happening, it’s not five separate parts—it all comes together as one,” Chanatry says. And when we feel it, the crowd feels it.”