Life > April 24, 2008

By Nicole Russo | Contributing writer

“So how does a mathematical economics major land a deal with a record label?” I ask. Chris Browder laughs at my question and responds humbly, “They’re more related than you think.”

click to enlarge

Recent university grad Chris Browder, a member of the band Mansions, has just signed with Doghouse Records, a record label which has previously signed bands like the All American Rejects, Say Anything and The Get Up Kids.

Browder has been trying to make it in the music world since graduating last May. “Most of (the experience) has been pretty positive,” he said.

“There have been some negative critics, but I take it as a good sign, because then I know someone heard me without being interested first.”

Browder began with an interest in making movies but after entering high school discovered his real interests were singing and song-writing.

“I started playing in bands and writing my own songs, though I didn’t really do anything with them until the end of high school,” Browder said. “I just didn’t know it would ever be a possibility to pursue that as a career.”

Signing with Doghouse was one of the best moves he has made thus far Browder said. “It’s good because they’re not huge industry people. There are literally only eight people who work there, and they really seem to care.”

Though he admits he always hoped something would come of his music, Browder kept on the path toward a more conventional job or the chance to go to grad school. When graduation did roll around however, he said it was just the right timing.

“Things started happening,” Browder said. “I had some friends in a band in Louisville, and they liked my music so they gave it to their manager, and now she’s my manger. Suddenly I had access to things. Labels started hearing my work and getting interested.”

It hasn’t been an easy path, however. “Money is like, hard Browder said, though he recently sold an instrumental song for the Grey’s Anatomy DVD commercial.

“Everything takes a few months and sometimes there is just a lot of waiting,” he said. The publicity he has been receiving may change all of that, however.

On June 17 Browder will put out an extended play CD through Doghouse that will include four tracks and some bonus content. Look for it on iTunes or online at the Doghouse Records Web site at www.doghouserecords.com. There will also be a free T-shirt giveaway.

As far as the other members of the band, Chris has been mostly solo thus far. “I played everything except drums,” Browder said. “But now I’m putting together a full band.” Andy McGreggor, also a 2008 grad, will be joining as the new guitarist.

Though he enjoys performing, Browder admits he prefers song writing and recording over being on stage. “Recording is really fun. I actually recorded with Mike Sapone, who recorded Brand New. It was cool to be sitting in the same room,” he said. “Though I wouldn’t mind just writing songs either.”

Mansions’ full-length record is set to release in the fall.

However, Browder admits that he has had some great moments on stage. “I was doing a show in Louisville and there was a bunch of people I had never met there that knew my songs. It was kind of unreal especially because I was playing acoustic,” he said.

Winning Battle of the Bands at the university was also a highlight. “I’d done it every year so it was cool to actually win it,” he said.

Browder said his biggest inspiration at the moment is Ryan Adams. “I don’t really sound like him at all but I listen to him exclusively,” Browder said.

In terms of sound, he parallels himself most closely with bands like Weezer, “especially their old stuff,” he said. “And I grew up on the Get Up Kids, so they have influenced me a lot as well.”

In terms of what inspires him to write, Browder said, “It’s hard to write about something if you don’t care about it. When I write it really comes from things I have been thinking about pretty intensely.”

Chris has played at many venues inclduing the CMJ Music Festival and Knitting Factory in New York City and at different spots in Louisville, Ky. However, it was his recent performance at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas that earned him so much attention.

When asked where he would like to be in three years Browder said, “The ideal dream would be to just be earning a steady living.”

Mansions has already been named one of the “100 Bands You Need To Know” by Alternative Press Magazine. Though Browder says it’s important to avoid getting wrapped up in the idea of “making it.”

“In my opinion, the goal should always be to write good songs, to add something to the world and create something cool that wasn’t there before,” Browder said.

When writing a song, he explains that he isn’t thinking about what will appeal to popular culture. “I just try to write a song I think me and my friends will like. That’s it. The minute I start trying to write a song that will be popular, it all falls apart.”

As a firm believer in the concept that good and honest art will bring success, Browder said, “If you are a good enough at what you do, whether it is music, acting or art, and you let people see it, word will spread. And if you are working at making something that you really care about, success will come, whether it is financially, artistically or personally.” And it seems that just that has been happening for Chris Browder.