Who’s Brighten?

I am always amazed when bands muster all sorts of acclaim on a larger scale, yet are able to slip through the cracks of our tight-knit Chico music scene. Where do these bands come from? How do they manage such fame and glory if they don’t even work their way up the Chico cred ladder? Have I been working my way up the Chico cred ladder all in vain? Should I spend my time trying to seduce the likes of someone other than Gruk?

It appears I must take these questions to a more knowledgeable source. Enter Brighten—Chico’s newest J’anna Jacoby. (Who? Exactly.) Brothers Jimmy and Justin Richards (on drums and guitar/keys/vocals respectively) and their pal, bassist Alex Draper, have been playing music together in some form or another since Draper’s family moved across the street in the sixth grade. Perhaps Chicoans will recall the trio under their former name Sincerely Me, though it’s doubtful.

The three shy, enthusiastic young men explained that after considerable “hard work” they found themselves in the benevolent eye of AbsolutePunk.net owner Jason Tate, who was able to successfully talk them up to prospective labels. The members of Brighten went with Carbon Copy Media, who will release the band’s new album in September.

Jimmy discussed how things have changed since the early days.

“Music is more art than something to do at this point. It’s our job now.”

Draper adds to this retrospective by pointing out that their original songs consisted of Green Day and Blink-182 covers, explaining it’s what was “popular at the time.” But the band’s influences have become too varied and too many to mention. The only other band the members of Brighten mention (aside from Green Day and Blink-182) is Great Glass Elevator, who they’ve played with a few times now, and who they describe as “dancy” and “theatrical.”

This is where they as a band feel the future lies for indie rock. They are of the opinion that screaming is going to tire itself out in wake of dancy singalongs becoming all the rage.

So what is this new hyper-influenced sound that has the potential to put Chico on the map? I don’t know. The group sounds like it jumped on an indie rock bandwagon at some point and is now trying to get off. The band clearly likes to sound different, but wants to make sure everyone still likes them. It’s like when you do all your homework to make your parents proud and then afterward go smoke pot to gain acceptance with cool kids.

But hey, that makes sense—after all, they are at that age.

So, are they going to be their parents’ little angels or the next big thing in indie rock?

The band has already taken off on a two-month cross-country tour with Tyler, Texas indie pop rockers Eisley. Surprisingly enough the band has completed a number of tours already, and this one promises to re-unite them with plenty of old fans while also introducing them to some new ones.

They express the importance of remaining optimistic when playing to different crowds outside the comfortable pond of Chico.

“Usually new places bring poor turnouts, but we don’t get discouraged,” Draper said.

Unfortunately for local fans, the nearest to Chico Brighten will perform on the upcoming tour is at The Library in Sacramento on April 23. Show up and say you’re from Chico—if Brighten is well received, you can claim you’ve been a fan all along. And who couldn’t use that kind of cred?