Album Notes

“My brain is cloudy, my soul is upside-down... When I get that low-down feeling, I know the blues must be someplace around.” (Bob Wills – the King of Western Swing)

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DENNIS LICHTMAN - mandolin, fiddle, vocals on track 10
TAMAR KORN - vocals
SKIP KREVENS - guitar, vocals on track 4
RAPHAEL MCGREGOR - lap steel guitar
KEVIN DORN - snare drum
ANDREW HALL - upright bass

Produced by Dennis Lichtman & Scott Kettner
Arrangements by Dennis Lichtman
Recorded by Scott Kettner at Soap Box Studio
Mixed by Matt Gill at Inner Harbor Recording
Mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering
Design & Illustrations by Jillian Johnson at WORKagencies
Photography by Ahron R. Foster
Triangle on track 5 by Scott Kettner

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Born in 2010, the Brain Cloud is the brain-child of multi-instrumentalist Dennis Lichtman. The band’s self-titled 2011 debut album captures their remarkable sound – from the inimitable vocal stylings of Tamar Korn to Lichtman’s fresh arrangements, with plenty of hot picking and hard swinging from the entire sextet.

Dennis Lichtman is a man of many musical minds, jumping genres and instruments incessantly, sometimes within one show, or even within one song. He is equally at home on mandolin, fiddle, and clarinet. He has toured the world as a traditional-jazz clarinetist, graced many a bluegrass festival stage as a fiddler, and devoted much time to the study of early 20th century Brazilian mandolin music. Along the way, he has performed and recorded with top masters in each of those genres. He is in constant demand as a session musician, arranger, and sideman in New York’s hopping music scene.

In early 2010, Lichtman joined forces with Tamar Korn, whom he had known for two years as bandmates in the old-timey jazz outfit the Cangelosi Cards. This new band’s purpose was to delve into a side of American music for which they shared a fondness, but had not fully explored in the horn-heavy Cangelosi Cards. If western swing had not been invented 75 years prior, this would have been the moment for its creation – a meeting point of bluegrass/string-band music/early country with early jazz, with loads of energy and no rules.

In addition to Lichtman and Korn, the Brain Cloud includes Skip Krevens (guitar and vocals), Raphael McGregor (steel guitar), Kevin Dorn (snare drum), and Andrew Hall (bass). Each is a masterful instrumentalist in his own right, and each brings a unique perspective, impeccable musicianship, and a distinctive voice to the mix. McGregor’s whimsical slipping and sliding, Skip’s hot licks and occasional vocal, Dorn’s air-tight pulse, and Hall’s meaty slap-bass...

Old songs, new sounds.