Artist description Bryan Cohen and the A.M. Disaster’s “Gone Awry” is by far and away the best Americana rock album of 1999 by an unsigned band. The songs on “Gone Awry” run the gamut from pop rock anthems to aching country tunes about loss, grief, and growing up. The A.M. Disaster’s sound combines great harmonies with emotive instrumental moments that make the songs thick and meaty. Each song tells a story through evoctive lyrics and interesting insturmentation. The common thread of all these pieces is choruses that are equal parts tuneful and downright catchy. Bryan Cohen and the AM Disaster’s record, “Gone Awry”, is a beautiful and evocative album from a band that’s only beginning to shimmer.

Music Style Americana

Musical Influences Steve Earl, Replacements, Matthew Sweet, Wilco

Similar Artists Wilco, Replacements, Steve Earl,Matthew Sweet, Rolling Stones

Artist History When you play rock, making demos is fun. But after a while a songwriter begins to get the hankering to stretch out a bit and paint on a wider canvass. Usually that wider canvass is an album. After years of playing clubs and making demos with Seattle bands Harvest Day and Anton Neutron, Bryan Cohen decided to stake a claim to some larger musical space: A full-length album that blended pop melodies, country twang, and plain old Replacements-style rock. Like buying a home, getting a tattoo, or getting married, his first full-length record, Gone Awry, signals a change from migratory to rooted. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Once Bryan decided it was time to make a solo record he had to find a band that could deliver nervy powerhouse rockers as well as the intimacy of longing country ditties. The band had to absorb his music and lyrics and take them to the next stratosphere. Always a difficult proposition. First Bryan recruited his friend and sometimes collaborator, Robert Schermerhorn, of the band Tumble to supply the drumming and percussion for the project. After hearing some of the material, Robert invited his Tumble bandmate and longtime bass playing and beer drinking friend, Paul Christofferson, to join the project. With the rhythm section established, the trio hunkered down in their Greenlake practice space in August 1998. They began a thorough roto-rooting of Bryan’s considerable stock of material. Using the handy dry erase board and one four track recorder the trio whittled down the songs and by January 1999 were ready to record. Alas, something was missing… The missing link was a lead guitar player who could sing harmonies with Bryan and play depraved lead guitar on the country material and on the rockers. There was only one man for the job; Smokelahoma’s Ryan Mefferd. Ryan, a great singer in his own right, was the missing link. With a little more work the quartet went into the studio and recorded the thirteen songs that would become Gone Awry. Produced by Johnny Sangster at Egg Studios in Seattle, Gone Awry, runs the gamut from pop rock anthems to aching country tunes about loss, grief, and growing up. The common thread running through these songs is choruses that make you sing and feel. Contributions from pedal steel player, Don Pawlak, and mandolin/dobro/banjo specialist, Orville Johnson, invigorate the country tunes and give them a layered texture. “I wanted to make a record that had the soul of the Replacements, the hooks of Mathew Sweet, and the lyricism of Steve Earle. I don’t know if we got there but it was sure fun trying,” comments Bryan Cohen. Bryan Cohen and the A.M. Disasters released Gone Awry on Weekend Furlough Records in late May 1999 and plan to tour in the Fall of 1999.

Group Members Bryan Cohen- Lead Vocals, Guitars Paul Christofferson- Bass Guitar and Vocals Ryan Mefferd- Lead Guitar and Harmony Vocals Robert Schemerhorn- Drums and Percussion

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Drums, Banjo, Pedal Steel, Vocals

Location San Francisco, CA - USA

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