Our March PNW Artist of the Month is The Jaws of Brooklyn, who bring the soulful sounds of the south right here to Seattle. The band was formed when Zia Uddin, Paul Christofferson, an
d Bryan Cohen met Lindsey Love in August of 2020. The group began by recording a unique blend of Rock ‘N Roll and Soul music in Christofferson’s basement, including a track featuring backing vocals from Black Pumas’ Lauren Cervantes and keyboards from Funky 2 Death’s Melissa Montalto. The band released their debut album, ‘The Shoals’, in July of 2022. The album was recorded at Sundrop Sound in Florence, Alabama and was produced by Alabama Shakes keyboard player Ben Tanner.
Even though their name comes from a fun night out in Brooklyn and they recorded their debut album in Alabama, the Jaws of Brooklyn still call Seattle their home. This unique blend of locations can certainly be heard when listening to any of their tracks. From Christofferson’s grooving bass line in ‘Sugar Sugar’ to Cohen’s driving opening guitar lick in ‘Forever and a Day,’ the band’s wide musical influence creates a soulful, energetic experience that any listener can enjoy. The Jaws of Brooklyn are truly an embodiment of the musical melting pot that Seattle has become over the last few decades. 98.9 KPNW had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with the Jaws of Brooklyn lead singer, Lindsay Love, before their exciting show at Barboza last week.
The Questions We’re Dying to Know
Before getting down to business, we had to ask Love our favorite ice breaker.
If you had only had a CD player in your car and had to keep the same few CD’s on rotation, what would you choose?
While Love’s answers ranged from Amy Winehouse and Bon Iver, to Remi Wolf and Moses Sumney, she had one album that stuck out to her the most. “Noga Erez, ‘KIDS’, she’s incredible. She’s a big influence on how I’m trying to sing in our new songs, just being more experimental in the way I sing things.”
Who is inspiring your sound at the moment?
“One thing I will say is that me and the boys, we have a lot of years between us so the things that we find inspiring between us are very different from one another, but I would say that we’re all very rooted in it being very soulful and very groovy. I think the Black Pumas have been very inspirational for us and I think the Alabama Shakes have been too. Ben Tanner, who plays keys for the Alabama Shakes, was actually the producer for our album. We wanted him specifically because of that sound they had.”
How was the experience of recording in Alabama?
“We knew the sound we wanted, we wanted the really retro raspy analog sound. We had a list of about three producers and Ben Tanner was our number one. He ended up being the first who responded to us, so we knew that was a sign.”
After talking about working with Tanner, Love went on to speak more about their experience in the town of Florence, Alabama.
“It was the most wholesome, peaceful & calm experience. We’d spend 13 hours in the studio everyday and take breaks on the porch swing and walk back at sunset when the fireflies were out, it was the best. They are the salt-of-the-earth home grown lovely people. The other thing is that the whole community is involved in music, they all help each other. I mean it’s the Muscle Shoals sound, it’s a very famous sound that has such a history. We wouldn’t have changed a thing about that experience, it was incredible.”
Let’s take it back to the PNW for a second, what do you think makes the Seattle music scene special?
“I guess I could be cliche and say the history that is here you know with like Pearl Jam, Kurt Cobain and all that kind of stuff. I really think that there is a lot of diversity in music here. I won’t mince words and I will say that I would love to see more of what yall are doing, which is listener powered things and grass roots. There are some incredible artists here that deserve to be able to be artists for a living if that’s what they want to do and it shouldn’t be unattainable because of money.”
Tell us about your upcoming shows at SXSW and how you’re feeling.
“SXSW is probably our biggest opportunity we’ve had so far. I’ve had a stomach ache for an entire week because this feels like a next step and with that comes a lot of pressure. You just want to do well and capture the hearts of people. I’ve really always had a feeling and a hope that our music would do well in that area.”
If you’re headed to SXSW, you’ll have nine chances to catch The Jaws of Brooklyn LIVE! Head over to their social media for the full schedule and to find out when they’ll be coming to a town near you.
And last, but certainly not least, we learned Lindsay Love’s go to karaoke song is…
Valerie by Amy Winehouse
If you haven’t had the chance to listen to The Jaws of Brooklyn yet, make sure to tune in and catch them on 98.9 KPNW. You can also support th
e band by checking out their website HERE!
Check out 98.9 KPNW’s full interview with Lindsay Love!