The Belle Brigade was an American vocal and instrumental duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of siblings Barbara Gruska (born c. 1983) on guitar, drums, and vocals, and Ethan Gruska (born c. 1989) on guitar, piano, and vocals. The duo released its first album, ''

The Belle Brigade The Belle Brigade was an American vocal and instrumental duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of siblings Barbara Gruska (born c. 1983) on guitar, drums, and vocals, and Ethan Gruska (born c. 1989) on guitar, piano, and vocals. The duo r ...

'', in 2011 to positive critical response.

Biography

The Gruskas come from a musical family. Their father,

Jay Gruska Jay Gruska (; born April 23, 1952) is an American songwriter and composer best known for his film and television scoring, and for writing hit songs for a variety of artists. He has composed musical scores for dozens of TV dramas, with over 500 ...

, is a movie and television composer, and their grandfather is multiple-Oscar-winning composer

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. Their great-grandfather was

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

Quintet drummer Johnny Williams, and other relatives also worked as professional drummers. Barbara Gruska studied jazz drumming at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

and

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

and drummed for performers such as

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

Ray Lamontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

K.D. Lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

Benji Hughes Benji Hughes is an American musical artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. His first album, '' A Love Extreme'', was released in 2008. ''A Love Extreme'' On July 22, 2008, Benji Hughes released his debut album, entitled '' A Love Extreme'' on Ne ...

and Inara George. Ethan also studied at CalArts. While giving birth to Ethan, their mother, Jenny Williams Gruska, suffered a stroke; she recovered, and her story became the basis for a 1994

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

titled '' A Time to Heal'' (for which their father wrote the music) and later for their song "Lucky Guy". Barbara and Ethan began a band together in 2008. Their first album, ''The Belle Brigade'', was co-produced by Barbara, Ethan and

Matthew Wilder Matthew Wilder ( Weiner; January 24, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single "Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the ''Cash Box'' chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

and released on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in April 2011. The duo has toured with such acts as

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums a ...

, G. Love & Special Sauce,

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

Dawes Dawes may refer to: Places * Dawes (Parish), New South Wales, Australia *Dawes Point, New South Wales, Australia * Dawes Arboretum, in Newark, Ohio, U.S. *Dawes County, Nebraska, U.S. * Dawes Township, Thurston County, Nebraska, U.S. Other uses *D ...

, and

Blitzen Trapper Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country music, country/Folk music, folk/Rock and roll, rock band associated with Sub Pop Records, Vagrant Records and Lojinx. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quintet, with ...

. They also feature a song on the ''Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1'' soundtrack, "I Didn't Mean It", and performed Bob Dylan's "No Time to Think" on the Amnesty International benefit album '' Chimes of Freedom''. The band's second full-length album, ''Just Because'', was released in March 2014. The Gruskas wanted to pursue a more individual sound on the follow-up, and after the record company expressed its dissatisfaction, the band took the record to independent ATO Records.Mikael Wood
"The Belle Brigade does things its way this time, 'Just Because'. The Belle Brigade's Barbara and Ethan Gruska say their debut album was 'funneled' through others' desires and that 'Just Because' is more theirs. They changed labels to get it released."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', March 14, 2014. Starting in May 2014, Belle Brigade toured as the opening act and part of the backup band for

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', '' God Willin' & the Creek Don ...

's North American tour.Jane Stevenson
"Ray LaMontagne stellar during Toronto Supernova tour stop"
''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'', June 9, 2014.

Critical response

The Belle Brigade's music, marked by harmonies reminiscent of

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

and

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

, has been described as having roots in the classic California pop rock and country sounds of groups like

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

and

The Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

as well as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Ethan Gruska has said that their strongest influence is

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's solo work. Their debut album has received critical attention and praise. ''

'' music writer Randall Roberts described their album as "a dozen California pop gems" and said of their first single, "Losers": "A defiant, classically structured song about being sick of social games, pretense and irony, "Losers" feels like one of those works of alienation that's existed forever, one that would ring true just as clearly had it been released in 1957 or 1974." ''L.A. Times'' record reviewer Mikael Wood called the album "the sound of a record nerd’s dream come to messy, muscular life." ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'' critic Glenn Gamboa referred to their "doe-eyed innocence . . . that makes their sun-kissed '70s SoCal sound even more appealing." '' Paste'' reviewer Alexandra Fletcher listed their song "Where Not to Look for Freedom" as one of her "10 New Songs For The 2011 Summer". And ''

El Paso Times The ''El Paso Times'' is the newspaper for the US city of El Paso, Texas. The newspaper has an approximate daily circulation of 65,000 and 125,000 on Sundays. The paper is the only English-language daily in El Paso (when the '' El Paso Herald-Po ...

'' reviewer Doug Pullen called the album "charming, compelling, timeless and inspiring—and worthy of repeated listening" and said it was his "favorite album this year."

Discography

Albums *''

'' (2011) *'' Just Because'' (2014) Compilation appearances *'' Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan'' (2012): cover of Bob Dylan's "No Time to Think" from '' Street-Legal''.

References

External links

*
"The Belle Brigade: A Biography"
at

Paradigm Talent Agency Paradigm Talent Agency is an American full-service entertainment agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, Monterey, Nashville, Berkeley and Austin. Paradigm Talent Agency has more than 200 agents representing cl ...

website *https://www.facebook.com/TheBelleBrigade {{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Brigade, The Musical groups established in 2008 Sibling musical duos Musical groups from California Reprise Records artists