Grady & The Hootin’ Bandits frontman Grady Berhorst talks the band’s first EP
Grady & The Hootin’ Bandits are a young and resourceful Colorado-based independent band hailing from small town Evergreen. Last fall brought the release of their debut self-titled EP, a blend of folk and jazz that culminates in five tracks of indie-alternative excellence — the entirety of which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. The third song on the EP, “Hootin’ Thing,” is a particular stand out, joining piano, horns and a grainy production style with fun upbeat vocals that will leave you desperate for more.
Frontman Grady Behrhorst is currently separated from the rest of his bandmates pursuing a degree in Business of Creative Enterprises at Emerson College in Boston. Before the musician graduates in May, I took the opportunity to sit and speak with the mastermind for the band’s first ever profile.
On a wildly windy winter afternoon, Grady and I sat on a bench in the Boston Common and discussed our shared love for music and his current musical endeavors.
“I’m always in Paramount [an Emerson academic building] scrounging around for a piano room, and I have a guitar in my room — I play that like once a week,” Grady said, reflecting on being far away from home and his collection of instruments.
When asked about how his band came to be, Grady explained, “I’ve been writing for a long time and it used to be really bad and maybe it is still really bad, but I guess I felt the most passionate about it and wanted to make something happen. So I took the lead in establishing something.”
Even though Grady takes on the bulk of responsibility for the band’s writing and creative direction, he started the band because he wanted to share in the work and creation of music with others.
Grady & The Hootin’ Bandits is made up by Grady, the lead singer and guitarist, his older brother and bassist, Mac Behrhorst, his younger brother and rhythm guitarist, Tate Behrhorst and Grady’s former babysitter and “all around good dude” Mark Anderson, who is the band’s drummer and producer. The Behrhorst brothers grew up surrounded by a lot of instruments in a musically inclined family, and despite never taking lessons, they began playing instruments when they were each around the age of four. Grady noted that Mac has always enjoyed learning and playing covers, while Grady and Tate have leaned more toward writing original music. Their recording studio is a barn at Mark’s home, which is only 10 minutes away from the Behrhorst brothers’ home.
To the brothers, Mark is an inspiration. “It’s super funny, over the course of recording and everything I just picked up a lot of his subtle… mannerisms, I totally look up to the dude,” Grady said.
It took the band about a month to finish recording and producing the EP, after writing the songs for around nine months.
The easiest songs to write were “Bunnies” and “Jenny,” and the hardest song to write was the final song on the EP, “Lost Your Dog,” Grady said. For the studio recordings, the band had two horn players contribute to the songs “Jenny” and “Hootin’ Thing”.
“‘Bunnies’ was really hard to make because it was just me and my little brother and we were playing without a click, so I started the song playing lead guitar at my pace, and my little brother would play the rhythm guitar and we’d always be speeding up or something was happening,” Grady said. “We were recording on tape, so it was super frustrating and it took a long time to get that track down.”
“Bunnies” is one of the band’s most vulnerable and intimate songs.
“As much as I want all that stuff to succeed, I’m not really doing it for that [money and fame],” Grady said. “I’m doing it because I love being in the moment writing music… and that makes it tricky to talk about sometimes.”
Lately, Grady has been wrestling with the themes of loss and death for a second EP. What exactly it will look like, he doesn’t yet know.
Grady feels the story of the EP is not for him to decide.“Whatever people hear is whatever people hear,” he said.
Grady said there’s more to come — he and the band have a new piece in the works titled “Lenny Valentine.” He is also working on a solo project.
Throughout our chat, Grady proved he has an unwavering passion for music, creating and adventure as an art form. As a journalist and music buff myself, it was an incredible opportunity to speak with someone who not only has such a respect for the art, but also enjoys creating it so deeply.
If you’re interested in tuning into the “Hootin’ Bandits” EP, make sure to follow Grady & The Hootin’ Bandits on Spotify, Apple Music, or Youtube Music. To hear more about future releases and upcoming announcements, be sure to follow Grady Behrhorst on Instagram as well!
Regions: Boston