brett bixby is an independent songwriter out of long beach, ca, who is harnessing his swiss army knife repetoire and potent cadre of friends to make new music that is both intimate and expansive. if neil young and zero 7 had a baby, who knows what it would look like but it might sound as honest and beautiful as his soon to be released 10 song album.

bixby is known for turning a phrase in simple but unexpected ways and his past experience is a veritable wellspring of musical mischief. statements like "the holes among the truth are like the stars along the sky, they're easier to see without the city lights" and "your listening tree is losing its leaves" appear straightforward but when taken with the lushly spare musical backdrop, they feel more like the large roots you can see just above the surface. he honed is craft while frontman of the l.b. outfit twelvehourmary. the headstrong band, with the analog production talents of rich mouser, created an independent rock record with a true spirit. for fans of fat guitars and propulsive grooves, this is a gem in the rough available at www.cdbaby.com/twelvehourmary. while working on the twelvehourmary album, bixby also collaborated with a wide range of folks including the dibs, rocco deluca and chris paul overall - all friends within a Long Beach collective who conspired to create together out of the underground warehouse called The Space. these time-fired friendships continue to bear fruit and ripe friends make for interesting music.

fast forward. brett is now immersed in readying the release of his first independent musical outing in the last few years, featuring the production of chris karn (mastermind of deccatree) and the wide-ranging talents of twelvehourmary wingman stuart richardson. he has filled in the blanks with a cross section of cream-of-the-crop local luminaries including friends from deccatree, buchanan, pawnshop kings, fielding, resident hero and new earth mud. the resulting musical pieces are like audio polaroids colored with the subtle touches of an inspired cast. from the string-laden latticework of fireside to the dream-stitched intimacy of spilling, bixby has hit an easy stride and the music is a reflection of a newfound ability to stretch into newfound spaces. these are songs that feel birthed from the inside of a wood-colored womb... an eclectic stand of musical trees where atmosphere and melody mingle with hues of folk, rock and pop. these songs breathe in and breathe out.

outside of a new album born of hard work and spare time, brett is also a member of the southern california tour-de-force known as Buchanan. (www.myspace.com/buchananmusiconline) Buchanan has just released their new True Love ep to packed audiences in L.A. and the band is on the verge of taking their fans to a much larger audience (available online in march @ www.buchananmusic.com).

2006 will prove to be a watershed year for Brett Bixby and Buchanan and your support is an essential source of fuel. visit here for album release information (may '06) and give the new buchanan 'true love' ep a spin. listen along as brett continues to explore the boundaries of the experience of making music.

[courtesy of word sherpa]