INTERVIEW / ROGER BARRETT
PHOTO / GWENDOLYN WIND

Fayetteville’s The Brothel Sprouts are Kris Mastin, Willie Benson, Robert Ragsdale, and Alex Ivey. The band’s laissez-faire “who-plays-what” policy makes a singular description impossible. I can say that it’s warm and comforting, maybe like your favorite sweater covered with cat hair. Luckily, you can just hear for yourself this Saturday night (Oct. 11) at Backspace, when they release their debut EP “Good Enough”. Willi Goehring, and The Theta Theorem will open.

Congrats on the record release. Can you give us a brief band history and how long have these songs been floating around?

Thanks!  We started playing together in the fall of 2010 with Wanbli Gamache on bass, Our first show being the christening of JR’s newly built stage with Egyptr and Voyageurs.  We took a two year hiatus, returning about a year ago with Alex on bass and the pursuit of a new, more diverse, musical conception.  The songs on Good Enough were all written before the hiatus but have been rewritten so that they embody both our original punk roots as well as the more subtle and complex style we’ve grown towards.

Most bands exist with clearly defined roles – how does it work having multiple bands within the same band?

While embracing idiosyncrasies, we try to find a thematic consistency in the variety of arrangements and instrumentation.  It’s like when you’re getting your haircut and they make you look into the little mirror through the big mirror and you can see the back of your own head.

What non-musical influences made these songs happen?

Our moms, The literary fool, Samuel Johnson, Carl Sagan, George Carlin, Louis C.K., cats, booze, the Coen Brothers, the English language, Fayetteville, failure, disappointment, The Office, Home Movies

What are the worst bands you will publicly admit to liking and what have they inspired you not to do?

Vengaboys, Boney M., Smash Mouth, Billy Joel, Peter Gabriel, System of a Down, Harvey Danger.  They’ve inspired us to try not to indulge.

Tell us about the release show at Backspace – how did you decide what other bands to add? What can we expect at the show?

Backspace has the informality and inclusiveness of a house venue with the social reputation of a bar, making it a sweet place to get drunk and see (or play) a show.  Both of the other acts are sincere in their music and do it well.  Everybody loves Willi Goehring and everybody’s great grandparents would as well.  Also we’re scared of him.  We saw The Theta Theorem recently and it was awesome and we want to see them again.  Funk-punk is probably the best way to describe it but they have a very eclectic sound.  Expect more Christmas lights than usual.

Besides this show – will the record be available anywhere else?

It will be free to listen to or download online and we’ll also have physical copies for cheap.

Any band plans for the last few month of 2014 – Halloween show, Xmas song?

We’re working on a single with Villewave Records right now that should be released in the coming months, and trying to make time for a Chanukah record.  We’re also in the process of booking a tour of the South for December and January.

For more show details, click here.

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