Meet Will and Lamar Gaines of Gaines Bros

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will and Lamar Gaines.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
LG: That’s a good question. Uh

WG: I got my start with that plastic vacuum I played as an upright bass because I wanted to be like my pops.
We grew up with the shit.

LG: It’s the family business.

WG: Yeah man you know. Pops is a self-employed businessman and moms is an educator. It was kind of inevitable.

LG: Like where we at?A lot of hard work and persistence. All that sheddin’ is hard work.

WG: I smoked a lot of weed. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves moving to Phoenix with nothing from Cleveland. It was either succeed or die. So the pressure was on and it was either gonna make a diamond or a turd.

LG: Yeah. I think that’s it, man. I think that’s it.

Has it been a smooth road?
(both laugh)

WG: Most of the people in the music industry that deal with the business have no ties to the makers, the creators and the visionaries of the music. They’re into the money.

LG: Struggles. Uh yeah, the music business is not like other businesses. I think part of the struggles we go through, we’ve been through is the change of the business where everybody wants the music for free. There’s no formality to it. When you mix money and music there’s always gonna be problems.

both: How you gon makes money.

LG: It requires a huge sacrifice

Please tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Both laugh

WG: We whoop ass!

LG: I think we’re good at blending our influence of music into a pot and making it original for the artists we play with. Mixing it all together to create our own original sound with our knowledge as musicians.

WG: The highest compliment an artist or musician could receive is that they have an identity. I feel like as soon as you hear two or three notes of our music you know exactly who it is and if you don’t you’ll want to.

LG: Yeah

WG: It’s the Miles Davis effect.

2nd part:
WG I’m most proud that we established our own platform to release and distribute our own music.

LG: Yeah I was about to say the same thing. We’re independent. We own our own music. We’re knowledgeable musicians.

WG: We’ve put more work into the art rather than the gimmicks. We actually live and sleep and breathe and sweat the music.

WG: Everybody in music has their thing. I just feel like we have our own lane and niche. I’m not trying to be any bigger or greater than what we are.

LG: We put a lot of time and effort into being really good musicians and studying the art form in a vast array of genres. We have stood on our own two feet and bring that to other artists. Like Will said we have our own sound, our own creativity.

WG: Our 3rd independent release. It’s the 1st Gaines Brothers album. It’s um how can I say this. Letting go. Letting the music be what it’s going to be. Not trying or forcing. Just breathe and let live.

What’s your outlook for the industry in our city?
LG: Oh boy. I would say no. Well to a certain extent it’s yes and no. You can build your own brand here but the music business isn’t really developed here. As far as taking it past that, there’s really nowhere to go in Phoenix.

WG: I’ve met a lot of wonderful artists, promoters, rappers, singers, songwriters in the city and it just feels like they have only so far to go when it comes to the landscape of the city musically. Other cities have more of a foundation in the arts and culture and they’ve tapped into the resources that support the culture. Not saying that there aren’t organizations going hard for the city.

LG: I guess it would be yes because I feel you should start out anywhere. It doesn’t matter your location you should start where you’re at.

WG: I think my brother brings up a very good point, although we got our start in Cleveland, OH. Every city we’ve moved to an experienced since then have added nuances to our musical vocabulary and community.

LG: Hey Will man it don’t sound like you graduated from public school.

WG: Aye man I did a lil bit of reading after I got that piece of paper I didn’t deserve.

WG: I like what they’re doing in the arts district. All these art facilities and theaters are an outlet to express yourselves. I don’t know if it’s more music festivals or jazz festivals, but I feel like Phoenix could definitely be doing more of that.

LG: I think one of the big parts of Phoenix is that it’s still relatively young as a city. The culture and the sound haven’t really developed yet. Everybody here is a transplant or retired here, so it’s kind of hard to develop those attributes. But I like what the arts district is doing too — more underground spots like uh Valley Bar, Onyx, Crescent Ballroom.

WG: Shout out to Nook Kitchen for giving us that foundation.

LG: I would say Lost Leaf too because anybody can book a show there and make some money.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jeemusic.com/
• Phone: 6025035527
• Email: thegainesbrothers@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gainesbrothers/

Image Credit:
Marion Meadows, Shaundra Valdez, Jessica Green, 268 Creative, Mark Greenawalt

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