BROWN BIRD

IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY, CREATING AN ALBUM AS A FORM OF THERAPY

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The New York Times, April 29 2015 • Jeff Oloizia

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In the summer of 2008, MorganEve Swain, a pixie-ish, free-spirited fiddler and singer met David Lamb, a bearded, deeply feeling singer-songwriter, while touring on the East Coast. Just days later, Lamb asked Swain to join his eclectic folk ensemble Brown Bird. The pair fell in love, and over the course of six years — as Brown Bird whittled its lineup down to a duo — they would release four full-length albums, building a faithful following near their home in Warren, Rhode Island. Swaim and Lamb were married in August 2013. On April 5, 2014, Lamb died due to complications from leukemia.

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THE BALLAD OF BROWN BIRD

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The Boston Globe, April 25 2015 • James Reed

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The story of Brown Bird is a love story, and it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. They are, or were, a band, but Dave Lamb and MorganEveSwain were partners in every sense. Their six-year romance on and offstage caught fire and burned bright when they met in 2008. They moved in together within weeks.

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AXIS MUNDI

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As we reach the end of the first year without Dave, it’s with a swollen heart that I announce the release of our album Axis Mundi. Although the overwhelming feeling that he should be here and we should be hitting the road won’t leave my mind, I am at the same time overjoyed that our final effort will at last be entering the world.

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BROWN BIRD’S FINAL ALBUM TO BE RELEASED ON APRIL 28th, 2015

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“Axis Mundi is the album that Dave and I wrote during the year of his battle with leukemia. Excluding ‘Tortured Boy’ which I wrote for him in the first stage of our relationship, these songs were written in the months leading up to his diagnosis, and the months following his bone marrow transplant, when he was confined to our home. As long as he felt well enough to be working, he was. He would spend hours in our home studio, meticulously recording and rerecording his parts – full drums, guitar, vocals, percussion ideas…

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THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM: AN INTERVIEW WITH MORGANEVE SWAIN

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Sleepover Shows, November 21 2014 • Rob Ribera

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Christmas songs mean different things to different people. Whether you love them or hate them, you cannot deny their power. They are joyous and melancholy. They help keep us warm in the coldest of winters. They remind us to love our friends and our family. They are about human connections and bonds that cannot be broken. At the heart of it all, they are about love.

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ONE NIGHT IN MID-DECEMBER…

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of Dave’s and my first year together, we were snowed in, drinking strong eggnog and dressing up in each other’s winter clothes when we decided to take our silliness one step further and write a holiday song. “The Old Church Bell” was the first song we ever co-wrote. We had so much fun with it that that same night we recorded a version of “Silent Night” too, using almost every instrument we had in the house—just having fun with it and each other. Every winter since then, we kept the tradition of recording a few Christmas songs, which we would hand-package and give as gifts to our families. This year, I thought it’d be special and important to make these songs available to our extended family, in an effort to send something fun into the world and keep Dave’s cheerful, fun-loving spirit alive.

The Brown Bird Christmas Album features artwork by our friend Ryan McLennan, and is only available at brownbird.bandcamp.com for a limited time.

FROM THE ROAD

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A friend of mine had her first motorcycle accident a few years ago. She was unhurt, but rattled, and the bike was in a ditch. I remember her telling me that the cop who responded, after helping her get the bike back up to the street, told her she had to get back on and ride home. If she didn’t, he said, she’d probably never ride again.

And so here I am, back out on the road. I’ll be playing fiddle as one of the “Wrong Reasons” behind Joe Fletcher, from August 27th to September 6th. And from there…who knows? For a full list of shows and info visit Joe’s website: http://joefletchermusic.com/shows/

Hope to see you out there.

—MorganEve

ICE ON THE SILL: BROWN BIRD’S MUSIC INSPIRES ART SHOW

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DigBoston, July 14 2014 • Susanna Jackson

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In “Deeper,” a shadow is hunched in the woods. The bare winter branches visible through the person’s translucent torso appear as a tangle of uncertain arteries. The fading figure could be light playing a trick on the eye, and yet the feet have left two imprints in the freshly fallen snow.

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