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BIO:
THE MAG SEVEN are, in the Texas manner of speaking,
“instrumentalists for hire”, musical gun slingers, playing
everything from Punk-Surf and Spaghetti Western themes to
Jazz. Their influences range from Black Flag and the
Descendents to John Coltrane and Ennio Marricone, The
Ventures and Stravinsky. Together, they are a musical
tour-de-force, an excellent instrumental ensemble capable
of mastering any style.
The band’s origins reach back to 1998, in Dallas, with
bassist Donivan Blair (Hagfish, Only Crime, Toadies),
guitarist Dan Phillips (Slowride, True Widow) and Scott
Brayfield (Slowride) on drums. The original line-up
recorded two full length CDs; Eighth Round Knock Out
and Use Your Powers For Good, Not Evil.
After a few years together the band went through a change
with Phillip’s departure, pursuing other opportunities.
The eager and willing guitarist, Brandon Landelius,
entered the trio. Blair, Brayfield and Landelius played
shows regionally and wrote new material until,
unfortunately, Brandon relocated to Fayetteville,
Arkansas. During the downtime that came with the loss of
another member, Blair kept moving forward musically,
playing as part of the groups Armstrong and Only Crime. In
late 2005, the decision was made to put THE MAG SEVEN
back together, and after enlisting the help of his Only
Crime band mates, Bill Stevenson and Zach Blair, the band
released their first album, The Future Is Ours If You
Can Count (2006) through End Sounds. Like previous
material, songs from this release have been extensively
utilized on film/television.
Soon after, Landelius returned to Texas, where he and
Blair started preparing new material for their next and
fourth release – Knife To A Gunfight (End Sounds
2008) featuring the band’s original drummer, Scott
Brayfield.
For their fifth release, the band decided to take a
different route. Landelius had been working on a side
project called “The Cotton Needle”, a mainly jazz
influenced collection, but with a definitive surf bent to
it. He knew that to meld these two musically powerful
genres into one, THE MAG SEVEN needed a drummer
that was up to the task. Knowing Bill Stevenson’s love for
jazz, combined with their positive past working experience
in the studio, Landelius asked if he would be interested
in playing on the new album. A few short weeks later,
Landelius and Blair returned to the Blasting Room Studio
for an intense three day recording session that resulted
in Cotton Needle Sessions. Stevenson’s drum
interpretations were stellar, displaying for all, elements
of his percussionist expertise that extends far beyond the
norm. Blair’s bass playing is also a departure from
familiar territory and exhibits an amazing sense for
music’s inner nature, regardless of the genre.
Heavily influenced by artists as varied as Miles Davis,
Eric Dolphy, and Alicia Keys, Landelius wanted to write
instrumentals for Knife to a Gunfight that would
project a very different sound, while keeping to the heart
of the instrumentation and arrangements that inspired
them. In the end, THE MAG SEVEN has given the whole
project a unique sound all its own and yet far different
from any previous album before it. Cotton Needle
Sessions is set to be released in October 6, 2009
through End Sounds.
THE MAG SEVEN is currently based out of Amarillo,
Texas and is made up of Donivan Blair, John Lerma (The
Humans, Tennessee Tuckness, BSATBAAGB) and Brandon
Landelius.
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