Here is the review of the new Leviathan Brothers' EP Short Stories from Under the Radar Magazine (Winter 2008). 

"Sean O'Connell plugs in for Stories, leaning hard on a roiling chug in opener "Desperate Futures," snarling over the talking head that fuels his organ with the gas it needs. Partner Miles Senzaki is his ever-present foundation, tagging the brotherly landscape with crisp brushes and fills. As always, the covers are insprired gems among the originals. Cold War Kids' "Passing the Hat" is translated on stark piano atop a harsh wind tearing at a loose metal flap. Much respect to the The Beatles pick, "The Inner Light" - a Harrison composition, no less. But it's a trip through Nirvana's "Dumb" that really sends the jaw clanging with sessioneer J.P. Maramba's bass handling the main riff and O'Connell's clean ivories speaking in Kurt Cobains' grimy moan. Vibraphone-dreamy closer "Epilogue Cabin" seals the EP with a snowy kiss. The only drawback - as always on a Leviathan joint - is the premature goodbye."

This is in the OC Weekly this week.  Pick up a copy.  Read about the special screenings happening in Irvine.

 

All of that info is true.  The third EP is recorded and will be coming out in September on Red Rockets Glare.  Buy our stuff on iTunes now.  Because you can.

Surveys surveys surveys.  Have you ever wondered about the Brothers belief system and moral code?  Perhaps a 50 questions survey will give you a crisper image of just what drives Sean Leviathan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

50 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!

1) Do you like blue cheese?

If it's intentionally blue, yes.

2) Have you ever smoked heroin?

Smoked it? God no. Heroin is for snorting.

3) Do you own any guns?

Yes but they were all purchased at places with backwards "R"s

4) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?

What's with these regional questions?

5) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?

I get nervous for other peoples doctor appointments.

6) What do you think of hot dogs?

The best cheap date in the world? Costco. Hot dog warm-up, free sample entrees.

Second best cheap date? Ikea. Hot dogs in the single parent, two-bedroom apartment display.

7) Favorite Christmas song?

Did Ringo ever do a Christmas song?  If he did, that's my favorite.

8) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

The beer I didn't finish the night before.

9) Can you do push ups?

King of the pull downs.

10) Can you do a chin up?

A chin up? one? yeah, sure.

11) What's your favorite piece of jewelry?

That ring Frodo had.

12) Favorite hobby?

Returning items without a receipt

13) Ever been in a car wreck?

Yeah with Paris Hilton believe it or not.  I want my 1987 Cutlass Ciera back, bitch.

14) Do you have A.D.D.?

I wish.

15) What's one trait that you love about yourself?

Typing abilities.

16) Middle name?

Jimmy

17) Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

-'Street Hassle' is a good song
-I'm not going to finish '2001: Space Odyssey' today
-Lunch was tasty

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday?

A veggie burrito
A chicken burrito
A metro day pass

19) Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?

Water
Frozen Lemonade concentrate without water
Wild Irish Rose

20) Current worry?

Failing my smog test

21) Current hate right now?

Love is the answer

23) How did you bring in the New Year?

Like any real player I was chilling at a beach house with a select few drinking fine champagne and taunting the locals

24) Where would you like to go?

I'd like to go home.

25) Name three people who will complete this?

That girl.  And those two dudes over there.

26) Do you own slippers?

No but I've got a robe that rivals any slippers you got.

27) What shirt are you wearing?

Work shirt!

28) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

They make satin sheets? Stitched together potato sacks are the only comfort I know.

29) Can you whistle?

Yes, to a fault.

30) Favorite color?

Green.

31) Would you be a pirate?

What are my other options? Swim home? I'll be a pirate.

32) What songs do you sing in the shower?

"Benny and the Jets" as played by a baseball organist

33) Favorite girl's name?

Francine

34) Favorite boy's name?

Arthur

35) What's in your pocket?

Keys, headphones, cell phone, wallet, two quarters, three pennies

36) Last thing that made you laugh?

"ET. Foam home."

37) Best bed sheets as a child?

I had a fucking tent that fit over my mattress. And even my name was inscribed on the front.

38) Worst injury you've ever had?

A small cut on my index finger requiring four stitches when I was 7.

39) Do you love where you live?

More importantly, I MAKE love where I live.

40) How many TVs do you have in your house?

Two that half work.  So one?

41) Who is your loudest friend?

My car.  220,500 miles and still spitting steam.

42) How many dogs do you have?

I have none.

43) Does someone have a crush on you?

Yeah but I told him that this was my stop and that he'll meet someone more stable when he transfers to his next bus.

45) What is your favorite book?

Dictionary. Every book ever made is in there.

46) What is your favorite candy?

Dots used to rule the roost. Now a Skor bar settles me down like no other.

47) Favorite Sports Team?

Boston Braves

48) What song do you want played at your funeral?

"Short People" by Randy Newman

49) What were you doing at 12am?

I was finishing the Wendell Baker Story. It was ok. Thanks for the loan Netflix.

50) Do you believe in love at first sight?

Stevie Wonder and I agree: maybe?

The Man Who Lost His Shadow is available now at:

www.cdbaby.com/leviathanbros2

Care to read about it?  Dig this article from the District.

The Leviathan Brothers only practice in bedrooms, explains pianist/projectionist Sean O'Connell. Nilsson albums nudge against Village Vanguard Coltrane recordings in the CD pile, and the adjacent kitchen counter is cluttered with paper scraps from one of O'Connell's other hobbies: amateur graphic design. Drummer Miles Senzaki's kit takes up most of the floor space, as O'Connell sits at his keyboard, back nearly pressed against his TV. The two are running through an interpretation of Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes," a potential remake that would bring the Leviathan Brothers' Bowie cover count up to two, including their audience-pleasing rendition of "Life on Mars," which, when the band is really on, can provoke a feeling a little like seeing someone unexpectedly jump onto the table at a formal dinner party and start gleefully kicking over the crystal.

The Leviathan Brothers insist they are the only band to have played both the Silverlake Lounge and Culver City's venerable Jazz Bakery within a month. This is almost certainly true. Equally adept at pleasing both American Apparel employees and tweed-coated professorial types, Leviathan Brothers have found airplay on KCRW and KXLU, and they've had one of their songs featured in a documentary about Playboy cartoonist Eldon Dedini. They seem to be developing their own genre—a sort of electronic psychedelic jazz/pop that bleeds beyond the instrumentation itself and into the stage presence, song selection, and home decor of its members.

O'Connell met Senzaki while both were music undergrads and, originally joined by bassist Miguel Sawaya, they formed the Leviathan Brothers—initially a relatively straightforward jazz trio. After Sawaya left the band, the Brothers found themselves playing a gig at the Room 5 Lounge as a reluctant two-piece. "It didn't turn out nearly as bad as we thought it would," says Senzaki. "We discussed our different options and decided that Sean would fill in for the bass with a synthesizer."

In a move much like hiring Eno to cover for Mingus, O'Connell purchased a Boss Dr. Sample and an Alesis synthesizer, which sit atop his regular keyboard and, live, give him the air of a dryly witty Rick Wakeman. Now with Mink DeVille clips, the occasional Will Ferrell sample, and the beautifully haunting "water piano" setting, the band broke through into something different. Absent the constraints of an acoustic jazz trio, O'Connell found he was able to realize the synthesis of the jazz music with which he had grown up and the pop music that he equally loved.

The list of artists covered by the Leviathan Brothers ranges from local Hawthorne heroes the Beach Boys to Beck, Fiona Apple, Donovan, and Air—with the occasional nod to the Zeitgeist in the form of a Gnarls Barkley or Pixies cover. Their recent addition of Nirvana's "Dumb" to their live repertoire is perhaps one of their more irreverent and extraordinary interpretations, transforming the original's brooding intensity into a flurry of time signatures and energy that rivals the slow-burn menace of the original.

The two have put the finishing touches on their second EP, The Man Who Lost His Shadow, recorded at Red Rockets Glare studios by the Idaho Falls' Raymond Richards, who is also releasing the album on his label and who says about the band, "They are the last gasp for a genre that hasn't been cool since '72." For the Rock and Roll Circus-esque record-release show at {open}, the Brothers assigned Dios lead singer Joel Morales an opening solo set, augmented by a magic show courtesy of Gentleman James Camaro, a projection of their new music video created by South Park's Ryan Quincy, and various uncomfirmable surprises. Zinesters, literati, dirtbags, music snobs, and tech heads alike are going to love it. No cover will go unconsidered.

"The Leviathan Brothers plays new and old pieces -dig what they do with Harry Nilsson's "One"! - in fascinating ways."
-Kirk Silsbee, Citybeat, September 21, 2006

"So you like your pop songs a little suave?  The Leviathan Brothers hold forth the next couple of Mondays at Tangier, the trio of Miguel Sawaya, Sean O'Connell and Miles Senzaki perform jazz renditions of songs such as "One (Harry NIlsson) and "Playground Love" (Air)."
-Kevin Bronson, LA Times, April 20, 2006

They're not brothers.  They're not even related, but that doesn't stop the musical duo, Sean O'Connell and Miles Senzaki - the Leviathan Brothers - from forming a real kinship with each other and their music.

On Thursday night, the duo will share their unique brand of jazz at The Press restaurant in Claremont.  O'Connell extends a special invitation to those who have never been jazz fans.  He believes the Leviathan Brothers' style and music choices might have jazz skeptics groovin' to a new tune.

"Firs off, a jazz duo is kinda weird, and we play pop songs," said O'Connell, a 24-year-old Hawthorne resident.  "Instead of playing songs from 80 years ago like most jazz bands, we're playing songs from 30 years ago.  We have a very modern repertoire.  We cover David Bowie, Beck, The Pixies."

O'Connell explained that jazz bands of the 1930s and '40s played songs from the early 1900s.  As music progressed, jazz musicians that followed should have moved up through the decades as well, but didn't.

Senzaki agreed with his "brother."

"It's what makes our music more relatable to people," said Senzaki, a 27-year-old Los Angeles resident.  "we hope people will come hear us.  There's not a lot of opportunities to hear music that sounds like ours."

O'Connell and Senzaki met in 2000 at UCLA.  They were both students in the ethnomusicology department and have since graduated with bachelors degree in the area.

"It was a small department we had lots of opportunites to play together," Senzaki said.

Already being familiar with each other's music and musical philosophy, the classmates formed Leviathan Brothers and began practicing in O'Connell's apartment.

The name, Leviathan Brothers, was chosen after O'Connell heard the word 'leviathan' on the radio.

"It's a funny word, pompous and ridiculous," he said.  "I think a good band name should be pompous and ridiculous."

Leviathan Brothers performed their first show June 20, 2005, and have performed more than a dozen shows since.

O'Connell and Senzaki's passion for music consistently has them pushing the envelope and exploring new things.  Both are committed to respecting musical traditions while at the same time taking their music to places music has never been before.

"While we play, we use a slide projector and show slides of world travels," said O'Conell, who plays the piano and keyboard.

Just not their world travels.  O'Connell bought the slides at an estate sale for $5.  The owner traveled extensively and took extraordinary pictures everywhere he went.

"It's like electric jazz," said O'Connell, as he started to laugh.  "We're just two guys out there making a lot of noise with a lot of lights and a lot of kitsch.  It's entertainment.  We're playing jazz music just trying to entertain people, not educate them.  We just want them to have a good time."
-Diane Sholley, San Bernadino Sun, July 17, 2006

Our favorite blurb from the January 12th LA Record.

"Leviathan Brothers @ Room 5: Poor Leviathan Brothers - what are they trying to do?  Who do they think they are - playing the music they do in the manner in which they do it?  And don't they know that a place like LA is gonna slowly devour them and rob them of all their god-given beauty?  It's inevitable:  anytime you have the talent and creativity that these young men have, shit is bound to happen.  I don't know how long it's gonna take, but their music will be co-opted by your semi-hip ex-girlfriend/sister and who knows?  The party may be over.  But until then anyone that cares enough to read music previews on the back of a poster of some unkown band reproducing a classic album cover - as opposed to going online and reading anything that Pitchfork or any other music nerd's blog has to say about a world in which they have no clue and should stay the fuck out of! - should enjoy the music of the Brothers Leviathan: a piano, an upright bass, a drumset.  Not your thing?  Well, go wait in line at the Viper Room and save a spot for someone that wouldn't mind hearing well-thought-out arrangements of songs you should know and love - Bowie, Lou Reed, Beck - as well as a a few you might not know.  Sure, it's jazz and there's plenty of room for improvisation, but they're not looking to masturbate all over their instruments and show you how many notes they can play.  They're willing to compromise - to pay attention to the space between the notes.  They're not gonna beat you over the head and jam their music down your throat.  They're trying this new thing called being tasteful - you should look into it."(CDV)

Tastefulness is overrated.

It's the annual Leviathan Brothers anagram contest.  No purchase necessary.

-Shovel the Brain Art (Christopher, age 12, Dartmouth, MA)

-A Thin Broth Reveals (Robert, age 8, Hibbing, Minnesota)

-Shorn that Live Bear (Kylie, age 9, Mt. Shasta, CA)

-Heal Vibrant Others (Ayush, age 6, Santa Fe, New Mexico)