Locals Only: : It’s Cole All Over

“We’ve heard it as a positive and a derogatory … ‘Man, you guys are all over the map,’ ” says Cole Brothers guitarist, keyboardist and primary songwriter Jim Cole. “I’m no spring chicken. I’ve been around a long time and I’m a pretty eclectic listener. I can’t think of a genre I don’t like. Maybe Polka I haven’t embraced. Other than that, I’m into everything.”

That old saw about a jack of all trades mastering none finds no application within the Cole Brothers, as Cole and his cohorts are intent on passionately reconstructing everything from Bluegrass to Folk to Country (Alt. and otherwise) and Rock. During area gigs and now with the recent release of their debut CD, When Good Things Happen to Bad People, the Cole Brothers have easily proven their ability to translate any musical genre into their own unique musical language.

Cole’s credentials for playing any number of styles simultaneously are impeccable. His most prominent local gigs with Garage Rock legends the Customs in the ’70s and Alt.Rock chameleons the Auburnaires in the ’80s were the testing grounds for his incredible range with the Cole Brothers today. He makes no apologies for his band’s multifaceted approach to music.

“Contrary to conventional wisdom, I just write them,” he says of his diverse songwriting. “They hit me and I write them. We try to be an equal opportunity employer. It’s all about the song, not the genre. Some people think it’s too spread out and that people won’t know what to call us. At this point, I’m not sure if I care too much if people have trouble compartmentalizing us.”

The Cole Brothers began a few years back as the Jim Cole Band. Former Buddy Bradley Experience frontman Dan Reed was handling the singing chores but the commute from Louisville, Ky., where Reed was a public radio program director, began to take its toll and he pulled out of the group.

Cole eventually placed an ad in CityBeat for a singer to replace Reed and got a call from an interested applicant. The mutually anonymous call became a reunion of sorts when Cole realized the singer looking for work on the other end of the line was old friend Johnny Graves, former vocalist for local Roots Rock stompers the Brand.

“The voice immediately sounded familiar to me,” says Cole. “He said, ‘What are you guys all about?’ I told him and we started talking a little. Finally, I said, ‘Johnny?’ and he said, ‘Jimmy?’ He had just come out of the Brand, who I loved. Those guys had broken up and Johnny was available.”

With bassist Mike Gregory and guitarist Steve Bedel already held over from the Jim Cole Band and Graves in place as the singer, all that remained was to establish a drum presence, often the hardest slot to fill for local bands. Cole skipped the ad route and called Tigerlillies guitarist Pat Hennesey for advice. Hennesey directed Cole to Brent Donaldson, who was interested in the job but with only one requirement.

“He said, ‘If I do it, we’ve got to practice at my house, because I’ve got a full studio there and I don’t like taking my drums in and out of there all the time.’ And I said, ‘Oh, all right,’ ” says Cole with a laugh.

With the new lineup solidified and a re-christened the Cole Brothers, the band began to accrue gigs around town while they explored the middle ground of their vastly different influences.

As the band’s chemistry coalesced into their incredibly varied sound — anchored by Cole’s broad and undeniable musical skills, Graves’ incredibly unifying vocal quality and the band’s technical skills — the Cole Brothers made a five-song demo last year that turned out so well they began working on material for a full-length release. With the material that remains from both recording sessions plus new material they’ve done in the interim, the Cole Brothers could have another new album ready to go before the end of this year.

“This band’s operating philosophy is that we don’t think we’re ever going to be that band du jour here in Cincinnati,” says Cole with a laugh. “We’re not one of those edgy, Alt bands, and I don’t even know what that means anymore. Our goals are to do quality gigs. Money has nothing to do with this. All our money goes back into recording. If we get lucky and snag another small label deal like I’ve been able to do in the past, we’ll take it. We’re not trying to be as prolific as possible. We’re just more into that (recording) part. But we love the live part too.”

This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2004.