A Brief Smile

Members DL Tashjian (vocals, guitar), Garrett Ienner (guitar, vocals), and Jared O’Connell (keyboards) have been at this for years. Friends since grade school, it wasn’t until some old synthesizers and a love of noise rock came together at the O’Connell house that A Brief Smile was born. All students at New York University, A Brief Smile final lineup came with the 2004 addition of Louie Glaser (drums) and John Carnes (bass), both veteran prodigies of their respective instruments.

Members DL Tashjian (vocals, guitar), Garrett Ienner (guitar, vocals), and Jared O’Connell (keyboards) have been at this for years. Friends since grade school, it wasn’t until some old synthesizers and a love of noise rock came together at the O’Connell house that A Brief Smile was born. All students at New York University, A Brief Smile final lineup came with the 2004 addition of Louie Glaser (drums) and John Carnes (bass), both veteran prodigies of their respective instruments. Soon after formation, R.E.S.T., the bands freshman effort, was released, creating the foundation of A Brief Smile's blogger approved status and taking them to stages including Bowery Ballroom and Cleveland's House of Blues. Following the 2007 release of the band's first full-length, Now We All Have Horns, A Brief Smile immediately began development of their next project - a three month, three EP explosion, which hits the public May 2009. After a long period in the works, Be Mine, Restaurant Airport, and Sunshine State show extreme growth for the band.

“We're now releasing a dance record, a dark chugging synth record, and what I feel is a return to our pop roots. These albums are all different from one another sonically but I think if you really listen to the lyrics, you'll find commonalities - a kind of narrative that goes from creation to destruction to creation,” says Carnes. All three EPs were produced and recorded by the band in some unusual places, ranging from their Crown Heights rehearsal studio to an empty house in Martha’s Vineyard. Six mixing engineers worked on the EPs including Jeff Curtin (Vampire Weekend) and with the entire sequence mastered by Emily Lazar (David Bowie, Morrissey, The Shins) and Joe LaPorta (Garbage, The Stills), these tracks are sure to leave more than a lingering grin on the face of audiophiles everywhere. Sharing the stage with bands from The Stills to Chairlift to The Fray, A Brief Smile’s live show has caused quite a buzz among press and fans alike.

Explains Carnes, “We can be epic, we can be dark, but for me, I think we're at our best when we're having fun - as if there's an inside joke we're sharing on stage or a secret the audience wants to know or be a part of.” So come out to see them, pick up the EPs, and don’t let A Brief Smile fly under your radar. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..