Ty Watches "May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers"

Yesterday I watched "May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers". This was a very good documentary. Now, it needs to be said, if you are not an Avett Brothers fan, this movie may not be for you. Luckily for me, I love the Avett Bros. I own all their music. I've paid to see them multiple times in concert. I enjoy their entire catalog. I love how they have turned the folk/bluegrass/alternative/country genre on its head. They are a band that cannot be put into one genre. They expand them all. They are an awesome band.

The main premise of "May It Last" focused on their time recording their last record, "True Sadness". But, it was about so much more. That is what I loved about this movie. It takes us to personal and deep places that I had no idea about with this band that I adore. I have always had enormous respect for this band because of their exceptional writing. I just figured that they were deep dudes that had a great talent. To hear the stories that they tell when writing specific songs, it was amazing. It was touching. It was, at times, heartbreaking. Just thinking back at the movie, hearing Seth Avett talk about writing "Divorce Separation Blues", it almost made me cry. To hear him and his brother talk about all the things they went through sounded very, very rough. I loved how open and honest Scott Avett, the older brother, was about the divorce. He talked about telling his brother to just get over it, and that he has broken up with girls before. But when Seth told him all that he was going through, he completely flipped the script. That was astonishing to see brothers be so open about a very horrible situation.

Another song writing and recording scene that will always stick with me is when they do "No Hard Feelings". Man, that was brutal and beautiful at the same time. To hear Seth Avett sing his heart out, and then watch him be so drained was spectacular. To see Scott just kind of paralyzed afterward, phenomenal. Then, to watch them talk about what they were going through while writing and recording, it was a beautiful piece of film making. Judd Apatow did a great, great job directing that scene, and this whole movie for that matter.

Some other things I really enjoyed about this movie was the closeness that, not only the brothers, but the band has with each other. Their bass player, Bob Crawford, is a great human being. Hearing his story of meeting the brothers and joining the band was awesome. The fact that they just had him play with them in a parking lot was so cool. Then, to hear all the stuff he has gone through with his daughter, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 2, she is okay now, made me cry. To hear all of the members talk about their feelings while going through this just further hammered home their closeness and how much they like playing music and just generally being with each other. Hearing Joe Kwon's story, their cellist, was awesome. Again, he was a guy they called based on a recommendation from a buddy, he joins the band, then does all this other stuff just so he can continue to play music with them was great. He literally does a ton of stuff for the band. He is their chef, computer guy, friend and cellist. Kwon is a cool dude, and he brings an added element to a band that already is hard to box in.

I absolutely loved hearing about the brothers as kids. Being a little brother myself, it was easy to relate. I have 3 older brothers where Seth Avett just has Scott. But, the stories are the same. As brothers you dislike one another as kids, then the older brother becomes the protector, then when you are adults, it is all respect. Again, it was so easy for me to understand and relate to. The fact that they have remained this close and played in a band together for so long is so cool. They have a crazy amount of respect for each other, and that is great. To see them as a young hard rock band was pretty cool. I had no idea that they did that, but it makes sense when you hear some of their early stuff. I'm glad they changed to acoustic guitars and banjos, but again, it was neat to see their path. The stuff with Rick Rubin was great. He is, without a doubt, the greatest producer that has ever lived. All the things he has done in music, the people he has worked with and the gold he has made with those people and bands is truly amazing. He is a genius and I will argue anyone that disagrees with me on this point. Rick Rubin is a legend. Seeing their families, their kids, their wives and girlfriends, it was all wonderful and so great to see them be so open with everything. They literally let HBO and Apatow film whatever they wanted. And never once did I think that they came off as pretentious or off putting.

The Avett Brothers seem to be down to earth, cool dudes that just happen to be wonderful musicians. I cannot recommend this movie enough, especially for Avett Bros fans. "May It Last" is well worth your time.

"May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers" is currently available on HBO Go and HBO Now

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty tried to start a band with his brothers. He wanted to play blues, the head editor wanted to play thrash metal, the other two brothers were advocating for jam band type music. The band never took off.

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The Avett Brothers get Back on Track with "True Sadness"

Reward your needle with some good new music

One week ago the Avett Brothers, one of the Greatest American Bands, released their new album, "True Sadness". This is their first new record since they released "Magpie and the Dandelion" a few years ago. "Magpie and the Dandelion" was a fine record. It showed the band taking more chances and trying some new sounds. They played a lot more electric guitar on that album. They used a full drum kit a bit more as well. It was different from everything they'd done before. I liked the new sound, but it didn't seem as polished as their older, more folksy stuff did. They also kind of abandoned the folk on "Magpie and the Dandelion". As I stated, it's a fine record, but it could've been better.

Well, with "True Sadness", I think they found a way to blend their older folk sound with the newer chances they have been taking. "True Sadness" finds the band trying out synthesizers, more electric guitar, effects driven vocals and bigger, louder drums. But, they also went back to their roots and played some straight forward folk songs. I'm a big, big fan of this new album. I waited with bated breath to see how they'd follow up what some deemed a disappointing effort from them in "Magpie and the Dandelion". "True Sadness" is an absolute home run.

If you want some examples of songs that find them taking new, good chances, check out tunes like, "You Are Mine", where they have a synthesizer as the main instrument. Another good song, with distorted vocals and guitar is, "Satan Pulls the Strings". It's a straight up rock and roll song. Then, the opener to the record, "Ain't No Man" is a great blend of folk and rock. The band yell sings the lyrics, almost in a call and response, and there is an infectious hand clap rhythm. I love that song. For more traditional Avett Brothers songs, check out the title track, "True Sadness". It starts slow with just guitar, and it builds like an older Avett Brothers song, and ends tremendously. There are also other good, old school Avett Brothers stuff like, "I Wish I Was" and "Divorce Seperation Blues". "I Wish I Was" is slow, acoustic and reminiscent of something on "Emotionalism" or "I And Love And You". It's a very sweet, nice song. "Divorce Seperation Blues" is a great, countryish song. It has a blues rhythm, but it is sung like a country tune. It's also sad, but the way the band plays it, it sounds upbeat.

I really enjoy this new record. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Avett Brothers teamed up with Rick Rubin on this record and they made great music together again. When they get together, they make very good, listenable stuff. Rick Rubin is a genius and the greatest producer of all time. His work with the Avett Brothers proves how versatile and how good of an ear he has for all genres of music. If you're a fan of the Avett Brothers, and like when they take chances, I highly recommend "True Sadness", I bet you will like it as much as I do.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Even when he is on vacation, Ty still likes to keep up on his articles. Reward his good work ethic by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.