The Brothers Weiss depart on California, Baja tour

By Jen Van Tieghem | SDUN Reporter

Fans of local band Brothers Weiss may have to learn how to share. The trio, who are already popular in San Diego, will soon branch out to tour California and Baja Mexico in April. Their easily accessible alt-rock sounds will inevitably earn them admirers along the way, and if not, their flowing rock-god manes will do the trick.

But it’s not just a matter of packing the right conditioner and hitting the road. Booking out-of-town dates is tricky business. Singer/bassist Miguel Ramirez, guitarist Ryan Weiss and drummer Kevin Weiss have learned to leap the hurdles with positive attitudes and crossed fingers.

“The biggest challenge for booking shows outside of San Diego is to get a response from venues. Some of them will not even give you the time of day,” Ryan explained.

After recovering from the initial headaches, the band was lucky enough to build their first tour by relying on established friendships with out-of-town bands.

“The initial goal for our first tour was to try to book shows with bands we know in each town, [then] to contact all our friends and fans in each town to see if they can rally their friends to come out to the show,” Ryan said of their tour strategy. ” Also, we recently hired a publicist [who] is reaching out to contacts in local radio, blogs and other local media outlets in each city we are playing in.”

And what a show it is: From Ramirez’ belted vocals on indie rock anthems to the deftly maneuvered guitar antics of Ryan Weiss, to the crushing rhythms of his brother, Kevin Weiss — it’s clear that these guys give it their all; their music blends catchy rock hooks with thought-provoking lyrics while weaving in and out of several musical styles.

“We try to keep things interesting, there may or may not have been talk of some acoustic versions of our songs coming out,” Ramirez teased. “After the tour, we’re hoping to catch our breath and do some more writing. But one thing at a time you know? We’ll still be playing around San Diego … we’ve been playing about once a month here. I guess it’s just right for now, it’s spread out enough for each show to feel like something special, but often enough for us to always have something going on.”

Rest assured San Diego fans, after shows in Palm Springs, Tijuana, San Francisco and other cities, Brothers Weiss returns to town on April 11. That show finds them back at Soda Bar, the site of both their first public performance and the band’s January record release of their debut EP, “Conversations.”

“[Soda Bar] has treated us very well from the beginning,” Kevin added. “They greet us as friends and provide the right vibes for the night.  We have always drawn well there, and I think it will be good times on a Friday night… home-coming celebration.”