The name Calm Americans comes from a song by the band Elliott. Elliott is a band who was introduced to me by my friend Brandon. Brandon and I met when we both joined a punk band in 2002. That band dismantled after 8 months or so, but Brandon and I stayed friends and kept playing music together whenever we could.
In the years after, we had some music projects come and go. We'd get together when we could to go hiking, go to shows, or to write music. We didn't live in the same town most of the time, but our writing sessions ramped up around 2015 when I had a basement for us to play in. Plans were made in 2019 to finally put our songs in order, rehearse like crazy, and go to a studio to record them. Then the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020 and things were put on pause. We assumed we'd have more time to wrap it all up.
Brandon passed away in August 2020 of suicide. You'd be hard pressed to know he wasn't the happiest person in the room when he was around. He was always smiling and laughing. He once told me that he didn't think people committed suicide because they wanted to die - they did it because they hurt so badly and couldn't find any other way to make the pain stop.
I am releasing two of the songs we wrote together under the name Calm Americans. It was the name we landed on when we decided to make an actual attempt at writing a record. This release features Time Waits For No Plan (one of the oldest songs we wrote together, in '04 I think) and At Rest (a song we wrote and recorded on the spot one day in early 2020). At Rest happens to be the last recording I have with Brandon on it.
The proceeds from the vinyl record sales will be donated to a mental health advocacy and suicide prevention non-profit organization, Nuci's Space, based in Athens, GA. Brandon loved volunteering there.
If you or someone you love is dealing with depression or suicidal thoughts/ideation - please, please talk to someone. To Write Love On Her Arms has a list of 24 hour helplines available here.
We hope you enjoy the music. Play it loud.
-Chris