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Brotherly Love: An Interview with JEFF the Brotherhood

words by Connor Marshall

As brothers, Jake and Jamin Orral have maintained a relationship that is truly unique. Together, they have recorded seven records as JEFF the Brotherhood, and with the help of their father, Robert Ellis Orral, have released over one hundred records for bands such as Natural Child, Heavy Cream, Diarrhea Planet, Hell Beach, and ten others that proudly consider Jake and Jamin's record label, Infinity Cat Recordings, as their musical family.

Hailing from the Music City, the Orral brothers have not only had their heads in the country music classics, but also in the small and forever up and coming punk scene of Nashville. 2002 marked the beginning of JEFF and Infinity Cat Recordings, and until a recent record deal signed between JEFF and Warner Brothers Music in May 2012, the brothers have been operating the label and their band on a total DIY basis. When asked about approaching Warner, Jamin stated, "We weren't trying at all, they came to us," and with a new record label "nothing has changed as far as what we're doing, it's just now there are certain people behind us that want to help us and are really excited and let us do things that we want." Jamin also says that the new record, Hypnotic Nights, "isn't very different than our other stuff, it's better because we had a lot more time than the other records, and we used a better studio." The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach helped produce the new record. "We kinda just hung out the whole time," said Jamin, "he was there to help us get good sounds and answer any questions we had."

Patience and a wonderful work ethic have led Jake and Jamin through a decade of having little help from anyone to having total support from one of the most prestigious labels in the world. There are no limits that JEFF the Brotherhood can reach, and their powerful and unique relationship as brothers will only benefit their success and widen the realm of possibilities.

(Jake Orral, Connor Marshall (14), Jamin Orral)