Brothers Osborne play a distinctive version of 21-century country music. Rising above trendy themes and sounds like tailgate anthems and hip-hop beats, their path mixes traditional and new sounds with modern rock and pop leanings carried by T.J.’s superb baritone voice and John’s guitar sharing center stage.
The brothers forged an audience thanks in part to the 2015 hit single “Stay a Little Longer,” which barely hinted at their versatility. Stylistically, they can’t be cornered, but they bring to mind classic pairings like Buck Owens and Don Rich, Dwight Yoakam and Pete Anderson, and Gregg and Duane Allman.
In his April ’19 interview with VG, John Osborne discussed the 15-year Gnashville grind he and T.J. endured in the run-up to their 2016 debut album, Pawn Shop, and the layered inspiration behind his guitar sounds on Port Saint Joe. Their self-titled fourth album (see our review in the November ’23 “Hit List”) followed a heap of recognition including nine Grammy Award nominations (with a win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for 2020’s “All Night,”), seven Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, and six Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. In October, they were presented the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award at the 34th annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Seminar.
Boasting consistently strong songwriting, Brothers Osborne veers unabashedly in ways their previous albums didn’t; along with the country that fans crave are the soul-adjacent “Goodbye’s Kickin’ In” and the near-disco of “Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That,” all inspired by seismic shifts in their lives.
The day after tour dates were announced for a 35-date spring run through the U.S., we talked with John about how the new music came together.
What guided your stylistic choices on the new album?
It’s funny you ask. The term “country” is a sliding scale these days. If you listen to radio, some hits have 808 samples and tracks galore, some is straight pop, and neither is good nor bad, it’s just a taste thing. What we’re doing is still very much us, still very much country songwriting and a country prose, but a different aesthetic.
On our past records, it was very much organic – a live band playing in the studio. This one is still a live band, but with a different producer and we really took our time trying to find the best tones and different sounds; we used a lot of different amps and guitars and outboard effects – way more than we’ve done in the past.
How did you sort through guitars and amps for the sessions?
Most of the stuff that I used was at [producer] Mike Elizondo’s incredible studio in Gallatin, Tennessee. He is as much a guitar and gear collector as anyone I’ve ever met, and it came down to him and I geeking out over sounds and throwing things up in the air, trying stuff. We both have a lot of vintage gear, but he has some guitars I’d never tried, like a Valley Arts from the ’80s that I ended up using a lot because it worked so well, especially through a Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo.
Which model is it?
It’s a Strat copy with a really hot bridge pickup and a Floyd Rose. It looked like something you’d never in million years see me play – blue curly-maple top, the whole works (laughs).
Did you stay off that Floyd Rose?
I actually did use it at one point (laughs). I mean, giving a guitar player a Floyd Rose is like giving a cat nip; you’ll sit there and mess with it over and over. It was something I never played growing up; I was never around those and that wasn’t the music I listened to. But the second I started playing it, I couldn’t stop dive-bombing (laughs). If you listen to “Might As Well Be Me,” we built a section right before the guitar solo with dive bombs through a Marshall. It was so much fun. Again – things we’d never done.
Another example is the strong R&B vibe of “Goodbye’s Kickin’ In.”
Yeah, on that you’ll hear an early-’70s Tele Deluxe with a Bigsby through a bone-stock ’65 Princeton Reverb, no effects. That’s one of my favorite sounds on the record – very much guitar and amp, nothing else.
What are some other examples of sounds you hadn’t tried before?
Another thing I hadn’t played much growing up was Marshall amps, which sounds crazy, but I grew up playing Fenders, and every time I’d plug into a Marshall, it never felt right; I always had this conception that Marshalls were for super-high gain, which wasn’t something that I’d sound right playing through, specifically the JCM800. But I used one of Mike’s ’60s Strats and an original TS808 going to his 800; I played one note and realized, “Okay, I understand why everyone loves this,” because it was one of the coolest sounds I’d ever made.
There’s a solo on “Love You Too,” which is a poppy song for us, but I wanted it to have a meaningful big-guitar moment. That was Mike’s ’60s slab-board Strat through the 808 with a touch of a vintage Klon Centaur and the 800.
“Nobody’s Nobody,” the first single, was very much in our wheelhouse. That’s my Frankenstein B-bender Tele through a plexi Marshall, which was really fun. A Telecaster through a Fender feels like home to me, but the plexi was marrying two styles – the bender, twangy country cranked through this heavy, mid-driven amp.
Another thing we did that I really love was “We Ain’t Good At Breaking Up.” That’s the Frankenstein Tele, but through a Divided by 13 amp, and it sounded very Fender-like, but more hi-fi and open, like a hotrodded Deluxe. It made me play differently.
One of my favorite tones on the album is on “Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That,” which is like Waylon Jennings meets the Bee Gees – a crazy disco country song. We were messing with tones for the solo and couldn’t land on something, but Mike wasn’t afraid to try anything. He said, “I have this pedal…” and he brings in an Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synthesizer. He goes, “Guitars sound amazing through it.”
I was using Mike’s Strat again, and I’d never heard a guitar in my hands sound like that – like it was about to jump out of the speakers.
Every time we’d find those moments, I felt like a kid again (laughs). That’s what you’re searching for – that moment where you feel inspired. And I am not a Strat guy; live, I suck on Stratocasters. But in the studio, you can take your time and get into how it feels. In a live setting, I play really hard and I’m used to the way a Tele or Les Paul responds to my fingers. But in the studio, playing the Strat worked because I could adjust.
How did you decide to work with Mike?
We had written songs with him years ago, and we loved him as a person. He’s a creative force and one of the nicest, most-humble people you’ll ever meet. But he is absolutely fierce when it comes to making music. For years, we had worked with Jay Joyce, who we love; I’ve learned more from Jay than I could have ever learned from anybody – he helped hone our sound. We owe a lot to Jay. But there comes a time when you want to try new things.
If you listen to the albums my brother and I make, they all sound different. As a creator, you should be pushing your own envelope, and we thought, “What’s the biggest thing we could change?” It was a bit of a gamble, but we went in with Mike and did one song to make sure we’d work well together, and it went great. So we gave Mike the keys, and the first thing he told us was he wanted to play bass and get Abe Laboriel, Jr. to play drums. I’ve seen Abe play with Paul McCartney several times and I’m a huge fan. He’s one of the most-amazing drummers you’ll ever see.
Mike also wanted to grab a couple other people he’d worked with in Nashville, and we went with it. The result is very different, but through a Brothers Osborne lens – our DNA with a different theme.
Mike is a highly touted bass player
Yeah, he’s very, very, very good. We weren’t going to say “No!”
Have you sorted through your rig and guitars for the upcoming tour?
I haven’t yet, but I’ll try to keep it simple because we don’t like long breaks between songs, so if I can play several songs on the same guitar, I’ll do it.
One of my favorite additions recently are Eli Lester’s Two-Rock amplifiers, which to me feel like vintage but are more-reliable, and in some ways sound better. Eli’s version of a Deluxe is my favorite new amp. Between our other guitar player, Jason Graumlich, myself, and T.J., there will be five Two-Rocks onstage.
How about your speaker cabs?
The cab I’ve been using is an ’80s Marshall 2×12 I found at a pawn shop. I go to pawn shops all the time – thrift stores, antique stores – the works. Anyway, I saw a chainsaw sitting on top of what looked like a cab facing backward, and I was like, “What’s going on here?” I moved the chainsaw, turned it around, and there it was. Of course I bought it, and it’s badass. I love the way it sounds. Best $100 I ever spent (laughs).
Are you taking any vintage instruments out with you?
I hate taking vintage stuff on the road. For a long time I was taking my ’65 335 out, but it was getting its ass kicked from sitting in hot trailers then going into venues; the temperature variations really mess with those things. I won’t take my ’60 ’Burst out unless I can keep it on the bus.
So what do you use on tour?
I play my R9 Les Paul, and my ’68 Tele stays out. It has taken a beating, but you could use a Fender as a boat oar, pull it out of the water, and play. That guitar doesn’t have many issues on the road.
The ’Burst is new to you since we talked in 2019.
Yeah, it’s called Le Freak and it’s in one of the Burst Believers books. I didn’t name it that, by the way (laughs).
Where did you get it?
From my friend Trevor Boone, who owns Emerald City Guitars, in Seattle, with his dad, Jay. It and Carter Vintage are my two favorite stores, and Trevor is a dear friend.
I waited years to pull the trigger on a ’Burst, and this one has had a bunch of stuff done to it – a Bigsby had been drilled into it, so it has the plugs, and it’s been refinished. Its neck feels more like a ’59. Trevor brought it to a show in Washington so I could play it live. He put .011s on it for me, and since it had been re-fretted, it was ready to go; I had my tech, Zach Rickard, adjust a few things.
From the first note, it blew my mind. I mean, I was absolutely hooked. I’ve had a few PAF guitars, and there really is something magical about those pickups. These [in the ’Burst] are a little hotter than some, but they’re still very musical and so harmonic and beautiful. And it’s so much fun to play – a great guitar.
The call to my business manager the next day was not the easiest (laughs). I had to explain why she needed to trust me and I that knew what I was talking about. I wish ’Bursts weren’t so great (laughs), but unfortunately for our pocketbooks, they are.
You are the only person credited with playing guitar on the new album.
Yeah, now that I think about it, it was all me. There is a part on “Sun Ain’t Even Gone Down Yet” where there are two guitars – one panned left, one right, and that’s T.J. and I playing off of each other, which is a really cool, fun moment. He’s a great player and his guitar is part of our sound. Playing together makes us play differently because we react to each other.
Which guitars is T.J. going to have on the road?
He has a ’68 Tele Custom with a rosewood fretboard that I found but reluctantly told him about because he had been looking for one for a long time (laughs). His favorite is a ’56 Les Paul Junior, which is what you’ll see him play most of the time. It has one of the most-amazing sounds.
Gibson recently gave him a J-45 with the top in the same gold they use on Les Pauls. It’s so f***ing cool.
You’ve also had a couple sunburst Juniors.
Yeah, I had a ’56, and I bought a ’59 about a year and a half ago. When I started thinking about selling the ’56, I was telling myself, “I love that guitar. It’s great. I played it all over [2020’s] Skeletons…” So, instead of selling or trading it, I decided to give it to Zach as a thank-you gift for being so great. I can’t do a gig without him. I’m the guy who wonders why my guitar isn’t working because I didn’t plug it in (laughs), but Zach is so on top of things. Plus, he’s so kind and gracious. One day, I put a note in the case and told him the Junior needed work. When he opened it, there was the note, saying, “Congratulations, here’s your first vintage Gibson. Enjoy!”
I wanted the guitar to go to someone who would really appreciate it. And, it stayed in the family.
Why didn’t you put a title on the new album?
That was a philosophical move, to be honest. Over the last couple of years, between Skeletons and this album, my brother and I have been very up-front and public about a lot of personal things – we exposed a lot about ourselves that we’d kept private for a long time, and doing so felt like lifting chains, like we could truly be ourselves. So, we felt fearless making this record, which is why it sounds the way it does. We had a lot more courage, and it felt appropriate to self-title it because that’s who we are now.
One thing you’ve discussed that’s especially relatable to guitarists is having to deal with tinnitus.
Yeah, a lot of musicians get it. I know it’s been said a million times and people just roll their eyes, but I say it all the time – “Protect your ears.” Because once tinnitus starts, it doesn’t stop, and it’s very, very hard to get used to. Over time, you can habituate, which is your brain’s way of tuning out information it deems unnecessary. But it takes time. I’ve done a lot of work to help mine – meditation, anti-anxiety medication, massage to my neck and jaw to ease tension. But I had six months of trial and error and a lot of pain and sorrow.
This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
