Hollis Brown tour stops at JJ’s Bohemia tonight
Hollis Brown is an American rock ‘n’ roll band named after a Bob Dylan song (“The Ballad of Hollis Brown”). The band was formed by Queens, N.Y., natives and songwriters Mike Montali (lead vocals/guitar) and Jonathan Bonilla (lead guitar).
Both second-generation immigrants (Italian-American and Puerto Rican-American, respectively), they found their musical brothers in Andrew Zehnal (drums) from Cleveland, Ohio; Brian Courage (bass) from Long Island, N.Y.; and Adam Bock (keyboard/vocals) from St. Louis.
This summer, Hollis Brown is touring the U.S., with stops at Mountain Jam, Karoondinha Festival and more. The band will stop at JJ’s Bohemia tonight, May 25.
Hollis Brown’s vinyl
EP, “Cluster of Pearls” (Alive Naturalsound Records), was chosen one of the 300 select releases throughout the world for Record Store Day 2016. It was released digitally on iTunes in August 2016. “Cluster of Pearls” followed the 2015 release of Hollis Brown’s third album, “3 Shots” (Jullian Records/RED), featuring the Bo Diddley collaboration “Rain Dance” and the duet “Highway 1” with alt-country songstress Nikki Lane.
Since forming in 2009, cuts from their debut album, “Ride on the Train,” found music placements in the trailer for the Michael Keaton film, “The Founder,” the Willem Dafoe/Matt Dillon film “Bad Country,” Direct TV’s “Kingdom,” Showtime’s “Shameless,” MTV’s “Real World” and an online ad campaign for Abercrombie & Fitch.
The band has toured extensively in America and Europe, headlining and supporting such bands as The Zombies, Jackie Greene, Rich Robinson of Black Crowes and Jesse Malin.