The Bihlmans‘ are back

May 3, 2009

Where Are They Now?
The Bihlmans Are Back

By Rick Coates 5/4/09

This month, as moviegoers flock to the theaters to see the much-anticipated dance film Love N’ Dancing starring Amy Smart, Tom Malloy and Billy Zane, they will hear several tunes from Northern Michigan’s own The Bihlman Bros.
“We are real excited about this opportunity to not only have seven of our songs playing throughout the film but to have three songs on the official soundtrack as well,” said Jeff “Jabo” Bihlman. “It is also really cool that our song “Better Place” is the theme song for Amy Smart.”
This week the Bihlmans -- Jabo and his brother Scot (“Little” Bihlman) -- are in L.A. for the official red carpet premiere of the film and the after party.
“We offered to perform after the film ends, but the producers were ‘no, no we want you to come and hang and enjoy yourselves,’ so we are cool with that,” said Little Bihlman. “So we are going out and hanging with the celebrities, the paparazzi, the critics and others at the Arclight Cinema for the showing of the film and then over to the Green Door (the hot spot for the who’s who of Hollywood) for the big party.”

THE RIGHT PLACE
So, how did the Bihlman’s score this gig? According to the brothers, it was a combination of hard work, persistence, burnout and being in the right place at the right time.
“After hitting it hard as the Bihlman Brothers, we decided to take a break and go our own ways,” said Little Bihlman. “Well I moved to L.A. and ended up hooking up with Barry Squire (when major players or bands in the industry are looking for musicians they call on Squire). So I started getting all of this session work with people like Pink, Dido and even Joaquin Phoenix. Well I was always touting my Bihlman Brothers material, and one of the guys connected with Barry knew of this film project that he felt the Bihlmans would be perfect for.”
There was one problem: while they were still brothers, they were no longer a band.
“We had hit it so hard and tried everything ourselves to get to that next level. We toured relentlessly for six years opening for whoever we could and we just burned out. We were managing ourselves, promoting ourselves and it took its toll on us not only as musicians but our relationship as brothers,” said Jabo. “One day a few years back we just looked at each other and felt that we had exhausted all the options as the Bihlman Brothers and it was time to go in different directions. We laugh about it now and say we took the ‘divide and conquer approach’ by going our separate ways to make our band work.”

BACK TOGETHER
So it came as quite a shock to both brothers that after turning over every stone possible in the music business and figuring that The Bihlman Bros. just wasn’t meant to be, they were back together again with little time to reflect on the past.
“When the producer talked to me about the project, he told me we had two weeks to get songs to him,” said Little Bihlman. “I flew back to Traverse City and in two weeks we wrote 18 songs, and fortunately for us they loved seven of them.”
The Bihlmans are happy to be reunited musically, but their time apart afforded several opportunities. Little Bihlman, in addition to working a successful session musician playing drums and guitar on several projects, found a niche in acting as well.
“I never studied acting but I landed some bit movie parts along with being on the Drake and Josh Show, which helped me get into the Screen Actors Guild,” said Little Bihlman. “I have done two national commercials (Burger King, NFL Network) and I have done print ad work for Volkswagon, Honda, and Ducatti Motorcycles, all of this basically in my first year of moving to Los Angeles.”

BLUES BOOKS
Jabo has remained equally busy writing two books on blues guitar playing. In 2007, he wrote ‘Play Blues Guitar” and the success of the book led the publisher to ask him to write “Easy Soloing For Blues Guitar” that was released this past September. He also has been a part of the National Guitar Workshop with famed guitarists Pat Methany and Buddy Guy among the illustrious faculty. He has been a part of the Interlochen Guitar Institute and has won Emmys for his work as the songwriter and composer for the scores of the CBS Documentaries “Surviving the Bradley” and “Edmund Fitzgerald: 30 Years a Legend.”
“I have been keeping busy writing and playing solo gigs around Northern Michigan,” said Jabo. “But probably most importantly I have been being a dad. I have an eight- and five-year-old, so now that the band is back together we will definitely be taking a different approach to it all. We learned our lesson so we will see where this movie thing leads.”
Little Bihlman agrees.
“This has been a real eye-opener for both of us. I mean we really thought we knew a lot about the music industry until all of this movie stuff came along,” said Little Bihlman. “But we are fortunate to be with Warner/Chappel Music, they are the leaders in the industry representing songwriters (Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin) and so it is great to be with the best.”
The soundtrack ride has been an exciting one for the Bihlmans, especially recording at the famed Cherokee Studios where Bowie, Streisand, Aerosmith and Van Halen, among others, have recorded.
“There is a lot of history in that studio and you could feel it when you walked in,” said Little Bihlman. “We have been afforded a sneak peak of the film and like how our music has been represented. It is really cool that Betty White makes her cameo appearance to one of our songs. We have been told Amy Smart loves our stuff as well.”

BACK HOME
There are a lot of things in the works for the Bihlman Bros. already. The film’s producers have been approached by the popular show “Dancing with the Stars,” about having the film’s stars and The Bihlmans appearing on the show. But for the brothers they are most excited by returning to the stage in Northern Michigan.
“We are playing the National Cherry Festival on July 4 with Kenny Wayne Sheppard,” said Jabo. “Plus, we don’t have all the details yet, but in the works is an official premiere of the film here in Traverse City where the stars would come in, red carpet; we would do an acoustic set before the screening and then have a big jam session afterwards. But this is the music business, so things change on a dime; heck we hope people still remember us in Northern Michigan.”
Jabo is quick to point out that it has been the many supporters from Northern Michigan that have made this moment possible.
“When I was ready to throw in the towel on this whole music thing it was my wife who encouraged me to stick with it,” said Jabo. “Then there is our biggest cheerleader Terri Ray of WKLT. Even after the Bihlmans called it quits she would call and tell us it wasn’t over. She has done so much for us and opened so many doors in this industry for us. Of course, Corey Adkins of TV 9 & 10 also has been a big supporter by producing a show about us.”

To keep up with The Bihlman Bros. check out their website bihlmanbros.com or find them on MySpace for a sampling of their music. The band expects to have a new CD out later this year that will feature songs from the film “Love N’ Dancing” along with some new originals. The film will open across the country this weekend. Tickets (V-Pass) are now on sale for their Cherry Festival appearance and details on the Traverse City red carpet gala for the film will be announced soon in the Northern Express.


Musical Star Track

About every three years we ask Contributing Editor Rick Coates to catch up with Northern Michiganders who are pursuing their musical dreams.
The Bihlman Bros. were a mainstay on the Northern Michigan scene for several years; they toured across the country and Europe, opening for an array of greats and served as the backing band for blues legend Son Seals.
The Bros. disbanded a few years back, going their separate ways with Jabo delving into online projects and Scot pursuing an acting career in Hollywood. Now, they have been reunited by the “big screen” and have a reunion concert planned July 4 at the National Cherry Festival.
Next week Coates catches up with Kenny Olson of Kid Rock fame, Brian Schram (Uncle Kracker), Chuck Jacobs (Kenny Rogers), Chelsea Oaks (now in Nashville), Leo Dombecki (Ike Turner, Anoushka Shankar), Edgar Struble (television music awards shows and Dick Clark Productions), and Matt Novesky (Blue October), among others.