Songwriter Brian Rise Travels Through Time and Musicians 

RISE’s debut album, Resonant Frequencies, is a veritable smorgasbord of musical styles and Austin players.

Brian Rise, the eponymous songwriter behind the genre-blending LP, has been playing in Austin’s hands-for-hire scene for decades, notably in swing outfit the Hollywood Revue and Hawaiian project Combo Mahalo, in between stints in Cuba and other locales whose rhythms made their way onto his 11-track record. 

“I collected these songs over the years,” Rise says. “I just love all the styles of music that every song on the album represents.”

“Love Conquers All” opens the tracklist with a swinging, horn-accented jukebox jive. Follow-up “A Blur of Hazy Days” takes the tempo to the Western front, complete with banjo and fiddle. The oldest song on the album, “Nous Avons Dansé,” draws lyrical inspiration from Rise’s Nineties years living in Baltimore, touring with rock group Monkeyspank. The most recently written song, “Pandemica,” is a Cuban Son anchored by drums from Grupo Fanstama’s Matthew “Sweet Lou” Holmes. Later in the record, Rise revisits his love of Hawaiian meles, particularly the fluid steel guitar playing popularized in the Seventies, with “Waimanolo.” The final track, less than a minute of piano melody titled “Ahania’s Joy,” was recorded on a 1903 Edison wax cylinder machine by Grammy-winning musician and archivist Colin Hancock.

“I believe in letting the song write itself rather than forcing it into a mold,” explains Rise. “That’s how I wind up with Cajun waltzes sung in French and big band swing numbers.”

When he thinks about his influences, the list grows long quickly, starting with the Partridge Family and Seventies television pop stars and winding through classic country staples like Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Cash; French and Mexican exports; and all the way to proto and proper punk. His next project is uncertain, but he already has plenty of stylistic ideas for Resident Frequencies round two, including “an a capella tune with [a] choir, a string quartet with oboe, more Hapa Haole Hawaiian meles, Mexican huapango, more Cuban Son, blues, country, R&B.”

Rise’s encyclopedic grasp of genres is rivaled only by his extensive knowledge of local players, many of whom have played on bands and bills with the multi-instrumentalist throughout the years. 

Bassist Kevin Smith, who spent many years on stage with Willie Nelson, Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, and Asylum Street Spankers, holds down the rhythm section of Resonant Frequencies, while Bobby Trimble and Lisa Pankratz trade off on drums. Asleep at the Wheel’s Katie Shore lends her fiddling and Dave Biller serenades on the pedal steel, alongside Lyon Graulty on horns. 

In his carefully crafted liner notes, Rise thanks these musicians and many more who helped him create the original record he’d been hoping to produce for years. 

“I owe everyone involved a huge debt of gratitude,” he wrote to the Chronicle. “Without these great musicians, the LP might never have been made.”

At Saturday’s Batch performance, Rise will perform live renditions of Resonant Frequencies songs for the first time since the album’s release in May 2024. True to the essence of the project, the songwriter will be joined by Graulty and other friends in the Austin scene, like Fausto Faustito guitarist Mike Molnar and vibraphonist Mike McGurk. 

The show feels like a long time coming for the experienced musician. Now that it’s on the horizon, his feelings about playing are simple: “It’s just gonna be fun.”

RISE performs songs from Resonant Frequencies at Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches on Saturday, Jan. 31.

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