Broken Promise Keeper

Gear Talk

BPK isn't about vintage guitars and other top-of-the-line toys. Not because he doesn't appreciate them but, well, because he's cheap. But it's about the music, not the brand names of the tools, right? That's what BPK mutters to himself, anyway.

Thanks to technology, musicians today have more powerful recording tools at their disposal than the Beatles had at Abbey Road. And the cost for high-quality multi-track recording and effect software is affordable even for a miser like BPK.

While that means nothing if the songs aren't any good, it does mean that more bands can get their stuff out to more people than ever before. Anyway, here's what BPK uses:

Guitars: Ephiphone 6-string electric, Washburn 12-string acoustic, Regal 6-string acoustic, Fender Bronco bass

Keyboard: Yamaha midi controller

Drums: Combination of real drums, loops, samples, and midi percussion (plus tambourines, shakers, and all that other fun noisy stuff)

Recording/Mixing: Cakewalk's Sonar X-1 digital audio workstation running an assortment of plug-in effects, plus a bunch of microphones, stomp boxes, and other toys

About BPK

Broken Promise Keeper is a one-man studio band based in Decatur, Georgia, just a couple of miles east of downtown Atlanta. Since he got back in the music game in 2007, BPK's recorded and released four powerpop albums and the last two received unexpectedly positive reviews from critics across the globe. Ain't the internets a wonderful thing? BPK writes all the songs by himself but is continually trying to pull in friends and family to help him record the tunes in his ever-expanding home studio.

Back in college at the University of North Carolina in the mid 1980s, BPK was part of the NC-Athens, GA "jangle rock" scene that sprang up in the wake of REM's early success. While only that one band (deservedly) went on to long-lived global fame, a lot of great music was made during this recognized golden age of Southern powerpop.

While playing bass in the band One Plus Two BPK got to open for a lot of well-known acts, including the Replacements, the Hoodoo Gurus, Alex Chilton (Big Star), Chris Stamey (dBs), Buzz of Delight (Matthew Sweet), Richard Lloyd (Television), Husker Du, Rain Parade, the Three O'Clock (Jason Falkner), and almost the Red Hot Chili Peppers (who showed up late to the gig, decided there weren't enough folks in the club, and promptly left).

From Chapel Hill, One Plus Two toured the Southeast, playing legendary clubs such as the Cat's Cradle (Chapel Hill), the 40 Watt (Athens), 688 Club (Atlanta), the Milestone (Charlotte), Ziggy's (Winston-Salem), and lots of less famous but equally fun places. One Plus Two got enough attention to get signed to Homestead records and record two albums, garnering favorable reviews and rising fairly high in the college radio charts. One Plus Two even got 30 seconds of fame on MTV's The Cutting Edge show -- unfortunately, this was long before YouTube was around, so you'll have to take his word for it.

Then came graduation, the desire to get a real job and stop living like a student, and a farewell to the band and NC. BPK moved to Atlanta, got a job, which accidentally grew into a pretty decent career, got married, had kids, and... kept collecting powerpop records, writing songs in his head, and playing guitar in his free time.

Fast forward to 2007, when on the way home from work, BPK heard a story on NPR about the RPM Challenge to musicians: record an album's worth of songs during the month of February. No prizes; the point of the challenge is the satisfaction of making music (and a deadline to give you a kick in the pants). And so Broken Promise Keeper was born.

BPK's ultimate goal is to write that sublimely perfect powerpop song, a candy-coated sonic grenade that will make you turn it up and sing along. He hasn't done it yet, but he's getting closer...

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