Be Brave Bold Robot: In A League of Its Own

Featured Artist
Be Brave Bold Robot
By Greg Kucera AKA Kooch
Contributing Writer

I have agreed to meet Dean Haakenson, the brainchild behind Be Brave Bold Robot, at a pick-up wiffle ball game in McKinely Park on a Sunday afternoon. It is a weekly event, with a barrage of players hailing from the Sacramento, CA underground music and art scene, adding an element of melodic misfits to America’s favorite pastime. True to my notoriety of being flaky as leper, I show up late.
The air is considerably cool for the last Sunday in July and through the delta breeze that moves the giant elm branches, I spot Dean. He is hard to miss, due to his Redwood tree height, and he is wearing cut off slacks with a frayed and stained button up shirt. He is on third base. I shout to him and he raises his hand to call me over. When the crack of a bat is heard and I spot a white plastic ball whizzing towards me, it nearly knocks me over, the outfielder catches the ball just in time to see Dean tag-up third base and charging towards home. The outfielder’s throw is true but short and Dean’s feet graces the furry toilet seat cover that is home plate.

He is plopped on the grass on the sidelines by the time I get to him and he smiling. The wonderful thing about Dean is that he doesn’t just smile with his mouth, which is nearly impossible to see beneath his Ted Kaczynski beard but with his eyes and body as well. He stands up and gives me a hug, then pats me on the back.

“I’m glad you came, wasn’t sure if you were going to make it,” says Haakenson.
I stammer inaudibly and make some ridiculous excuse about a non-existent alarm clock. Changing the subject quickly, I say, “What about that interview?”

“That wasn’t a strike, that was a ball! We want a pitcher not a belly-itcher!” he yells at towards the mound.

“Dean?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, interview, interview. Okay Kooch, what do you want to know?”


KOOCH: Be Brave Bold Robot started out as a’ zine, if I remember correctly; one, when did it morph into a band and; two, will it evolve again into another medium (record label, production company, escort service, etc.)?

Dean: Indeed, a ‘zine it began, coming up on four years ago. It was a ‘zine when I started playing with the Double Helix Collective but when it disbanded, I decided to keep playing my songs. I joined up with Jeremy Pagan, beginning of ‘05, or so and we decided we needed a name. Carly Bourne lent us, “I Guide the Particle” which is a cool name. Jeremy quit for a couple weeks one time, I got Thomas Minnick and Marie Hoffman to play a show on KDVS with me, just over a year ago, Jeremy came back in and the whole time, Be Brave Bold Robot was some tasteful graffiti on both poles of the Northern California spectrum, and a ‘zine. I decided to adopt the name for the band at that time of change. Some new members gelled and the name has stuck.
I would have no problem morphing it into a corporation (so that I could buy residential property in other countries) or a record label or a restaurant. The name would probably fit better for a recording label or company name than as the long winded band name that it is now.


KOOCH: With a constant lineup change of musicians, is it hard to keep the sound of “BBBR” consistent?

Dean: I actually think that consistency in music is probably not a good thing. Music is life, right? Many a musician would probably make that vague claim (probably usually when they were in one of many stages of chemical enlightenment, when such vague statements are perused like poetry). Because life is not consistent, for music to accurately reflect life, it also cannot be consistent.
So, I like that the sound changes, as it does with the changing lineup. It helps too, because I’ve been playing out for a year now, and I am still playing most of the songs I played a year ago, but they sound different. So, friends and dare I say, fans that have been coming to shows this whole time, probably somewhat do so because the sound is different and new and “worth seeing,” due to the new handsome Cello player who just started playing and oh, remember when Marie did that vibraphone thing there? and so on.

Change is good in the sound of a band, definitely. Especially in Sacramento, where lots of the same people go to see lots of the same shows, and each other’s shows, etc.

Assuming that the fans trust the band to bring the rock, in whatever variations….I suppose there is a person or two whom might say, “I don’t like how it sounds different every time…I want to hear it like it is on the album.”


KOOCH: There are significant amounts of key/tempo changes in your songs. Is this a result of writing lyrics and then figuring out a musical arrangement, or are your songs naturally in a constant process of ebb and flow?

Dean: I think that is a good description, a constant process of ebb and flow but more so for the feeling I would like the songs to convey. I don’t change the songs all that much after I have written them (although, as we have established, the other musicians that grace the songs certainly do). I like crescendos and volume and tempo dynamics a lot. I write the songs usually with a melody and a theme in mind first. So, the melody commands the lyrics, which are decided by the theme. Tempo changes arise simply because the writing just takes it there. It was time for that change. In keeping with dynamics, sometimes it is as natural as peeing outside for a slower tempo to follow a passionate lyrical theme and for a soft fast part to build to crescendo immediately following a chaotic portion of a song.


KOOCH: Many of your songs address the relationships you share with friends and family, such as: “No Sean You’re an Asshole,” or “Kathleen Keating.” Does your level of lyrical intimacy ever have negative effects on your relationships?

Dean: I’ve had to explain to several people in my life that “music is just music and the lyrics are always rooted in some level of imagination, though the basis may be historical, etc.” “She didn’t mean nearly as much as you do to me, baby, I just happened to write the song as it came…,” but honestly, and thankfully, no. If anybody in my life got dramatic about some song that I sang over and over again and likened it to anything besides artistic expression, it would definitely wear quickly. I would have to sit them down and explain about how you make your own truths and we should listen to the meaning of one’s action much more actively than we listen to their words.

Note: This could all change if I ever get myself some money and some girlfriend sues me ala Ben Folds and that thing that I think I vaguely remember happening with him.
Note: “No Sean, YOU’RE an Asshole”!!!; the song title, has nothing to do with the song that it is the title for, although I have screamed the title phrase more than once, in more or less words.

KOOCH: In your song, “The Subject of Love,” you sing, “I’m scared to death/my muse has died.” What is your muse and if your song sings true, how can it be reincarnated?

Dean: I think it helpful to think of muses as expendable. Muses are good for a few emotions or projects, or hairs up your asses. You create many of them as you chug along through your life, hopefully, being as creative and energetic as possible. So, they are continually born anew. It is that part of you that creates and deciphers and molests those muses that “was always there.” One must just be able to access it. That’s different for everyone but I think, like can be said for all of those other muscles and activities and skills, “if you don’t use it, you lose it,” “practice makes perfect,” etc.
I need practice.


KOOCH: You were nominated for a Sammie this year and were a featured performer at the awards ceremony. Why did you choose to cover one of Justin Farren’s (fellow nominee) songs?

Dean: As much as I want all the money, all the recognition and all the blowjobs, I realize that; one, life doesn’t work like that and two, it shouldn’t work like that. Happiness comes from work and sharing and loving and us all being a part of each other’s own little universes. And playing each other’s songs. So, I decided to give a “shout out” to Justin, because I love him and it seemed very appropriate for the venue.

I also love the song. When I was introduced to Justin’s music (showed up late to a show I had with him, heard only a couple songs, begged him to trade me one of my CDs for one of his, listened to it a couple times over the weekend that followed), I fell in love with it, and that song, “Money,” specifically. Honestly, it’s a simple song but the lyrics are excellent and the production value of the recording of that song on his album, “The Sound of Flight” is triumphant and dynamic and I am a sucker for the simplest songs, if you throw a crescendo and some good lyrics in there.


KOOCH: You do realize that you were the only act of the night to receive a standing ovation.

Dean: Standing up there on that big stage (something I could certainly get used to), with the stage lights shining down, I couldn’t see much at all. Coupled with the fact that I was a bit nervous and just wanted to sing and not pay that much attention to how many people were out there, I didn’t notice how many people were out there and didn’t notice that they were standing. But there were a lot of hoop-hollers and applause and that was really nice to my ears. But I heard that, about the standing ovation. And I felt the reaction. That was nice.


KOOCH: “BBBR” has quite a cult following, what is it about your songs that people relate to and enjoy?

Dean: I think it’s the words that people enjoy. I’d like to think that. I think that most of the people that tell me how much they like the music like it twofold, the lyrics and singing of them and the arrangement and quality of the musicians whom make the music much more complex than I could certainly ever make it. Playing alone, I get the reactions from the words and my screaming into the microphone and the amount of sweat that pours from my pores. With the band, I am lucky enough to have great, passionate, fun loving musicians who are all creative. I find one person talking enthusiastically about how good the drummer and the bassist communicate and another person talking about how cute the cellist is and how much fun he looks like he is having and then another talking about how cute the vibraphonist is and how interesting of an instrument it is…


KOOCH: What is your favorite group in Sacramento right now?

Dean: There is this live band hip-hop crew in Lincoln, [CA] that doesn’t play much but they are called A New Hope, and I saw them once, and they were pretty awesome. Someone rhythmically rapping as many lyrics in two minutes and you would sometimes see in an entire rock set, that’s luscious to the ears. Makes me realize that poetry is not dead and some people ooze it.


KOOCH: What was your first musical experience?

Dean: I remember my mom had this broken guitar that she got from God knows where and it only had the two low E and A strings on it. I was about 15 [years-old] and I would just play it for minutes on end, just strumming the two strings. I didn’t try to tune them much, I would just play them together and then put my finger on one of the strings and push down at a couple of frets and I would listen to how the two strings would sound discordant and then in harmony and how it sounded pretty nice, even though it was just two sounds playing together. What made it sound so nice had much to do not only with how it sounded but that I was the one making the sounds. I was interacting with my universe and music was being made!


KOOCH: One of your previous drummers is quoted as saying, “Dean is a rapper trapped in a white man’s body. That’s how you have to hear his music.” Is this far off the mark or do you picture yourself as more of a monkey in a mink coat?

Dean: So, the monkey is the rapper and the white man’s body is a mink coat? Mine is more like an oversized lab coat with cat hair on it. What?
I like hip-hop. I like a lot of lyrics. I don’t like it when lyrics are repeated and that is one thing that sets hip-hop apart from typical song structures. So, yeah, color me hip-hop. The thought that goes into writing intelligent rap lyrics is the type of thought that will save the world. But, I think that it is that thought and attention to lyrical content that needs to be balanced with the more carnal, instinctual aspects of song structure and rhythm (and a-rhythm and discordancy) that makes the music I enjoy, enjoyable for me.


KOOCH: There are rumors that there is finally going to be a bonafide “BBBR” album. When is it due, who is producing it, how many songs, what musicians instruments will be featured on the album?

Dean: Oh my God, an album. Something to show the kids. Something to start with, pretending that I will write more songs and try to keep playing as long as I can. “BBBR” bassist J. Matthew Gerken is the one who introduced himself to me and the “BBBR” crew at the time (Thomas Minnick on Stand-up-Bass, Andrew Morin on Drums, Marie Hoffman on the Vibraphone, Rocky Rupple singing backup and me) and wanted to record us live. He did, but it didn’t turn out well, so one day, over a couple beers, he agreed to put all of the work into trying to make an album. The album will be basically those live players and some extra bells and whistles as well (John Bellizia on some Banjo, etc.). Hopefully, it will be due by the end of the year


KOOCH: : What was your worst show?

Dean: Well, some shows where many instruments have to be loaded up and then I bang my finger on something whilst loading and then nobody shows up and then it all has to be loaded up again and the drinks weren’t free…..those suck but I can’t remember a specific one, for the life of me.
I honestly remember specifically instances when the people whom I played with were in a bad mood and I remember that effecting me more than anything that was going on at the venue.

KOOCH: What is better than riding your bike while drinking a beer in the summertime?

Dean: I prefer the drinking the beer (or four) while sitting somewhere and then getting on the bike and riding fast, feeling that hot summer air whip around your ears and hair (or lack thereof). And, man is that a good feeling. I’d say only two things top it for me. Sex and related things. Alone time. When you want/need it, of course which, for me, is fairly frequently. People are far too distracting to get any real introspection done.



Suddenly, Dean is called to hit again and he leaps off the grass and picks up the plastic yellow bat. Pitches are thrown and Dean has yet to walk or strike out. The count is full and Dean turns his head in my direction and smiles.


“This one is for the journalist,” he says pointing his bat towards left field.
The pitch is a curve ball and Dean connects with a CRACK! sending the ball towards the nether regions of the park. He runs with his fist in the air, proving to everyone what a Brave Robot he truly is.

Learn more about Be Brave Bold Robot as well as checking out event listings and where to purchase albums at http://www.bebraveboldrobot.org and http://www.myspace.com/bebraveboldrobot.