Rock band of brothers promotes harmony, not rivalry

Being in a band with two of his brothers is nice for Architects guitarist/vocalist Brandon Phillips. His brothers — bassist Zach and drummer Adam — have always enjoyed working with each other.

"I think it's kind of hard on our guitarist, Keenan (Nichols)," said Phillips during a phone call from his home in Kansas City, Mo., "because he might feel like the odd man out at times. But as far as sibling rivalry goes, we're not like the Gallagher brothers in Oasis, where we get into fisticuffs. And while we can be brutally honest with each other, we respect each others' opinion and do listen to each other and take our comments seriously."

The Phillips' were in a previous ska-punk band called the Gadjits, but after that band folded, the three decided to form a more straightforward rock band. With the addition of Nichols, Architects was complete.

"Our influences include AC/DC and bands like that," said Brandon Phillips. "And we got the idea to do a band in that kind of style."

Phillips said his mother ran a fine-arts camp where they learned how to perform and play instruments.

"We also learned things that helped us develop the skills needed to survive music and show business," he said. "We learned very early that we liked being on stage. I was something like 9 years old."

In May, the band released "Vice," its third album on Anodyne Records, the label Phillips runs. While "Vice" isn't a concept album, the title came about because each of the songs deals with "some bad habit or thing we do," said Phillips.

"For some reason I had been writing songs about different vices," he said. "It's funny because the previous CD was called 'Revenge' and was comprised of songs about revenge. But I do have to draw the line at calling these albums concept albums.

"To me a concept album is an overblown and pretentious project that is known as a 'Rock Opera,"' said Phillips. "These albums, if you noticed, are not rock operas. They're just a collection of songs that have a running theme."

Making the album was a good experience, said Phillips. "We stuck with what we wanted to accomplish. We didn't overthink our lyrics, and we had help with producer Aaron Carter (who has worked with Bone Thugs N' Harmony). He helped us not edit our lyrics. He feels, and I totally agree, that once you edit your lyrics, you start to apologize for what you had originally written. And then you tone down what you want to say."

Phillips said the band is his main concern, even though he runs the record label.

"It's kind of symbiotic," he said. "If it weren't for the record label, we wouldn't have the three albums out. But on the flip side, if we didn't have the band, there would be no albums.

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