Vocalist: Brazil produces music band wants to hear

At work in a metal shop in Indiana, Jonathon Newby is the guy who always has his pocket full of scrap papers covered in scribbles.

Every time he pulls out his pad of paper, his co-workers joke, "Getting a new song idea?"

But even though Newby, 30, works his day job while he's not touring with his band, Brazil, he's always making notes and preparing to get back on the road.

He said while a lot of bands have problems such as band members being friends and getting along on tour, money is one of Brazil's biggest challenges.

"Our band is so big as far as the amount of people involved in making it happen," Newby said, "but when you split up pay at the end, it doesn't amount to very much."

Right now, Brazil is touring to promote its second full-length release, "The Philosophy of Velocity," released in October 2006 on Immortal Records.

So far, the band has received a positive response from "Velocity," Newby said.

"(It seems like people who) like us for the spastic, progressive rock direction kind of lost a little bit of interest," he said. "(The band has) gained kind of a new crowd that appreciates us more from an artistic level."

Newby said the new album is more complex and adventurous.

Because they treated the studio more like a laboratory this time around, he said there's more sonic density than there was for 2004's "A Hostage and the Meaning of Life".

When Brazil started out about six years ago, Newby was in college at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., where he earned a degree in journalism.

At first, Newby played drums, but in the group's second year, he volunteered to sing after the band split with the original vocalist.

"I figured 'What the hell.' I had never sang in a band before … but I did it, and everybody seemed to like it," Newby said.

After the switch, Brazil went through about a dozen drummers in one year, Newby said.

Eventually, the band found James Sefchek, who moved to Indiana from New Jersey to join the band.

The transition from drums to vocals was tough at first because "when you play drums, even though you're on stage, you have (drums) in front of you," Newby said.

He said the drums served as sort of a "security blanket," which was the biggest obstacle to cross.

"Now I really like the fact that there's nothing between me and the audience," he said.

Newby also plays one of two keyboards, with his younger brother Nic on the second.

He and his brother share the band's auxiliary instruments, ranging from glockenspiel and concert chimes to tambourines and sleigh bells.

"We can read each other pretty well musically," Newby said. And although sometimes sibling rivalry can get in the way, he said it's a good thing having family in the band.

Newby said one of the most important things for a band to do is to treat their fans like friends.

"You're just a guy … just like anybody else," he said.

He said one of his biggest accomplishments is "being able to keep (the band) going for so long."

"(We've gotten) past that hump of worrying about who in the record industry we may or may not be impressing."