Bremen provides Harbor with catchy rock ‘n’ roll

The name “Bremen” isn’t one you would expect to see on a show flyer promoting a band. Instead, if you’re an astute student of European geography, you would think of a city in northern Germany when seeing the moniker, not a three-piece rock ‘n’ roll group.

But, for the indie rock outfit stationed in Grays Harbor, “Bremen” makes perfect sense for a name, seeing that the group’s front man, Stefan Roland, was born in Bremen before moving to Arizona and California before ending up in Washington.

“That’s where the name came from,” said Roland. “We were trying to come up with something and we went through a bunch of really terrible ideas.”

Roland thought of the name while driving to Portland. On his way there, he saw a sign for a “Denmark” Street and the idea to incorporate his European roots into the band’s name came to him.

“I said, ‘Oh, I’m from Bremen.’ I’ll just go with that,” he said.

Formed a year ago, the group is made up of Roland, drummer Kyle Bova and bassist/vocalist Brian Bachman. The band will have a release party for their debut EP, “Exposed,” on April 18 at the Westside Tavern in Olympia and plans on playing out as much as they can to showcase the new music around the area.

“The CD was pivotal because now we can use it to promote in a larger area,” said Roland.

Bremen’s 10-song album displays the band’s ability to create catchy rock songs that are well-crafted. The group has a number of influences, including reggae, pop and grunge that creates a melting pot of sound.

“We are all very different. I’m very much the Pearl Jam rock, grunge kind of guy. Brian is very Southern California. He grew up playing in pop punk bands and Kyle is very reggae. We kind of all bring something different to the table,” said Roland.

Live, the band performs classic rock songs as well as originals to reach out to a wide variety of fans.

Songs like “Heroin” and “Exposed” deal with addiction and were written about Roland’s stepsister, who died of a heroin overdose. He said writing the lyrics was a way for him to cope with the tragedy.

“That’s how I dealt with it,” he said.

Using the new album as a jumping off point for exposure, Bremen wants to play out as much as they can and hopefully make a name for themselves. But, with each member working 40 hours a week at a day job, arranging band practices and shows around work obligations can be difficult.

However, the trio has found ways to work around scheduling obstacles and found ways to make time for the music. In 2014, Stefan said the band made roughly $6,000, which was put towards recording their album. On a good night the group can make $700 for playing a gig.

Roland said his idea of “making it” in the music business means being able to do what he loves without having to pinch pennies. He realizes Bremen could be a successful cover ban that only played local clubs, but Stefan made it clear that he is looking for more than that.

Right now Stefan is looking to purchase a van to haul Bremen’s gear to shows.

“You have to make that push,” he said. “It gets easier before it gets harder.”