Editor’s Note: On Friday, October 16, Mynd Reader will release their new EP Sunday Drive. A press release describes the release as a “soulful acoustic offering steeped in ’70s rock, blues and roots…Anchored by the soaring melodies and powerhouse vocals of Shelby Kemp, Mynd Reader was formed in Boulder, Colorado, by drummer-turned-songwriter Brian Sachs — a wonderful second-act story for a musician whose near-miss at success with ’90s New York band The Authority was followed by decades away from music.”
The EP is the follow-up to the band’s self-titled debut, which came out at the beginning of the year. The debut was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Michael Brauer (Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket, Coldplay, Aretha Franklin), who heard in them a “gentle, easygoing, early Faces-meets-Free raw approach,” adding that the songs “feel timeless.” It pairs acoustic reworkings from their debut with new material, bridging the gap to their next studio album, due summer 2027.
Sachs now shares an exclusive Artist Essay to SWT that describes his experience falling back in love with rock and roll and finding confidence to write songs for the first time.
What it’s like to begin writing songs when you have no experience, and you’re at the age where it has the huge potential to be embarrassing to tell anyone.
One of my mother’s favorite statements was, “You make plans and God laughs.” Ten years ago, if someone told me I would be playing music again, and writing the lyrics and melodies to original songs… I would say, God, please no. I’m a drummer; I never had any songwriting experience. I was out of music for close to 30 years. My biggest fear would be how cringy it would be, and truly, the thought of playing and writing songs was beyond imaginable.
Well… it’s happened. I’m back in music playing with my band, Mynd Reader. I’m playing shows on the road, and I have written close to three albums of material along with my partner, Tonin.
I had a midlife crisis. I sold my company, lost my identity as an entrepreneur, got divorced, my dog died, my son moved out of the house, and I had no idea who I was. I went on a spiritual search. I traveled to Sedona and joined a group that did Holotropic breathwork, went to Costa Rica and did very powerful, shaman-led psychedelic work, and most importantly, I fell deeply in love with a woman who challenged me in a way that I never could have imagined. Love is the most powerful transformation tool on Earth.
And while all this was occurring… out of the blue, I ran into an old acquaintance who I had played in a band with for about a week before he left it. That was when Mynd Reader started. We shared a drink and talked about the joy of rock and roll, the joy of playing music just for the fun of it. Two middle-aged guys getting together and jamming, maybe recording grooves, and being grateful we can still enjoy music and collaboration. There was never any plan of writing songs, forming a band—nothing. We just wanted to connect with the same joy we both had as fourteen-year-olds, playing music in a garage or basement just for the sake of playing music.
I still remember our first jam. Tonin came over with a little metal briefcase (I still don’t know what he had in there) and we recorded grooves. It was crazy fun. We had instant chemistry; we love rock and roll, we love Colorado, hockey, and laughing our asses off.
After Tonin left, I felt inspired, joyful—the gift of music re-entering my life. I know about eight chords on the guitar, and for some reason, after Tonin left, I felt inspired and came up with an idea for a song that eventually was called “Think About It.” It’s the last song on our debut album Mynd Reader and the first line that came to me was: When I really think about it, enough I want to shout it… It’s all about love.
The quickest way for a drummer to get fired is to say, “Do you want to hear my new song?”—especially if you say it’s a song about love that starts with a lyric like that. But when I played it for Tonin, he was encouraging. He said, “It’s great, let’s try this, let’s try that.” It’s so easy for a song to die; if he had said, “My God, what kind of shit is that?” we would have never written another song. But the encouragement and support of creativity, in my mind, is how songs are created.
Songwriting for us is the “Yes, and” mentality. Creativity requires getting over our insecurities and doing it “just because.” Much to our surprise, the songs kept coming. In my imagination, songs live in the ether and they choose their messengers. I have found that being open, vulnerable, honest, and egoless—and being the humble servant of the song—gives us the blessing of being chosen to be the messengers of the melodies that have gifted us. Our hope and prayer is to continue to receive these songs and share them with our audience, and humbly bringing the best version of the song to fruition.
You can connect with Brian Sachs and Mynd Reader via the links in his author box below
Brian Sachs
Contributor
Brian Sachs is a Colorado-based, New York City born and raised musician and drummer of the band Mynd Reader. He was also a member of the New York band The Authority.
