Heed The Call

I’m always tryin to find clothes that fit my body. I have a booty made for the clubs. My short torso + stocky build = well fitting shirts that go down to my knees, or properly lengthened t shirts that are a tad bit tight. So most of the time I’m not happy. When I find a gem, I get excited. Enter Howler Brothers.

 

One day I saw a giveaway contest from this company called Howler Brothers. The jacket looked pretty awesome I must say.

 

I went onto their site and began to investigate. What I found was a lot of clothes I really wanted. Before buying one of everything, I decided to start small. I bought some new swimmin trunks, a tee and a polo. I felt pretty good about the trunks but the tee and polo had be nervous of having to go through the whole exchange process and ultimately not being satisfied with the exchange size. When the order came in I tried on all the stuff and what I experienced was woven awesomeness. The stuff fit perfectly. And the polo sleeves didn’t go down to my forearms, well…forearm…, like some polos I’ve had, so that’s good.  They have lots to choose from. Here’s a few of the items you can find in their lineup. They also have some women’s and kid’s shirts, belt buckles, longboards, and other cool stuff.

 

I always look at the “about us” of companies before purchasing stuff to see what they’re all about. You wouldn’t believe some of the normal lookin companies out there that have stuff I want nothing to do with. These people seemed pretty down to earth. And one of the co-founders, Andy Stepanian, is originally from Virginia. Based in Austin, Texas, Andy and co-founder Chase Heard are about family, hard work, making music, surfing and fly fishing. Their clothing production is limited run style so not everybody and their brother will have the exact same item of clothing. And their method of design always avoids trendy and traditional ideas.

 

I thought they seemed like a pretty cool group of guys so I looked them up. I found out they have a very successful band called Wrinkle Neck Mules.

 

I listened to their music to see if I would actually like it. I have to say, the band is well-deserving of a plug in this post. I mean it’s got that banjo, steel guitar, raspy country/folk/bluegrass sound to it. The kind of music you actually feel. They have released five records and one EP. If you use Spotify, they’re on there. Emma Jo, who has impeccable  taste in music I might add, digs ’em…

 

I wanted to learn  little more about the people that make up Howler Bros and where the company is headed. Director Mason Brent was kind enough to help me out. Here it is:

DDF: Hey man. Tell me a little about yourself.

MB: I grew up in Richmond, VA, and after a few years in Jackson, WY, moved back here to play music, and ultimately help run things at Howler.  I’m married, with a little boy on the way, and have tons of family still living in the area.

DDF: Nice, congrats on the new boy! So y’all formed the band before the clothing line. How’d that go down?

MB: When the band started in ’99, Chase and I were living in Charlottesville, VA & Andy was living in Richmond.  Me and Andy had been playing together for a while & had gotten to know Chase through mutual friends.  We all shared similar interests as far as music went, & started getting together in Richmond to play with another friend of our’s on drums.  We started out playing college parties and started making our own music a couple years later.  By the mid 2000’s we were on the road pretty consistently and putting out albums fairly steadily.

DDF: How was the clothing line started?

MB: Andy and Chase had started on the concept in the late 2000’s, and spent a couple years figuring out the nuts and bolts of the whole thing, along with the vision for the brand.  They brought me into the mix in late 2010, just as the brand launched.  We had grown very comfortable working together on a creative level though our work with the band, so it seemed like a challenge worth taking on together.

DDF: While doing some research, I found a write-up on y’all in a post from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. It mentions how half the band is in Texas, and the other half in Virginia. Y’all seem to be doing the long-distance band thing like champs. Where all do y’all perform most of your live stuff? What do y’all see for the band’s future?

MB: Yes, after a few years touring in the mid 2000’s, Chase and Andy both ended up in Texas.  It obviously made playing consistently a challenge, but everyone was, and is, committed to getting together as often as we can.  These days we split most of our shows between Texas and the mid-Atlantic.  We’ve just begun work on our next studio album, which we’ll start recording later this Spring.  Despite the long distance, I think everyone plans on keeping it rolling as far as shows and recording goes.

DDF: Surfing and fly fishing seem to be a common theme for the company. What is everyone’s favorite fish to chase?

MB: I’d say as a group we all like to fish for reds.  Getting together in Texas or Louisiana is pretty convenient and obviously the fishing can be really solid.

DDF: Besides my faith, there’s nothing more important than family. On the website, y’all mention spending time with family. What’s everybody’s favorite thing to do with their family?

MB: Head to the beach for sure.  We all grew up on the East Coast, so beach trips with our families have always been a big part of our lives.

DDF: What’s your favorite dry, nymph and streamer pattern? 

MB: For dries, nothing beats catching big fish on small caddis patterns.  I’ll go with prince nymphs for their all-around usefulness.  For streamers, the bigger and uglier the better!

DDF: You got anything else to say?

MB: Absolutely.  Since Howler’s launch in late 2010, we’ve felt incredible support from the fly fishing community, and for that, we’re truly thankful.  We hope to continue to make clothing that people find fun, functional, and can relate to- on and off the water!

I’ve already gone back and gotten more from these guys. Besides diggin their clothing, I would much rather support a company that I can relate to. Thanks for taking time for the interview Mason. Make sure you check out their site. And follow their updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram!