BUZZ BANDS

Born to be ‘Blue’

Meet Cary Brothers, professional musician.

“It’s pretty amazing to be able to say that for the first time in my life,” says Brothers, who got a nice boost by having a song on the recent “Garden State” movie soundtrack. Rest assured, he’s still several royalty checks away from the high life. “Every dime I make -- once I’m sure I can pay the bills and have food -- is going back into the music.”

But things are looking good for the Nashville-born singer-songwriter, who has been playing around L.A. for eight years. The Grammy-nominated “Garden State” album has sold more than 500,000 copies, and Brothers’ song on it, the soaring ballad “Blue Eyes,” has had more than 7,000 downloads from iTunes, he says. “Even a few years ago, as an independent musician you couldn’t imagine anything like that.” Meanwhile, his self-produced four-song EP, “All the Rage” (which includes “Blue Eyes”), hit stores nationwide Tuesday as part of a new distribution deal.

Fans can also get a taste of his musings with each “Free Song of the Week” at carybrothers.com. “It’s using the Internet and the technology at my disposal,” says Brothers, who plays Monday night at Hotel Cafe. “I get a lot of feedback. If people like the music, I like to bring them into the creative process.”

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Fast forward

* Early arrivals to the L.A.-area Pedro the Lion shows last week heard a charming display of dream-pop courtesy of Half-Life Souvenir. It’s a trio featuring comedian-turned-singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas, booking agent Trey Many (who has played with indie rockers His Name Is Alive and Velour 100) and James McAlister (of Ester Drang). Thomas will be back in L.A. soon to record her next album for Sub Pop Records.

* Silver Lake indie-poppers Irving unleashed a set of impressive, mostly new songs last week in an opening slot at the red-hot Arcade Fire show at Spaceland. The quintet plans to record with producer Phil Ek (who’s worked with the Shins, Pretty Girls Make Graves and Modest Mouse) and shop an album to labels next year.

* Behind its recent release “Through the Opaque Air,” Slow Signal Fade brings its dense art-rock to the Silverlake Lounge on Tuesday. Marguerite Olivelle’s vocals grow more riveting with every listen.

* The next album by Southland stalwarts Starflyer 59 is due in April, with production guru Ken Andrews doing the mixing.

* Nice compilation out recently from anti-mall-punk label Gold Standard Laboratories. “Golden Grouper Vol. 1,” an all-California collection, includes standout tracks from L.A.’s 400 Blows, Wires on Fire and Rose for Bohdan, among others.... Speaking of compilations, the Sub City label’s “Take Action! Vol. 4,” featuring 41 tracks including contributions from Andrew WK, Coheed and Cambria, NOFX and Taking Back Sunday, makes a nifty stocking stuffer. As with all that label’s releases, a portion of the proceeds benefits the National Hopeline Network, a suicide prevention hotline. The Take Action tour hits the House of Blues on Feb. 18.