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Brainiac (sometimes stylized as 3RA1N1AC) is an American indie rock band formed in 1992 and disbanded after the sudden death of lead singer Tim Taylor in 1997.

Brainiac
Origin	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Genres	Indie rock[1] noise rock[2] post-hardcore synthpunk experimental rock alternative rock art pop math rock electronic
Years active	1992–1997
Labels	Touch and Go
Past members	Tim Taylor Juan "Monostereo" Monasterio Michelle Bodine Tyler Trent John Schmersal

In 2022, the band was announced as UK tour support for Mogwai for February 2023.[3]

Biography

Brainiac was formed in Dayton, Ohio, United States in January 1992 with vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player (particularly Moog synthesizers) Tim Taylor (July 20, 1968 – May 23, 1997),[4] bassist Monostereo (Juan Monasterio), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent.[5] On March 12, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything.

After a slew of singles, they released their debut album, Smack Bunny Baby, on Grass/BMG Records in 1993.[5] Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine, followed the next year.[5] In 1995 they played on the Lollapalooza side stage and recorded four songs in the UK for the BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions. They joined Touch and Go Records and released Internationale, produced by Kim Deal (of The Breeders). The following year, their third album, Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, was released on the Touch & Go label.[5] All three of their albums were produced by Eli Janney (of Girls Against Boys).

Brainiac generated buzz as a live act to see that resulted in opening slots on tours for Beck, the Breeders and the Jesus Lizard, and received offers from major labels.[5] In 1997, they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record: Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23, 1997, during the pre-production for their fourth album, which was due out on Interscope Records.[5] The group soon disbanded. A benefit show featuring The Breeders and Guided By Voices took place a few months later.[6]

Aftermath and legacy

After recording a solo album under the name John Stuart Mill,[7] guitarist John Schmersal later went on to form Enon. Monasterio directs music videos, including two for Enon, and released in 2008 an EP with a new band called Model/Actress with Curtis Mead and Charlie Walker from Chamberlain and ex-Bullet LaVolta drummer Philips; Schmersal makes appearances on this album. Trent briefly joined the Breeders and most recently played with The Dirty Walk. Bodine became the guitarist and singer of O-matic and Shesus.

In early 2019, a documentary entitled Transmissions After Zero[8] was released by director Eric Mahoney to favorable reviews. This included several live performances at various locations, with friend Tim Krug including New York, Los Angeles and their hometown of Dayton, Ohio.[9] The film was released on DVD and streaming on February 21, 2020.[10]

The surviving members of Brainiac also appeared on an episode of Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal[11] to discuss the career of the band, the death of Tim Taylor and the documentary.

Members

• Tim Taylor – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1992–1997, his death)
• Juan "Monostereo" Monasterio – bass (1992–1997)
• Michelle Bodine – guitar, backing vocals (1992–1994)
• John Schmersal – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1994–1997)
• Tyler Trent – drums (1992–1997)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

• Smack Bunny Baby (1993, Grass/BMG)
• Bonsai Superstar (1994, Grass/BMG)
• Hissing Prigs in Static Couture (1996, Touch & Go)

Singles/EPs

• Superduperseven 7" (1992, Limited Potential)
• I Could Own You (Live) 7" (split single with Bratmobile, 1993, 12x12 Records)
• Dexatrim 7" (split single with Lazy, 1994, Simple Solution) (John Schmersal's debut as new guitarist)
• Cookie Doesn't Sing 7" (split single w/Today Is The Day, Chrome Cranks, and Steel Pole Bathtub Vol. 10/ CD Comp., 1995, Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets Vols. 8-11, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Internationale (7" single/EP {features new recording of "Simon Says" off Superduperseven 7"}, 1995, Touch & Go)
• Go! 4x7" single (Jabberjaw Vol. 6, CD Comp., 1996, Mammoth Records)
• Electro-Shock for President EP (1997, Touch & Go)
• Petrified single (Ubu Dance Party: A Tribute To Pere Ubu, CD Comp., 1997, Datapanik)

Influence

Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie claimed Brainiac influenced his work on Narrow Stairs.[12]

Matt Bellamy of Muse claims that a certain section in the song "Exo-Politics" from Black Holes and Revelations was heavily influenced by Brainiac.[13]

Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta state Brainiac, specifically Electro-Shock for President as an influential record. On their influence Cedric states:

Nearly every band is indebted to Brainiac: Blood Brothers, The Locust, At the Drive-In, also The Faint owe them a lot, and they wouldn't be afraid to admit that. Brainiac were at least the first to have this certain Devo-thing - even though it's not that, obviously: absurd vocals, heavy synths, samples of dogs and trains. All the electronic stuff on this album was done by Steve Albini and Jim O'Rourke. Brainiac recorded only three albums because the singer died in a crashed car. It's like a dark secret you can discover.[14]

During a BBC radio session, Nine Inch Nails' frontman Trent Reznor commented on Brainiac that they were a major influence on him, "from a sonic standpoint."[15] He also revealed that while recording 2005's With Teeth he would use Electro-Shock for President as a "sound reference."

Brainiac was a band that, on this particular record, the sound would be something we'd reference, because it sounded very low tech electronic garagey sounding. It has an interesting low tech sound to it that was inspiring. Even thinking about that visually would lead us into certain paths of production ideas.

References

Sources

• Allmusicguide.com biography

External links

• Brainiac discography at Discogs

На других языках

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[es] Brainiac (banda)

Brainiac (a veces estilizado como 3RA1N1AC) fue una banda de indie rock oriunda de Dayton, Ohio.

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