Brad (band)
Encyclopedia
Brad is an American rock
band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1992. Brad's sound is influenced by the wide variety of influences brought by its members, including Stone Gossard
of Pearl Jam
, Regan Hagar
(Satchel and formerly a member of Malfunkshun
), Shawn Smith
(also a member of Pigeonhed
and Satchel
), and Jeremy Toback. The distinctive vocals of Smith are a major factor in this sound.
, guitarist Stone Gossard
, bassist Jeremy Toback, and drummer Regan Hagar
. The band originally wanted to go by the name Shame, however the band found that the name was already taken by a band featuring musician Brad Wilson. Instead, the band took the name Brad and decided to name its debut album Shame. Shame
, released on April 27, 1993 through Epic Records
, was recorded in roughly 20 days, with many tracks taken from in-studio jam session
s. Shame, featuring a raw sound and an eclectic mix of styles, was released to mixed reviews and moderate sales. The track "20th Century" was a minor hit in the UK
.
The band's follow-up album, Interiors
, released on June 24, 1997, was much more polished. Tom Moon of Rolling Stone
said that "what's most notable about Interiors...is the pure pop
focus of these nuanced compositions." The lead single from Interiors, "The Day Brings", features Mike McCready
from Pearl Jam
on lead guitar
. Interiors was met with poor sales, however the band saw its cult audience expand. The album was accompanied by a tour in the United States
and Canada
that same year, as well as a small tour in Australia
and New Zealand
in 1998.
A third album, Welcome to Discovery Park
, was released on August 13, 2002 through Redline Records
. The recording of Welcome to Discovery Park saw contributions from Mike Berg, who had taken over as the touring bassist for Toback. The album mixes the rawness of Shame and the polished, produced sound of Interiors. Bradley Torreano of Allmusic called it "another quality album that still leaves the listener hungry overall for some better songs." In July 2005, the band released an album of unreleased and incomplete Brad and Satchel
tracks called Brad vs Satchel
through The Establishment Store.
As of January 2006, the band's fourth studio album, tentatively titled Best Friends?, had been recorded and was being pared down to a 13-track release. As of September 2007, the album was still awaiting release as the band reunited for a small series of live performances, starting in October 2007, with Kevin Wood (of Malfunkshun
) joining the band as an additional guitarist. To date, there has been no indication as to whether this is a permanent personnel move or just a temporary addition. Songs from the forthcoming Best Friends? album were played at the 2007 and 2008 performances.
Brad performed live at Seattle's Showbox on April 14, 2010 and news about 'Best Friends?' imminent release with be posted on their official website shortly. The release date has been set for August 10, 2010 and will be available through the Pearl Jam website. Brad also announced on their official webpage that they will be reopening the Establishment Store.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1992. Brad's sound is influenced by the wide variety of influences brought by its members, including Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
of Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
(Satchel and formerly a member of Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun is a band formed in 1980 by Andrew Wood and his brother Kevin Wood. Malfunkshun, along with Skin Yard, Green River, U-Men, and Melvins are considered the "godfathers" of grunge, with Malfunkshun being the first of those bands to form.-History:...
), Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
(also a member of Pigeonhed
Pigeonhed
Pigeonhed was a Seattle-area band that combined elements of funk, soul, trip hop, and lo-fi. The band was a collaboration of Shawn Smith and Steve Fisk that lasted from 1993 to 1997 and produced three albums. Soundgarden's Kim Thayil provided significant instrumental contributions to each album...
and Satchel
Satchel (band)
Satchel is an alternative rock band from Seattle, featuring Shawn Smith , Regan Hagar , John Hoag and Mike Berg , who replaced original bassist Cory Kane in 1995.-History:...
), and Jeremy Toback. The distinctive vocals of Smith are a major factor in this sound.
History
Brad formed officially in 1992, although the band members had been playing together for a long time before that. The band's line-up was composed of vocalist Shawn SmithShawn Smith
Shawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
, guitarist Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
, bassist Jeremy Toback, and drummer Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
. The band originally wanted to go by the name Shame, however the band found that the name was already taken by a band featuring musician Brad Wilson. Instead, the band took the name Brad and decided to name its debut album Shame. Shame
Shame (Brad album)
-Personnel:Brad*Stone Gossard – guitars*Regan Hagar – drums, cover and package design, girl photo*Shawn Smith – vocals, piano, organ, guitar on "Down"*Jeremy Toback – bass guitar, lead vocals and organ on "Down"...
, released on April 27, 1993 through Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, was recorded in roughly 20 days, with many tracks taken from in-studio jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s. Shame, featuring a raw sound and an eclectic mix of styles, was released to mixed reviews and moderate sales. The track "20th Century" was a minor hit in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The band's follow-up album, Interiors
Interiors (Brad album)
Japanese bonus tracks-Personnel:Brad*Stone Gossard – guitars, painting*Regan Hagar – drums, package design*Shawn Smith – vocals, piano, organ*Jeremy Toback – bass guitarAdditional musicians and production*Matt Bayles – recording...
, released on June 24, 1997, was much more polished. Tom Moon of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said that "what's most notable about Interiors...is the pure pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
focus of these nuanced compositions." The lead single from Interiors, "The Day Brings", features Mike McCready
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Dave Krusen, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
from Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
on lead guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Interiors was met with poor sales, however the band saw its cult audience expand. The album was accompanied by a tour in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
that same year, as well as a small tour in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1998.
A third album, Welcome to Discovery Park
Welcome to Discovery Park
-Personnel:Brad*Mike Berg – keyboards, piano, bass guitar, guitars, synth, organ*Stone Gossard – guitars, drums, organ, synth, bass guitar*Regan Hagar – drums, synth, guitar, design and layout...
, was released on August 13, 2002 through Redline Records
Redline Records
Redline Records is a Fremantle-based independent record label. Originally started as a joint project between the band Jebediah and their management company Naked Ape Management, it has evolved into being a record label of local Perth indie bands. Redline Records are distributed by Shock Records...
. The recording of Welcome to Discovery Park saw contributions from Mike Berg, who had taken over as the touring bassist for Toback. The album mixes the rawness of Shame and the polished, produced sound of Interiors. Bradley Torreano of Allmusic called it "another quality album that still leaves the listener hungry overall for some better songs." In July 2005, the band released an album of unreleased and incomplete Brad and Satchel
Satchel (band)
Satchel is an alternative rock band from Seattle, featuring Shawn Smith , Regan Hagar , John Hoag and Mike Berg , who replaced original bassist Cory Kane in 1995.-History:...
tracks called Brad vs Satchel
Brad vs Satchel
Brad vs Satchel is a compilation album of unreleased and incomplete tracks by the American rock bands Brad and Satchel. It was released on July 26, 2005 through The Establishment Store.- Overview :...
through The Establishment Store.
As of January 2006, the band's fourth studio album, tentatively titled Best Friends?, had been recorded and was being pared down to a 13-track release. As of September 2007, the album was still awaiting release as the band reunited for a small series of live performances, starting in October 2007, with Kevin Wood (of Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun is a band formed in 1980 by Andrew Wood and his brother Kevin Wood. Malfunkshun, along with Skin Yard, Green River, U-Men, and Melvins are considered the "godfathers" of grunge, with Malfunkshun being the first of those bands to form.-History:...
) joining the band as an additional guitarist. To date, there has been no indication as to whether this is a permanent personnel move or just a temporary addition. Songs from the forthcoming Best Friends? album were played at the 2007 and 2008 performances.
Brad performed live at Seattle's Showbox on April 14, 2010 and news about 'Best Friends?' imminent release with be posted on their official website shortly. The release date has been set for August 10, 2010 and will be available through the Pearl Jam website. Brad also announced on their official webpage that they will be reopening the Establishment Store.
Current members
- Stone GossardStone GossardStone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Regan HagarRegan HagarRegan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
– drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
s - Shawn SmithShawn SmithShawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
– keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocalSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
s - Jeremy Toback – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Mike Berg – bass guitar (1997–2005)
- Keith Lowe - bass guitar (2008–present)
Additional personnel
- James HallJames Hall (singer)James Vincent Hall is an American rock singer and guitarist best known for his gothic-style lyrics, distinctive voice, eccentric behavior and eclectic compositions.- Early career - Mary My Hope/Solo:...
– guitar, keyboard (1997) - Matt Brown – guitar, keyboard (1997)
- Elizabeth Pupo-Walker – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(2001–2002) - Thaddeus Turner – guitars, bass (2001–2002)
- Kevin Wood – guitar (2007)
Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Shame Shame (Brad album) -Personnel:Brad*Stone Gossard – guitars*Regan Hagar – drums, cover and package design, girl photo*Shawn Smith – vocals, piano, organ, guitar on "Down"*Jeremy Toback – bass guitar, lead vocals and organ on "Down"...
|
| 1997 | Interiors Interiors (Brad album) Japanese bonus tracks-Personnel:Brad*Stone Gossard – guitars, painting*Regan Hagar – drums, package design*Shawn Smith – vocals, piano, organ*Jeremy Toback – bass guitarAdditional musicians and production*Matt Bayles – recording... Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
| 2002 | Welcome to Discovery Park Welcome to Discovery Park -Personnel:Brad*Mike Berg – keyboards, piano, bass guitar, guitars, synth, organ*Stone Gossard – guitars, drums, organ, synth, bass guitar*Regan Hagar – drums, synth, guitar, design and layout... Redline Records Redline Records is a Fremantle-based independent record label. Originally started as a joint project between the band Jebediah and their management company Naked Ape Management, it has evolved into being a record label of local Perth indie bands. Redline Records are distributed by Shock Records... |
| 2010 | Best Friends? Best Friends? Best Friends? is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Brad. It was recorded in 2003 after the band's return from an Australian tour, released on August 10, 2010 through Monkeywrench, Inc..-Track listing:-Personnel:Brad... |
Compilations
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Brad vs Satchel Brad vs Satchel Brad vs Satchel is a compilation album of unreleased and incomplete tracks by the American rock bands Brad and Satchel. It was released on July 26, 2005 through The Establishment Store.- Overview :...
|
Singles
| Year | Single | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... peak chart position |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Screen"/"Buttercup" | — | Shame |
| "20th Century" | 64 | ||
| 1997 | "The Day Brings" | — | Interiors |
| "Secret Girl" | — | ||
| 2003 | "La, La, La" | — | Welcome to Discovery Park |
| "Shinin'" | — | ||
| "Revolution" | — | ||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart. | |||