Brainiac (band)

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),[3] bassist Juan Monasterio (Monostereo), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent.[4] 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.[4] Shortly after the album's release, Gary Gersh offered Brainiac a $2 million record deal with Geffen Records; allegedly, the band's response was to tell him to "fuck off."[5] In November 1993, Bodine left the band, and was replaced by John Schmersal.[6] The band's next album, Bonsai Superstar, was released in 1994.[4] 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.[4] 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. The most prominent bids came from Elektra Records and Interscope Records, although it looked like the band would be signing with Interscope.[4][7] In 1997, they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record. On May 23, 1997, while driving back home, Taylor lost control of his vintage Mercedes car and crashed into a lamppost, which burst into flames.[8][9] According to Schmersal, a post-mortem toxicology report indicated that Taylor had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning, and was dead before his vehicle crashed.[8][9] The group, who were in the middle of pre-production for their fourth album, soon disbanded.[4] A benefit show featuring The Breeders and Guided By Voices took place a few months later.[10]

After recording a solo album under the name John Stuart Mill,[11] 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[12] 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.[13] The film was released on DVD and streaming on February 21, 2020.[14]

The surviving members of Brainiac also appeared on an episode of Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal[15] to discuss the career of the band, the death of Tim Taylor and the documentary.

In 2022, the band was announced as UK tour support for Mogwai for February 2023.[16] These dates were followed by a headlining tour in the UK, again in February 2023. In January the band released The Predator Nominate EP featuring never-before-heard demos.[17]

Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie claimed Brainiac influenced his work on Narrow Stairs.[18]

Matt Bellamy of Muse claims that a certain section in the song "Exo-Politics" from Black Holes and Revelations was heavily influenced by Brainiac.[19]

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.[20]

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."[21] 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.

Current members[17][16]

• John Schmersal – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1993–1997), lead vocals (2022–2023)
• Juan "Monostereo" Monasterio – bass (1992–1997, 2022–2023)
• Tyler Trent – drums (1992–1997, 2022–2023)

Past members

• Tim Taylor – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1992–1997; died 1997)
• Michelle Bodine – guitar, backing vocals (1992–1993)

Timeline

Studio albums

• Smack Bunny Baby (1993)
• Bonsai Superstar (1994)
• Hissing Prigs in Static Couture (1996)

• Brainiac discography at Discogs