Brainium Sounds Off
Local band Brainium tells stories about playing live (anywhere from bars to parking lots), recording music starting in the 80s (cassette tape) through today (DAW), their eventually-to-be-released stage musical, and more. Self-described (in the song “Our Kind of Town”) as “Two guys in disguise as a pseudointellectual music machine” Brainium is guitarist (and much more) Thom Ciezki and keyboardist (and much less) Gary Schmid. Both (especially Thom) have played in other local bands but only Brainium has endured through the decades. Weird, witty, and rarely dull, hear stories about music-making from local guys who haven’t made it big (yet) but have had a great time getting...nowhere. “Oh, that magic feeling...”
Episodes
Costumes aren't a big thing for local bands, but you have to wear something! And what about successful bands that wear elaborate costumes? Let's Sound Off!
Who would have thought we could do an entire episode on guitar picks? Brainium Sounds Off about these little tools that are so important to playing stringed instruments. (And keyboards???) Believe it or not, after we finished recording this episode, Thom thought of a couple of other picks he could have discussed. Could there be a Part Two? (No.)
It's time to explore the origins of another Brainium classic, the song "Bad Decisions".
Bass is an integral part of most rock music. Most common is the bass guitar, but there's also standup bass, keyboard bass, and more. Let's talk low frequency!
Tough time naming this one. It's about equipment we either made ourselves or modified in some significant way. "Do it yourself" is close enough.
Oh, and we had the same stupid recording problem we had once before where one mic wasn't recording so the levels are way off (despite some effort to fix it in post...it was worse!). At least it's a short episode.
Against all odds, this podcast has made it through a whole year! We review every episode of the first year. Ah, the memories!
Some bands use some prerecorded backing tracks to enhance their live sound. Brainium did a little of this (plus all of their prerecorded drums) but a number of touring bands today do it as well. The Boys of Brainium discuss the pros and cons (in their meandering opinions) of playing live with backing tracks.
And congratulations to us for reaching one year of podcasts!
Thom recently saw the band Ghost live, then joined Gary less than a week later to see the band The Warning. Hear our thoughts on both concerts!
The term "lo-fi" has been around almost as long as "hi-fi" although its meaning has evolved over time. All of Brainium's recordings from the 80s (which is almost all of their recordings) would be considered "lo-fi", at least at some point in that evolution continuum.
It's time for the band to play, but what songs will we perform? It depends on multiple factors as discussed by the boyz of Brainium. And the songs we decide to (maybe) play are on ... a set list!
Is it a song or a meme? The iconic Brainium classic "Elephant Head" has its story told at long last!
Most bands--especially small, local bands--play "covers" ... songs that were recorded by other artists. Sometimes bands only play cover songs. But other bands--like Brainium--play "originals" ... songs the band wrote themselves. The Boys of Brainium discuss the difference.
Our first crack at answering listener questions, not necessarily related to the podcast. Or music. Or reality. But we do our best with them anyway. Have a question for Brainium? Send it to podcast at brainium.band
We've mentioned it many times, now we finally talk a little bit about "The Musical" (as we cleverly refer to it). Almost 50 years (so far) in the making. Will it be worth the wait? Of course not, but hopefully it won't stink. In any case, at least we have this podcast episode about it. Hopefully it doesn't stink either. Confidence!
Brainium is only two guys so the guitar gets plenty of work in producing the band's inimitable sound. That guitar was (and is) Thom's Fender Stratocaster, aka "The Strat." Thom tells more than anyone could possibly want to know about this legendary axe.
Brainium, as a two-man band, used a drum machine both in recording sessions and live gigs. But we've also played with live drummers. What's the difference?
Being on stage looks fun (and it usually is) but someone in the band needs to manage the performance and interact with the crowd. (Even if it's a small one.) The Boys of Brainium discuss what it's like to do the job (not always well) in a local band.
Sometimes bands play live, sometimes in a studio. (And with Brainium, sometimes "live" to tape in a basement with no audience.) What's the difference? Plenty, actually. The Boys of Brainium (especially Thom) discuss their own experiences with playing live vs. the studio.
While Thom's Fender Strat provided almost all of the guitar sounds for Brainium (to date), another guitar shows up now and then played by Gary--the keyboard player who can't really play guitar (or keyboards, but that's another story). It's old and cheap (like Brainium?) but recently had some work done (unlike Brainium) so it seemed like a good time to showcase this obscure instrument.
Another in our series discussing the origins of specific Brainium songs. This one might be considered the band's "anthem" as it includes "Brainium" in the lyrics. (It also includes "pseudointellectual" but that's irrelevant.) A snippet from this song is the outro for our podcast episodes. Now you can hear the whole thing!
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