Brant Bjork

Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork at the Eurockéennes de Belfort, 2011
Background information
Born	(1973-03-19) March 19, 1973
Origin	Palm Springs, CA, US
Genres	Stoner rock, desert rock, heavy metal, hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer
Instruments	drums, guitar, bass, vocals
Years active	1987–present
Labels	El Camino Records, Duna Records, Man's Ruin Records, Low Desert Punk Recordings
Associated acts	Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Brant Bjork and the Bros, Ché, De-Con, LAB, Fatso Jetson, The Desert Sessions, Mondo Generator, Ten East, Vista Chino
Website	www.brantbjork.com

Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Palm Desert, California. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along with former Kyuss vocalist John Garcia. Until October 2014 when Nick Oliveri announced that there was a falling out and that Bjork and Garcia would continue working on their solo projects.^[1] He is one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert scenes.

Musical career

Kyuss

While still in high school, Bjork got together with friends Josh Homme and John Garcia in 1987 to form a band called Katzenjammer. At Bjork's prompting, the band would soon be renamed Sons of Kyuss for a single EP, named after "The Sons of Kyuss" monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game,^[2] and then later shortened to Kyuss. The band relocated to Los Angeles in 1990 and signed to Chameleon Records, releasing their debut album, Wretch in September 1991. They were then picked up by the major label Elektra Records, becoming the first desert rock band to achieve international success. Bjork was a major creative force in Kyuss, contributing a substantial portion of the band's songwriting. In 1994, Bjork left the band following the release of Welcome to Sky Valley, frustrated at guitarist Homme's growing reluctance to play the songs he was contributing to the band.

Josh and I were the creative force of Kyuss. We had a very deep understanding of the need for each other in getting the band to exist musically. At the time of Sky Valley, I was young, probably about 19 or 20, and I certainly had a lot of artistic vision for Kyuss. I exercised that with Blues for the Red Sun, but when it came time for Sky Valley, there was a conflict in direction between Josh and I. That never really happened before, and I didn't know how to handle it.

— Bjork on the tension in Kyuss.^[2][3]

Post-Kyuss

After leaving Kyuss, Bjork would go on to play with several different bands, as well as founding the independent label El Camino Records (later Duna Records). Through his label, Bjork would release albums that he was musically involved in, such as hardcore punk band De-Con's 1995 album Balls for Days, on which he played drums.^[4] Bjork would also release and produce stoner rock band Solarfeast's 1995 debut Gossamer. Bjork would later go on to join former Kyuss bandmate, Josh Homme, in his Palm Desert musical collective series, The Desert Sessions. He would play a mixture of guitar, bass, drums, and percussion on various tracks on the 1997 releases Volume 1: Instrumental Driving Music For Felons and Volume 2: Status: Ships Commander Butchered, as well as 1999's Volume 5: Poetry for the Masses (SeaShedShitheadByTheSheSore) and Volume 6: Black Anvil Ego.

Bjork briefly moved to Santa Cruz to play guitar for hardcore punk band LAB in 1997 (made up of the remaining members of 80's punk band BL'AST!), playing on their 1997 release, the 7" EP "Burning Leaf/Chihuahua". He would also play guitar for Fatso Jetson during 1997–1998, including on their 1998 "Jailbreak" 7" split EP with stoner rock band Fu Manchu.

Bjork was playing with another former member of Kyuss, Nick Oliveri, in Oliveri's metal band Mondo Generator. Joining in 1997, Bjork's drumming would feature on the 2000 LP Cocaine Rodeo, and the 2003 LP A Drug Problem That Never Existed. He would tour with the band until leaving in 2004. Bjork also appeared on the live DVD, 2004's Use Once and Destroy Me, as well as later releases featuring the Bjork-era line-up, in including the 2006 7" single "I Never Sleep" and the 2008 Australian Tour EP.

Fu Manchu

Having produced their debut album No One Rides for Free in 1994, Bjork would officially join Fu Manchu with the release of their critically acclaimed 1997 album The Action Is Go. Bjork would continue to play on every Fu Manchu recording until his departure following the release of 2001's California Crossing,^[2] including the LPs Eatin' Dust and King of the Road.

Solo career

Bjork began recording his first solo album, 1999's Jalamanta, in February of that year. Bjork performed all instruments, including guitar and vocals. He would also perform guitar and vocals in the short-lived stoner rock band Ché – a side-project collaboration with former Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age drummer Alfredo Hernández. Ché released their only album, Sounds of Liberation, in October 2000. Bjork's next album, 2002's Brant Bjork & the Operators, named for Bjork's fictional backing band, 'the Operators', was recorded in November 2000 with Bjork again performing vocals and most instruments. He would continue to be the sole performer, except for a few guest spots, on 2003's Keep Your Cool and 2004's Local Angel.

Bjork would form the band Brant Bjork and the Bros in 2003, featuring guitarist Mike Pygmie, bassist Dylan Roche, and drummer Michael Peffer, with Bjork performing vocals and additional guitar. They toured Europe in October 2003, performing a mixture of Bjork's solo material and Ché's Sounds of Liberation. Pygmie was replaced by Scott Cortez Silverman for further touring in Europe and North America in 2004.^[5] This line-up went on to record the 2005 double album Saved by Magic. The album featured a return to the sound of Bjork's earlier sound from his Jalamanta/Sounds of Liberation era.^[2]

Bjork playing live in Exeter, June 19, 2006

2006 saw the release of Sabbia, a feature film "visual soundtrack" by filmmaker Kate McCabe, featuring Bjork's music.^[6] Brant Bjork and the Bros would go on to record another album, 2007's Somera Sól, with Alfredo Hernández replacing Michael Peffer on drums. In the same year, Bjork released his fifth solo album, Tres Dias, an acoustic album featuring reinterpretations of older songs, as well as some new material. The title of the album (Three Days) comes from the purported amount of time that Bjork claimed it took to record it at producer Tony Mason's house in Joshua Tree, California.

Bjork reported in 2007 that he had ended his label, Duna Records, citing that it took too much time and energy to run.^[7] Bjork soon created a new label, Low Desert Punk Recordings, and the Duna Records website now functions as a Brant Bjork community fansite and forum.^[8] The first release on the new label was Bjork's 2008 album, Punk Rock Guilt, made up of recordings from December 2005 referred to as the "New Jersey Sessions". This release was followed up with the 2010 album Gods & Goddesses. Recorded in LA in 2009, Gods & Goddesses was the first Brant Bjork solo album not to be primarily recorded by Bjork himself. Instead, Bjork recorded with a new line-up of musicians including guitarist Brandon Henderson, former Yawning Man bassist Billy Cordell, and former Mondo Generator drummer Giampaolo Farnedi.

A new solo record entitled Jacuzzi has been recorded and mixed. Jacuzzi will be an instrumental album, featuring jazz and funk influences with break beats.^[9] Originally planned for release in 2013, it has been delayed for undisclosed reasons. A new release date is yet to be announced.

In March 2014, Bjork announced that he would tour Australia in May with his backing band, the 'Low Desert Punks', consisting of bassist Dave Dinsmore, guitarist Bubba Dupree, and Tony Tornay on drums.^[10] He would later announce a New Zealand tour with dates in June.^[11]

Vista Chino

In November 2010, it was announced that Bjork was forming Kyuss Lives! with Bruno Fevery on guitar, Nick Oliveri on bass and John Garcia on vocals. The band undertook a European, Australian and New Zealand tour from March to May 2011.^[12] On November 2012, Kyuss Lives! announced that they had changed their name to Vista Chino.^[13]

Vista Chino released their debut album Peace on September 3, 2013 through Napalm Records.^[14]

Gear

Drums: Ludwig Drums 24x16 Bass Drum, 14x13 Tom Tom, 16x16 Floor Tom, 18x16 Floor Tom, 14x6.5 Snare

Cymbals: Paiste 15" sound edge hi-hats', 22" Signature Reflector Heavy Full Crash', 22" 2002 Heavy Ride', 22" 2002 Crash

Pro-mark: 2b Drumsticks, in the early days of Kyuss Brant would sometimes reverse his sticks to get more power, towards the end of his original stint with Kyuss Brant used Zildjian Rock Sticks.

Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson SG, Gibson Firebird

Amps: Marshall Heads and Cabs

Effects: fuzz tone, Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, Phase shifter,

Discography

Brant Bjork

• Jalamanta (October 11, 1999)
• Brant Bjork & the Operators (April 30, 2002)
• Keep Your Cool (October 21, 2003)
• Local Angel (August 10, 2004)
• Tres Dias (February 27, 2007)
• Punk Rock Guilt (May 13, 2008)
• Gods & Goddesses (March 30, 2010)
• Tao of the Devil (September 30, 2016)
• Jacuzzi (TBA)

Brant Bjork and the Bros

• Saved by Magic (August 1, 2005)
• Somera Sól (May 8, 2007)

Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band

• Black Power Flower (November 17, 2014)

References

External links

• Brant Bjork's official Facebook page
• Brant Bjork at Allmusic
• Bjork interviewed on Israel's Jekyll and Hyde, 2009
• Official Homepage of Brant Bjork
• Brant Bjork fansite and community page