brad

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 (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.

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 Smith, 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.^[1] 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 sessions. Shame, featuring a raw sound and an eclectic mix of styles, was released to mixed reviews and moderate sales.^[2] 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."^[3] 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.^[2] 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.^[2] 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."^[4] 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.^[5] 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, but there was no announcement as to when the album would be released.

Band members

Current members

• Stone Gossard – guitar
• Regan Hagar – drums
• Shawn Smith – keyboard, vocals
• Jeremy Toback – bass guitar
• Mike Berg – bass guitar (1997–present)

Additional personnel

• James Hall – guitar, keyboard (1997)
• Matt Brown – guitar, keyboard (1997)
• Elizabeth Pupo-Walker – percussion (2001–2002)
• Thaddeus Turner – guitars, bass (2001–2002)
• Kevin Wood – guitar (2007–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

See also

• List of alternative rock artists

Notes and references

External links

• Shawn Smith official website
• Brad at Allmusic
• Brad at Last.fm