CUTE BAND ALERT
BRAINIAC
We’ll take brilliant minds over pretty faces any day, but it sure is nice when brains and beauty come together in one tidy package. Take Brainiac (just be sure to give ‘em back!). The Ohio quartet’s music (hear: Bonsai Superstar) is a sonic science project, a genius formula of distorto-cool and hyper-heaviosity, and in terms of looks, well…look!
Growing up, Tyler (drums), Monasterio (bass; not to be confused with the yeast infection remedy), Joh, (guitar) and Tim (vocals and Moog) were “super-geeks, the first kids on our blocks with home computers, advanced-placement math–the total losers of the world,” Tim admits. “I already knew everything by the time I was six or seven.”
Intelligence was inherent; the cute factor took work. “It was years of plastic surgery and Thighmaster,” Tim laughs. But things really started looking good for the band when Tim and Manasterio put their fashion-design studies into play. “We’re both pretty handy with a sewing machine–but we don’t have a line out…yet.” Tim says. “Before we started dressing sharp, our fans were mostly aggressive hardcore boys, and now it’s like half girls at our shows.”
Currently in the studio to record a follow-up to Bonsai (due out in Spring ‘96), Brainiac make music in mad-scientist mode. “We’re more calculated than a lot of bands.” Tim says. “We lock ourselves up in a roomful of gadgetry and make this explosion of noise, then we bring it down subtractively.”
Sounds like a plus to us!