Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973)[1] is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork has also been a member of Fu Manchu, Mondo Generator and Vista Chino, the latter with former Kyuss members John Garcia and Nick Oliveri. He is currently the frontman and co-founder of the stoner rock power trio, Stöner.[5] Bjork is one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert scene and maintains a prolific solo career with over a dozen released albums.[6]
While still in high school, Bjork got together with friends Chris Cockrell, Nick Oliveri, 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,[7] 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, including standout tracks like "Green Machine" and "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)".[8] 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 briefly moved to Santa Cruz to play guitar for hardcore punk band LAB in 1997 (made up of the remaining members of '80s punk band BL'AST!), playing on their 1997 release, the 7-inch EP "Burning Leaf/Chihuahua". He would also play guitar for Fatso Jetson during 1997–1998, including on their 1998 "Jailbreak" 7-inch 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 video album Use Once and Destroy Me released in 2004, as well as later releases recorded during his stint lineup, including the 2006 7-inch single "I Never Sleep" and the 2008 Australian Tour EP.
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, including the albums Eatin' Dust and King of the Road.[7]
Solo career
Bjork recorded his first solo album, 1999's Jalamanta, in February of that year and performed all of the album's instruments, including guitar and vocals.[11] 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 and former Unida bassist Dave Dinsmore. 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.[12] 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.[7]
Bjork playing live with the Bros in 2006
2006 saw the release of Sabbia, a feature film "visual soundtrack" by filmmaker Kate McCabe, featuring Bjork's music.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.
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.[16] He would later announce a New Zealand tour with dates in June.[17] In November, an album, Black Power Flower was released on Napalm Records under the name Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band.
In June 2018, Bjork announced his new album, Mankind Woman. The album released on September 14, 2018, on Heavy Psych Sounds. Mankind Woman was noted for its "smoother and more laid back" style and psychedelic influences, compared to Bjork's previous work.[18] The album was produced by Bubba Dupree, also serving as guitarist throughout. Another notable feature was the shared lead vocals between Bjork and long-time friend Sean Wheeler, who also performed as special guest on the subsequent Mankind Woman album tour in North America and Europe. Brant Bjork handpicked Danish The Sonic Dawn as his European tour support, echoing the psychedelic touches of Mankind Woman.[19]
In April 2019, a new solo record entitled Jacoozzi was released. Originally recorded in 2010 and then shelved, Jacoozzi is an instrumental album, featuring jazz and funk influences with break beats.[20] Bjork explains the material was improvisation meant to lead up to a new solo record. But Vista Chino started up around that time and thus the album was shelved.[21] It was released on April 5, 2019, on Heavy Psych Sounds.
In May 2019, a 'remixed and remastered' reissue of Jalamanta was announced, set for release on September 13, 2019, on Heavy Psych Sounds, 20 years after the album's initial release. The remix was done by Tony Mason, who also did the original mix, and the remastering was done by John McBain at JPM Mastering, San Francisco.
In May 2020, Bjork released his eponymous studio album, Brant Bjork, on Heavy Psych Sounds.[22]
In October 2022, Bjork released his sixteenth solo album, Bougainvillea Suite, on Heavy Psych Sounds. Bjork has described the album as "bittersweet" since it is his last record to be recorded in his studio in Joshua Tree.[23] The album features contributions from his Stöner bandmates.[24]
In 2023, Bjork announced a tour with his new backing band, the Brant Bjork Trio. The lineup includes bassist Mario Lalli of Fatso Jetson and Stöner drummer Ryan Güt.[25]
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.[26] In November 2012, Kyuss Lives! announced that they had changed their name to Vista Chino.[27]
Vista Chino released their debut album Peace on September 3, 2013, through Napalm Records.[28]
He played with the band until October 2014, at which point Nick Oliveri announced there was a falling out and that Bjork and Garcia would continue working on their solo projects.[29]
In early 2020, Bjork formed the stoner rock power trio, Stöner, alongside Oliveri and Ryan Güt, the drummer for Bjork's solo band. In October, the trio made their live debut performing on the fourth volume of the concert series Live in the Mojave Desert. The album was released on April 30.[30] In June 2021, the band released their debut album, Stoners Rule.[31] Stöner released their sophomore album, Totally..., in May 2022.[32] In February 2023, the band released their debut EP, Boogie to Baja.[33]
Gear
Drums:
Ludwig Drums 24x16 Bass Drum, 14x13 Tom Tom, 16x16 Floor Tom, 18x16 Floor Tom, 14x6.5 Snare
In the early days of Kyuss, Brant would reverse his sticks to get more power. Towards the end of his stint with Kyuss, Brant used Zildjian Rock Sticks.[citation needed] During his time with Fu Manchu, Brant used various Ludwig drum kits, including the kit he used in Kyuss, but primarily used a blonde maple Ludwig with a 26x16 kick, 14x14 tom and a 18x18 floor tom. His cymbals were Zildjian A's, 20 and 22 crashes and ride and 15 or 16 inch hats. His sticks varied from 5b's or 2b's from Vater, Vic Firth or Pro-mark turned upside down for maximum power.
Kyuss was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees, Fu Manchu, Dwarves, Eagles of Death Metal, Mondo Generator, Hermano, Unida, Slo Burn and Them Crooked Vultures.
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and frequent contributor to his friends' albums and tours, including Winnebago Deal, Masters of Reality, Turbonegro, Moistboyz, Svetlanas and Big Scenic Nowhere among many others. He is currently the frontman of his project, Mondo Generator, a punk and metal hybrid that he formed in 1997, and the co-founder of the stoner rock power trio, Stöner. He has also worked periodically with the Dwarves since 1993.
John Garcia is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the vocalist and founding member of stoner rock bands Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida and Hermano. Garcia also performed in Vista Chino, formerly Kyuss Lives!, with former Kyuss members Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri. Garcia has since decided to pursue his solo career, having formed his band, John Garcia and the Band of Gold, in 2019.
Alfredo Hernández is an American drummer best known as a former member of desert rock bands Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros and Yawning Man, and as a current member of the band, Avon.
Cocaine Rodeo is the debut studio album by American rock band Mondo Generator, released through Southern Lord Records on 18 July 2000. It was compiled of material recorded by vocalist/bassist Nick Oliveri with drummer Rob Oswald, vocalist/guitarist Brent Malkus, and his ex-Kyuss bandmates Josh Homme, Brant Bjork and John Garcia. Recorded in 1997, the material was shelved for three years due to disinterest from the band to release it and Oliveri's full-time commitment to Queens of the Stone Age.
Gene Trautmann is an American drummer, best known for his work with rock bands Queens of the Stone Age, Dig and the Miracle Workers, and as a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal. He has also contributed to releases by The Desert Sessions and toured with Mark Lanegan.
Yawning Man is an American experimental rock band from La Quinta, California. The band originally formed in 1986, although they released no studio recordings until 2005. They have been noted to be one of the first influential bands in the desert rock scene.
Jalamanta is the stoner rock and Palm Desert scene musician Brant Bjork's debut solo album after leaving Kyuss and joining Fu Manchu. Originally released on October 11, 1999, through Man's Ruin Records, Jalamanta was later re-released on Bjork's own label, Duna Records, in 2003, 2006 and 2009. In 2019, Bjork's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds, released a remixed and remastered version of the album with new artwork.
Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock later made most famous by their slightly younger neighbors Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. While musically similar to some of their stoner brethren, Fatso Jetson incorporate a broader variety of musical influences that includes punk and surf.
The following is the discography of Californian stoner rock musician Brant Bjork. Bjork has released sixteen studio albums and one live album as a solo artist, appeared on multiple albums as a member of bands such as Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Mondo Generator, and collaborated with different artists and made guest appearances on several recordings.
Mondo Generator is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. The band has released seven studio albums, four EPs, one live album and one video album.
"Green Machine" is a song by Kyuss from their 1992 album, Blues for the Red Sun. The song was written by drummer Brant Bjork.
Somera Sól is the second album by the stoner rock band Brant Bjork and the Bros, and the seventh solo album by Brant Bjork. It was released on May 8 2007, and features former Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernandez, in addition to guest appearances by Sean Wheeler of Throw Rag and Mario Lalli of Fatso Jetson. The album was reissued by Brant Bjork's former record label Low Desert Punk in 2008 with altered artwork, and again in 2022 by Bjork's current record label Heavy Psych Sounds Records featuring new artwork.
Bruno Fevery is a Belgian guitarist. He is best known as a member of the American rock band Vista Chino, formerly known as Kyuss Lives!, and the Belgian multi-genre band Arsenal.
Vista Chino was an American rock band formed in 2010 by vocalist John Garcia, drummer Brant Bjork and bassist Nick Oliveri, all previously members of Kyuss, along with guitarist Bruno Fevery.
This article lists the discography of Nick Oliveri. Oliveri is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known for his work as a member of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. Oliveri frequently contributes to the work of other artists as a solo artist, most notably on ...Like Clockwork, a 2013 Queens of the Stone Age album, for which he provided backing vocals on "If I Had a Tail".
Stöner is an American rock band formed in 2020 by former Kyuss members Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri, and Bjork's solo band drummer, Ryan Güt. The power trio has released two studio albums and toured extensively in support of both albums.
Mankind Woman is the thirteenth solo album by stoner rock musician Brant Bjork. It was released on September 14, 2018, by Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
Bougainvillea Suite is the thirteenth solo album by stoner rock musician Brant Bjork. It was released on October 28, 2022, by Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The album features a much more laid back relaxed sound from previous offerings. This is the last album recorded at his Joshua Tree home studio.
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