Chris Bratton (drummer)

Last updated
Chris Bratton
Born (1969-01-16) January 16, 1969 (age 54)
Genres Hardcore punk
Occupation(s)Drummer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s) Drum kit
Years active1983-present
Labels Revelation
Member of
Formerly of

Chris Bratton (born January 16, 1969) is an American drummer involved in the hardcore punk scene since 1983. He has drummed in several influential bands including Justice League, [1] No For An Answer, [2] Chain Of Strength, [3] Inside Out, [4] Statue, Drive Like Jehu [5] and Wool. [6]

Contents

Career

With Inside Out

Inside Out [7] were a hardcore punk band, in particular, they were a part of its youth crew subculture. They cited influences including Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Led Zeppelin. Just prior to the band's breakup, the music being written was significantly more influenced by hip hop, particularly Run-DMC.

Songs were composed by DiCara and de la Rocha evenly, with some songs having instrumentals and lyrics written by DiCara and some by de la Rocha while others were collaborations between the two.

They have been cited as an influence by Have Heart, Stick to Your Guns, Linkin Park, Refused, Incendiary, Coalesce and Mouthpiece.

With Chain Of Strength

The first Chain of Strength [8] release was a 7" EP entitled True Till Death, released through Revelation Records. [9] After parting ways with Revelation, they formed their own Foundation Records to release another 7", What Holds Us Apart. [10] Both of these records eventually fell out of print, yet were still in demand. As a result, Revelation Records released both EPs (plus one unreleased track) as a CD/LP called The One Thing That Still Holds True. [11]

Both EP's were released in the UK on First Strike Records, a record label based in Wigan, run from a skate shop called Alans.

From 2006-2008, Alex Barreto played bass for the band Alien Ant Farm. Currently, he is the guitarist of Excel.

With Drive Like Jehu

Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, both from Night Soil Man, after their two bands disbanded in 1990. Drive Like Jehu's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound amongst other post-hardcore acts and helped to catalyze the evolution of hardcore punk into emo.

After releasing their eponymous debut in 1991 through local record labels Cargo Music and Headhunter Records, Drive Like Jehu signed to major label Interscope Records along with Reis' other band Rocket from the Crypt. Their second album, 1994's Yank Crime , gained a cult following, but the group disbanded shortly afterward. Reis continued with Rocket from the Crypt and Trombino became a successful record producer and audio engineer, while Froberg and Kennedy pursued careers outside of music. In 1999, Reis and Froberg began playing together again in Hot Snakes, which was active from 1999 to 2005 and again from 2011 to present. Reis also re-released Yank Crime through his Swami Records label.

With Wool

Wool formed in the early 1990s when brothers Pete and Franz Stahl (vocals/guitar and guitar/vocals, respectively) were forced to terminate their popular band Scream after bassist Skeeter Thompson left the band and after drummer Dave Grohl joined Seattle grunge band Nirvana midway through a U.S. tour.

The brothers then teamed up with drummerPeter Moffett (also a member of Government Issue and Burning Airlines) and bassist Al Bloch (member of Concrete Blonde, and brother of Seattle Sub-Pop legend Kurt Bloch from the Fastbacks).

The quartet's first single "Little Darlin'", is a well-regarded punk single. Then, the band released 1992's rollicking Budspawn, which was released independently on External Records (the original vinyl version consisted of eight tracks clocking in at over 30 minutes while the CD version had six tracks and was classified as an EP instead). The material on Budspawn combined the four members' inherent punk aesthetics with a tendency toward more straight-ahead, anthemic hard rock and drug-induced psychedelia.

With No For An Answer

No For an Answer was a Californian hardcore punk band active primarily between 1987 and 1989. The band has also done a couple of reunion shows, most notably the Revelation 25th anniversary shows in California.

Discography

with Chain of Strength

with Justice League

with No For An Answer

with Wool

with Inside Out

Related Research Articles

Inside Out was a hardcore punk band from Orange County, California. It was fronted by Zack de la Rocha, later of Rage Against the Machine.

Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side, Chain of Strength, Shelter, Judge, No for an Answer, Gorilla Biscuits, and End of a Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth of Today</span> American hardcore punk band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Froberg</span> American musician and visual artist (1968–2023)

Eric "Rick" Froberg, also known by the pseudonyms Rick Fork and Rick Farr, was an American musician and visual artist. In his musical career he was the singer and guitarist for the San Diego-area bands Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes, performing alongside fellow San Diego musician John Reis. Froberg also played with the Last of the Juanitas, Thingy and Obits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drive Like Jehu</span> American post-hardcore band

Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, both from Night Soil Man, after their two bands disbanded in 1990. Drive Like Jehu's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound amongst other post-hardcore acts and helped to catalyze the evolution of hardcore punk into emo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket from the Crypt</span> American punk rock band

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Hot Snakes were an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found international success with Rocket from the Crypt. Hot Snakes disbanded in 2005, but reunited in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Reis</span> American musician

John Reis, also known by the pseudonyms Speedo, Slasher, and the Swami is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which he formed and fronted for the entirety of its career from 1990 to 2005. Prior to this he was the guitarist in the post-hardcore band Pitchfork, and also played in Drive Like Jehu during the early 1990s. In 1999 he formed the Hot Snakes, and in 2000 also formed the Sultans, in which he sang and originally played bass before switching to rhythm guitar. He played in both these bands until their breakups in 2005 and 2007 respectively. He also released a solo recording under the name Back Off Cupids, which was recorded in 1994 but not released until 1999. Over the years he has performed in many other musical acts including Conservative Itch, Stacatto Reads, Custom Floor, and Beehive & the Barracudas. He is the owner of Swami Records, a label he founded in 1999. He frequently works with bands in a studio capacity and releases albums by many southern California groups through his label. He also hosts the "Swami Sound System" program. Reis remains an influential figure in the San Diego underground music community and is currently performing with San Diego bands the Night Marchers and PLOSIVS, with Rob Crow.

Karp was an American post-hardcore band from Tumwater, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998. The band was formed by Chris Smith a.k.a. Chris "Slayer", Jared Warren and Scott Jernigan. They released three full-length albums titled Mustaches Wild, Suplex, and Self Titled LP. They also released several EPs and 7-inch records.

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Pitchfork was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1986 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 1990. They are most well known as the first "real" band of guitarist John Reis, who would later gain fame as the frontman in Rocket from the Crypt, and as the first collaboration between Reis and singer Rick Froberg. As an aspiring visual artist and illustrator, Froberg provided most of the band's artwork while Reis developed his studio skills by acting as producer on their records.

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<i>Drive Like Jehu</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Drive Like Jehu

Drive Like Jehu is the debut album by the American post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu, released in 1991 by Cargo Music and Headhunter Records.

<i>Yank Crime</i> 1994 studio album by Drive Like Jehu

Yank Crime is the second and final album by the San Diego, California post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu, released on April 26, 1994 by Interscope Records. It was the band's major-label debut and its artwork was created by singer/guitarist Rick Froberg. The band toured in support of the album but then quietly disbanded the following year as the members moved off to pursue other interests.

<i>Automatic Midnight</i> 2000 studio album by Hot Snakes

Automatic Midnight is the first studio album by the San Diego, California post-hardcore band Hot Snakes, released in 2000 by Swami Records. Both the band and the album began as a "side project" for John Reis in June 1999, during time off from his main band Rocket From the Crypt. Reis wrote and recorded a batch of songs in San Diego with Delta 72 drummer Jason Kourkounis. To provide vocals for the tracks Reis called in Rick Froberg, whom he had played with in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu from 1986 to 1995. Most of the material from these sessions was used to create Automatic Midnight, which became the first release for Reis' newly formed Swami Records label.

<i>Audit in Progress</i> 2004 studio album by Hot Snakes

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References

  1. "Justice League (2)". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  2. "No For An Answer". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  3. "Chain Of Strength". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  4. "Inside Out May Have Only Released One EP, But They Put An Indelible Stamp on Hardcore Punk". Bandcamp Daily. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  5. "Drive Like Jehu music, videos, stats, and photos". Last.fm. 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  6. Hinds, Andy. "Biography: Wool". Allmusic . Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  7. "Inside Out (2)". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  8. "CHAIN OF STRENGTH". allinmerch. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  9. Chain Of Strength - True Till Death, 1989, retrieved 2023-06-22
  10. Chain Of Strength - What Holds Us Apart, 1990, retrieved 2023-06-22
  11. Chain Of Strength - The One Thing That Still Holds True, 1995, retrieved 2023-06-22