Straight outta the trailer park in Mesa, Arizona. Brian was raised on country music, and Elvis Presley. No matter what music was playing, he was always tapping to the beat. Brian started playing drums in school at the age of 9. He would constantly listen to bands and try to tune everything out except the drummer. When he was 13 years old he took one single drum lesson from a drummer at his church. From then on, he practiced many hours a day. At one point he had a drum set made out of cardboard boxes, and another time, they were pots and pans.

 

At the age of 16 Brian got his first drum set and started up his first band, "Society's Fault" with his best friends, Hoss and Jason Wilhite.. This would be his first experiences playing in clubs like The Mason Jar and Boston’s. He learned a lot about how to treat people and and what not to do in the club scene. His next band Windigo Psychosis was a powerful force in the valley, and people quickly took notice. Formed in his front room with his roommate and guitarist Jason Wilhite, they joined forces with Matt Strangways from New York to try to capture the attention of the Arizona music scene. And that is exactly what they did. Windigo amassed a following very quickly, but it was to be short lived. Brian parted ways with the band after a couple short years.

 

It didn’t take long for Brian to find another project, and one that was even more in his wheelhouse. During his time with Windigo, Brain developed a friendship with a bass player named Chief from another local band called Core. When Chief found out Brian was looking for another band, he immediately thought of another group looking for a drummer with that NYHC style. He introduced Brian to members of 187 that had recently moved here from New York. It was a perfect fit. With other members, Rude T Reilly, Eero Dominick and Danny Marianino, 187 made quite a scar in Phoenix. During these years, they were being played on radio stations, doing interviews for magazine and radio, and they were asked to be on a soundtrack for a movie called “Traces of Death IV” along with few other local acts such as Core, N17 and S.I.L. 187 also played many shows with national acts such as: Soulfly, Machine Head, Snot, Body Count w/ Ice T, and Downset.

 

It was also during this time that many bands practiced in the same business warehousing area. Sacred Reich, Pelvic Meatloaf, Sepultura and Core were all in this same location with 187. So there was a great feeling of family in the scene. Brian’s long-standing friendship with Dejan and Chief from Core would prove to come full circle almost 25 years later.

 

After the split of 187, Brian semi-retired for a few years to focus on his newly born first child and spend that quality time being a dad. During this time, a lot of the angst and aggression that came with being in metal bands seemed to fade. Brian started listening to more of the old country he grew up on and started writing more that style of music. However, after several years, long time friend and former band mate, Hoss, asked Brian to play a couple shows with his new band Walt Flanagan’s Dog. He agreed, but the chemistry with this band was too good to just play two shows. He was officially in. WFD was a more punk band, but like Bad Religion. The guitar player in this band was actually another childhood friend named Cliff Robertson from the trailer park. After a couple years, Hoss had another band called Dick Hazard that needed a fill in drummer for a show and he asked Brian again. Brian learned the whole set in ten days and played the show. Again, he was immediately asked to join full time. Which, he agreed. After several more years of playing in these two bands, he moved on and played in a couple other projects including Gamma Function and Twisted Theorem.

 

Out of the blue, Brian received an invite from his old friends Dejan and Chief to come see their new band Last Train To Juarez play and Roosters Country. After the first set, Brian knew they had something. He offered to play rhythm guitar just so he could be a part of it, but Dejan said they didn’t really want to add any additional members at the time. But when their drummer took another gig and was unable to continue with LTTJ, Dejan immediately called Brian and asked him to audition.

 

It worked out perfect. The sound, the chemistry. It all just fell into place. Brian learned the music and within two weeks, he was thrown into Villain Recording Studio with Engineer/Producer Byron Filson (also known for 25 years from Pelvic Meatloaf) to record drum tracks for the upcoming EP. Brian’s main influences are: Alice In Chains, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Aaron Lewis, Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash

 

Come out and see us on the road!

I look forward to meeting everyone!!

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