Stark Raving Brad, Rhythmologist

About Me

It started in late 1991, on a winter day in San Francisco. His roomie brought a four-track home and Bradley quickly retreated to the basement with the new toy. When he emerged 6 months later (having subsisted entirely on insanity and slow-moving vermin), he had his true identity and a disturbing yet compelling batch of tunes. Stark Raving Brad had arrived, and the world was to forever be a more colorful place.He headed a very strange band that played all over SF from '92 to '97. His percussive talents and nuclear stage presence steadily earned critical praise in the Bay Area, and solicitations from quality outfits poured in. He joined premier wack-hoppers The Marginal Prophets, and SF's second-wave ska kings, Undercover S.K.A. While drumming up a steady pop beat in '98 for Emperor Norton's eclectic Virgin-Whore Complex, DRUM! Magazine called on him to write a humor column for their fast-growing international publication, and the Pro-Mark drumstick company brought him aboard their roster. In 2001, he did the SF Music Scene Review in Zero Magazine, then along with Pansy Division's Jon Ginoli, he founded The Planning Commission, an indiepunk quartet dedicated to snarky songs about SF government. 'Round that time, The Hellbillys enlisted him to pound satanic tubs in their evil little psychobilly gang, touring France and Germany in the process, an experience he duplicated with funksters The Motivators the following year. It's a wonder he's had any time to do laundry.CMJ, SXSW, NXNW, SF01, EAT'M, New Music West, NAMM, Nadine's Wild Weekend, he's done 'em all, and more than once, toots. Onstage, he has performed with Angelo Moore (fishbone), Neville (The Specials), Clarence Clemons (E Street Band), MIRV, Pansy Division, Boomshanka, Sean Leahys Group De Jour, !Tang, flanelhed, CHUB, the Kirby Grips, Beat Senseless, the Mac Swanky Trio, Simon Stinger, The Psychokinetics, Radio Noise, Nefertiti Jones, Monkey, One Nation Underground, Jam Republic, Slender, and others. In 1997, his band was selected over 650 others to be finalists in the Discmakers Unsigned Band contest, and, while he didn't win (even though BAM Magazine said he should've), he did join Robin Williams and Bobcat Goldthwaite as the only people to jump off the balcony of the Great American Music Hall and live to tell the tale. Then he played the Fillmore naked.Now he holds down things in the engine room for the riverboatcore trio The Winsome Griffles and freakpop songwriter Richie, as well as periodically joining forces with the mighty MUTAYTOR in order to rock asses unmercifully. That pesky little long-completed SRB album will get released when he has a minute. Things are getting hectic, but there's no better freak for the job.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 09/09/2006
Band Website: http://www.starkravingbrad.com
Band Members: Lots.

Winsome Griffles:
Larry-Bob Griffle Roberts - vocals, keyboards, egg shakerin'
Jack Curtis Griffle Dubowsky - vocals, bass, banjoin'
Serbie Griffle - drums, yellin'

RICHIE:
Rich Leeds - vocals, guitar
SRB - drums, wisecracks

Coexist:
Tyler Gordon - vocals, acoustic gtr
Biovo - bass
Michael - keys, electric gtr
Tatianna - viola
SRB - drums, percussion

The current lineup for Stark Raving Brad 4.0 is pretty much SRB, Logic Express 7, and a bunch of instruments lying around waiting to be misused.
Influences: Fishbone, Ian Dury, Stewart Copeland, DEVO, Adam & the Antz, XTC, Stones, Pete Townshend, Lou Reed, David Baerwald, John Hiatt, Mojo Nixon, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Dead Kennedys, PE, Ice T, Def Jef, Gangstarr, Brand Nubian, PiL, Soul Coughing, Bare Jr., Chrissie Hynde, Paul Simon, Carl Stalling, Joe Walsh, Momus, MC 900 Ft Jesus, Dr. Bob, Specials, Simple Minds, Spearhead, Snakefinger, Stevie Wonder, Adrian Belew, Suzanne Vega, Eels, Patty Griffin, Ani, Hothouse Flowers, Fun Loving Criminals, Blue Oyster Cult, cilantro, turkey basters, and cayenne pepper
Sounds Like: an epileptic musk ox sneezing in a room full of cascading plate glass windows landing on a climaxing wookie
Record Label: 4:20 Records, Miraloma Music Group
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

this and that

it's all quiet on the gig front for a month or two - with some cool things in the pipeline that i can't talk about yet - but maybe we can span the gamut here in the meantime.from Joseph Cambell's The ...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:45:00 GMT

thank you!!!

for a super-fun Richie & the Curious Proclivities CD release party. your energy was contagious and we had a frikkin' great time. The Love was felt! the EP sounds so good, and Joe Gore added some brill...
Posted by on Thu, 14 May 2009 23:30:00 GMT

airing my dirty laundry in public

ever see a gig in a laundromat? well, now's your chance - come down to the Brainwash Cafe & Laundromat to dig Coexist running through a lovely set of Tyler Gordon's sweet pop/soul/funk music. enjoy a ...
Posted by on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:45:00 GMT

Two words: President. Obama.

and i watched it happen. and i cried as he took the oath. how could you not? the beauty. the pure rightness of it. the overwhelming sense of long long overdue justice.later, the workday took me throug...
Posted by on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:45:00 GMT

How To Spend New Years Eve

1.) Find a big NYE event at which one of your bands is playing2.) Get on a huge-ass stage in front of thousands of people3.) Start running amok4.) Rock out with Suze Q5.) Stay out of the way while Roo...
Posted by on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Guitarmageddon review

nice review from jambase.com of the Guitarmageddon (opening for Bustle In Your Hedgerow) show at the Independent on November 29th. we played a set of Nirvana tunes, in this order:SLIVERANEURYSMLOVE BU...
Posted by on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:29:00 GMT

Return of the King

John Hiatt brought the Ageless Beauties with him to the Herbst Theater on Wednesday night. A beautiful room, ornate and grand yet intimate. And another great show.Drive SouthWalk OnCrossing Muddy Wate...
Posted by on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:40:00 GMT

~ live shows of yore ~

digging through some old files this weekend, i found a zillion ticket stubs:tons of Fishbone shows. didn't miss a Bay Area show from Oct '85 ontons of John Hiatt, from '89 on. i must've seen him 20 ti...
Posted by on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

VOTE!!!!!

BARACK OBAMA all the way. the historical precedent is sweet, but the end to 8 dark years of warmongering and socioeconomic malfeasance is even sweeter.NO ON PROP 8!!! marriage equality for ALL.YES on ...
Posted by on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:30:00 GMT

wow!

i thought i was a Barack guy, but i may have to reconsider my position after seeing THIS.
Posted by on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:59:00 GMT