Brainium Sounds Off

Brainium

Local band Brainium tells stories about playing live (anywhere from bars to parking lots), recording music starting in the 80s (cassette tape) through today (DAW), their eventually-to-be-released stage musical, and more. Self-described (in the song “Our Kind of Town”) as “Two guys in disguise as a pseudointellectual music machine” Brainium is guitarist (and much more) Thom Ciezki and keyboardist (and much less) Gary Schmid. Both (especially Thom) have played in other local bands but only Brainium has endured through the decades. Weird, witty, and rarely dull, hear stories about music-making from local guys who haven’t made it big (yet) but have had a great time getting...nowhere. “Oh, that magic feeling...”

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#56
October 23 · 32 min
Keyboards of Brainium - Part 1
Brainium famously (or infamously) has only two guys: a guitarist and a keyboardist. While one guitar ("The Strat") has consistently spanned our catalog, lots of different keyboards have come and gone. Let's talk about some of them. And hear them, too!
#55
October 9 · 24 min
Physicality
Playing in a band is a lot of fun but can also be a lot of work, especially for a small, local band. Hear what's involved, especially as it was back in Brainium's (first) heyday. Plus, Thom tells stories!
#54
September 25 · 31 min
Year Two in Review
Wow, we made it through two whole years! Kudos to our sponsors. And our listener(s), of course. In this episode, we do a (relatively) quick recap of all the episodes we published in year #2. A couple of them we even remember!
#53
September 11 · 30 min
Song Origins: Wait
Another Brainium song from the archives; this is one of Thom's favourites. We have a recording that predates Brainium (just keyboards), a studio version, and a "live" Basement Brainium version that you can hear in its entirety. Enjoy!
#52
August 28 · 29 min
Vocals: Performing and Recording
We've covered Brainium instruments guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums. One more main instrument to cover: the voice. This one presents some unique challenges, especially live (and without a dedicated sound person).
#51
August 14 · 27 min
Anjine de Poitrine Plays Microtonal Music
We're back with another episode on microtonal math rock band Anjine de Poitrine. Last time, we talked about how they use looping to build their sound. Now it's time to talk about the "microtonal" part of their music. Fun stuff!
#50
July 31 · 25 min
Angine de Poitrine and Looping
The band Angine de Poitrine has exploded onto the music scene this year with a musical style described as "microtonal math rock" and funky, interesting costumes and visuals. They make use of "digital looping" to create complex music far beyond what you'd expect from two players. So how does that looping work? The boys of Brainium try to explain it. This episode was recorded away from the "studio" so the sound quality is...fascinating? Remember, Brainium recorded lots of their music live directly to cassette tape. Lo-fi rules!
#49
July 17 · 27 min
Metronomes and Click Tracks
Keeping time is usually pretty important when playing music. Help is available, for practice or live performances. From early metronomes to modern annotated click tracks, we Sound Off.
#48
July 3 · 26 min
Did Brainium Almost Get A Recording Contract???
Back in Brainium's early years, circa 1988, bands sent their music to record companies in an effort to secure a recording contract. Younger listeners may have no idea what that means. That's OK...we barely knew either. But we're here to talk about our experience and how it differs from bands today. (Hint: a lot.)
#47
June 19 · 31 min
Concert Review: The Warning in NYC
We saw The Warning last year in Chicago, this year in New York City at their only headline performance of the year. What did we think? Anyone who listens to this podcast knows we probably liked it! But listen to be sure and to hear plenty of rambling...mostly on topic!
#46
June 5 · 33 min
Cover Songs #3
Two more from Brainium's cover song history: another from Led Zeppelin and one from ... Elton John??
#45
May 22 · 28 min
Let's Put on a Show!
Bands don't always just go on stage and play music. Depending on the venue and the band, there may be lights, smoke, video, choreography, and more. Maybe even a picnic table!
#44
May 8 · 28 min
Learning to Play Instruments
Brainium is well-known (sort of) as one guy playing guitar and one playing keyboards. So how did we learn to play our instruments? And what other instruments can we play? And how fun is it? (Hint: very.)
#43
April 24 · 32 min
Playing Drums in a Band
Brainium used drum machines for its sound. That's one way of having drums in a band. More common, especially when playing live, is having a live drummer. What's it like having or playing drums in a band? The Boys of Brainium share their thoughts. You might even say they "sound off".
#42
April 10 · 35 min
Cover Songs #2
Continuing our exploration of cover songs that Brainium performed back in their "playing out" days.
#41
March 27 · 22 min
Pitch Correction
Technology has always been used in making music, some think not always for the better. Increasingly, pitch correction is being used by artists--even established ones--to "fix" their vocals to be spot-on when singing. It's used on recordings, but also used by some artists when performing live. Is this a good thing? Brainium sounds off.
#40
March 13 · 36 min
Song Origins: Didn't I
It's time to explore the origins and development of another Brainium song. We're pretty sure this is our only "ballad" (or "power ballad"). Includes plenty of discussion of Thom's guitar solo!
#39
February 27 · 30 min
Playing Guitar in a Band
We've talked about playing bass and playing keyboards in a band. Now it's time for guitar and that means...it's Thom Time!
#38
February 13 · 34 min
Cover Songs #1
Pretty much all local bands starting out play "covers" ... songs written and performed by other (successful) bands. Primarily because that's what people usually want to hear (as opposed to original music). In this episode, we discuss three of those songs and include snippets of each to illustrate how a two-man band played these things. We have more songs to review in future episodes!
#37
January 30 · 23 min
Rehearsing
Those great band performances you see live don't just happen. Before ever getting on that stage, bands will spend many hours (or in Brainium's case, a few minutes) rehearsing the songs they are going to perform. (And probably a few extra.) What's that all about?

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