BRAINIAC (ABO #099)

BRAINIAC
A DEMONSTRATION IN 17 ACTS

Brainiac was an American synthpunk/indie rock band of the 1990s.
They formed in Dayton, Ohio in January 1992 with vocalist, guitarist and keyboard (particularly Moog synthesizers) player Tim Taylor, bassist Monostereo (Juan Monasterio), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. On the March 12th, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything.
After a couple of singles, they released their debut album, Smack Bunny Baby, on Grass/ BMG Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine, followed the next year. In 1995 they played on the Lollapalooza side stage and recorded 4 songs in the UK for the BBC Peel Sessions. They joined Touch and Go Records and released Internationale, produced by Kim Deal (of the Pixies). The following year, their third album, Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, was released on the Touch & Go label. All three of their albums were produced by Eli Janney (of Girls Against Boys).
Brainiac generated a buzz as the live act to see that resulted in opening tours for Beck, the Breeders and the Jesus Lizard and receiving offers from major labels. In 1997 they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record: Tim Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23, 1997, during the pre-production for their fourth album, which was due out on Interscope Records. The group soon disbanded.
Schmersal later went on to form Enon. Monasterio directs music videos, including two for Enon, and recently released an album with a new band called Model/Actress; Schmersal makes appearances on this album. Trent briefly joined the Breeders and most recently played with The Dirty Walk. Bodine became the guitarist and singer of O-matic and Shesus. (source: Wikipedia)