BIO

The Brainstems are not the “greatest band you’ve never heard of”—‘cause this fat guy in Malibu, who claims to have coined that phrase in the ‘70s and copyrighted it in the ‘80s, has fatter lawyers we’ve heard of.

But you know what we’re saying.

The Brainstems aren’t from Malibu either. They record and eat tacos in St. Louis, Missouri. They bonded a few years ago at a uni radio station. This led them to form a cover band indebted to rippers by Ty Segall, the Velvets, Black Flag, and The Coachwhips. After a pact to pursue the rock life for real, they inevitably began to feel the tug of the glittering coasts, the anchor of the falling dollar.

Thankfully, the band remained banded long enough to record and release No Place Else on—where else?—Bad Diet Records. The Brainstems’ sound is difficult to describe because tbh we had given up on finding rock like this (after gathering enough CMJ lanyards to display ‘em like snowflakes across Pitchfork’s ceiling).

A lil’ bit Meat Puppets, a static brush of Modern Lovers. Solar flares of krautrock, power-pop, free jazz, and San Francisco psych—brightening up a punk’s Cheeto planet. An album sourcing bars of shadow and light from a caved-in sidewalk…on the day your Internet disappears, your phone reappears (in another state), and you actually went outside. Walked to a mom-and-pop. We hope it wasn’t closed.

Bad Diet is bullish on this band and LP—that they will be widely discovered. And decades later. Rediscovered anew. In Waterworld. (Formerly Malibu.)

Read more about The Brainstems’ history and how Bad Diet made the connect in their interview with St. Louis Magazine.

Counted among The Brainstems’ peers are St. Louis’ golden heathens Lumpy & the Dumpers. Both groups share a band member in Gabe “The Babe” Karabell, and Lumpy himself drew up a debauched poster insert for their album. Our label likes The ‘Stems so much, we exclusively released their Summer Tour Tape on tape. If you buy two, we provide free tape-tape. (Wear ‘em as kewl ear muffs in winter.)

THE BRAINSTEMS:

Sam Clapp: vocals, guitar, bass

Sean Cotton: vocals, guitar, bass

Kenny Hofmeister: drums, vocals

Andrew Warshauer: vocals, guitar, bass

Gabe “The Babe” Karabell: drums 

Note: All drumming on No Place Else: Kenny Hofmeister