The Official History of The Brain Trust

Brain Trust I: 1982 - 1984
Eric and Greg at Chet's
Tom at The Rat

The Brain Trust was founded by Eric in 1982 in North Reading MA, USA. Greg and Tom were high school friends that Eric met through Tom’s brother Jack. Greg’s brother Tim completed the original line-up.

Personnel:
Eric - vocals, guitar
Tim - saxophone, synthesizer, guitar
Greg - bass
Tom - drums, synthesizer


Songs:
Aspire
Bomb Baby
Brain Trust Theme
Buy It In Cans
Celebrity
Fog
Freak House
Free Lunch
Hail to the Chief
Lawn Ball
Mandarin Queen
Please Mr. Gravedigger (Lyrics by David Bowie)
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park
Poison Tylenol
(Public Image) Theme (PiL Cover)
Who Do You Think You Are


Brain Trust II: 1984

The second version of the Brain Trust was comprised of Eric and Time with 3/4 of the band Empty Rituals. Coincidentally, both Charles (Brain Trust III-V and VII) and Doug (Brain Trust III) auditioned for Empty Rituals as replacements. Empty Rituals were a Boston based band headed by Dave Singer, a pro-Palestinian Jew and extreme feminist who had prehaps the worst body odour on the planet. This version of band disolved after only one gig at the Rat after Jim, the guitarist, was punched by the bartender.

The line up:
Eric - vocals, guitar
Tim - saxophone, synthesizer
Jim - guitar
Monty - bass
Grant - drums


Brain Trust III - The Las Vegas Brain Trust: 1984
"Diarrhea of the Ears" - Brian's Wife

This version of the Brain Trust was put together by Sue, the band’s manager, mainly from musicians who answered an advertisement in the Boston Pheonix. Charles was recruited by Pete after a short stint with the band that was later to become Uzi. The band rehearsed in a North Cambridge rehearsal complex which they shared with a heavy metal band. The room was tastefully decorated with pictures of Scorpian, Def Leppard , etc. This line up performed at least 4 gigs in early fall 1984, playing at the Rat in Kenmore Square (with only 3 rehearsals) and the now defunct Jumping Jack Flash in the Fenway. J-J Flash was later knocked down and replaced with a large hole in the ground. The J-J Flash gig is memorable as one of the few times that people actually danced and called for an encore (not to mention the now famous no- underwear-trouser-splitting incident). J-J Flash was also an excellent place to play. The band always got paid at least $75. In addition they provided an unlimited supply of ice cold budwiesers in a trash can behind the bar to which the band members were invited to help themselves. Brian, the bass player quit due to constant harrasment concerning his wife’s comments about the band. Rumors that the band was to be renamed Brian’s Thrust, Brian’s Wife or Brian Beats His Wife were total unfounded. After Brian quit, to play in a lame REM derivative band, Eric, Charles and Pete decided to split up and re-form the band. They left the North Cambridge rehearsal complex in favor of the basement in Pete’s house in Alston where they could watch re-runs of Dr. Who before practices.

Personnel:
Eric - vocals
Doug - guitar
Dave - sax
Charles - synthesizers
Brian - bass
Pete - drums

Songs:
Aspire
Attack of the 20 Foot Tuna Fish
Brain Trust Theme
Buy It In Cans
Memories (PiL Cover)
Poison Tylenol
Soldier of Fortune
Traveling Executioner
Venus in Furs (Velvet Underground Cover)

Eric at The Rat
Brain Trust IV - The Barry and Elliot Band: 1984-1986
"This is either the best band I've ever heard or the worst." - anonymous

While Eric, Charles and Pete were auditioning bass players and guitarists, Pete left to join the Real Kids. Eric contacted Greg, the original bass player, and the three of them found Barry through a newspaper advertisement. Rehearsals were held in Mary-Ann's studio in the South End. Mary-Ann was the bass player for the excellent band Feminine Protection. After attempts to find a drummer through advertisements were unsuccessful, Barry recruited his high school friend, and fellow refugee from Dunkirk New York, Nick to fill the void. Barry and Nick were nicknamed Barry and Elliot by Greg in honour of the famous Jordan's furniture guys.

Charles at The Rat
This line up performed regularly at loft parties and clubs in Boston, including The Rat, Chet's Last Call, Johnny D's (in Alston), J-J Flash and T. T. The Bears Place in Cambridge. They also performed at the Unpatriotic 4th of July Festival on Boston Common in July 1985, with Feminine Protection and DOA and played several live radio broadcasts on WJUL in Lowell MA and WMFO in Medford MA.

Personnel:
Eric - vocals
Barry - guitar
Charles - synthesizers, guitar
Greg - bass
Nick (aka Elliot) - drums

Songs:
Brain Trust Theme
Celebrity (43k .ra)
Fog
Freak House
Frog Boy (27k .ra)
Ilkley Moor
Joan Of Arc (Lyrics by Leonard Cohen)
Molotov Coctail Party
Mongoloid (Devo Cover)
Now I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop Cover)
Please Mr. Gravedigger (Lyrics by David Bowie) (28k .ra)
Poison Tylenol
Pop Song
Soldier Of Fortune (24k .ra)
They Watched Him Die (69k .ra)
Traveling Executioner
Who Do You Think You Are

Brain Trust V - The Power Trio: 1986-1987
Practicing at the Fem Core Space

After Barry and Elliot left, auditions were held for guitarists and drummers. When no suitable players could be found, Eric contacted Tom, the original drummer, and Charles, who’s ego far exceded his skills, decided to take over the guitar duties. The band continued to practice in Mary-Ann’s unheated studio and performed several unremarkable gigs at Chet’s Last Call in Boston. Chet’s had become a regular venue for the band during the Barry and Elliot era. It offered a couple of advantages; the band could always play there on a Friday or Saturday night, a nearby bar, Sullivan's Tap (aka Sully’s) had 16 oz beers for $1.25 and it was next door to the Pussy Cat Cinema, where Greg and Tom would sometimes catch a film before the show. The band broke up when Charles quit to go to graduate school. Eric and Tom joined with a new bass player, and reunited with Barry, to form a short lived band called Fishpaw.



Personnel:
Eric - vocals
Charles - guitar, synthesizer
Greg - bass
Tom - drums

Songs:
Bomb Baby
Bright Sunshine Day (Cover) (37k .ra)
Criminal Crossing
Fog
Freak House (38k .ra)
Maggie's Farm (Lyrics by Bob Dylan)
Mobius Strip
Now I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop Cover)
Pig Ignorant
Poison Tylenol
Tie One On


Woodfarm Stock
Brain Trust VI - The Folk Rock Four: 1995-1996

Suffering from extereme cases of mid-life crisis, Eric and Tom decided to reform the Brain Trust in early 1995. Unfortunately, Greg, the long time bass player, was unavailable due to his short lived marriage to Tom’s sister and his subsequnce flight to Colorado and eventual disappearance. Charles was also unavailable, due to the demands of new home ownership. Phil, a co-worker of Eric’s wife, was recruited as the new guitarist. Phil was an old folkie who had never even owned an electric guitar. He also shared Eric’s now almost all consuming obsession with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Chuck, the new bass player, was a friend of Eric’s brother who happened to own a bass.

This group performed twice, headlining the Wood Farm Stock Festival in the fall of 1995 and playing Sir Morgan’s Cove in Worcester on a snowy night in early March 1996. Rehearsals were held in Eric’s parents barn, in warm weather, and Tom’s basement in the colder months.

Personnel:
Eric - vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
Phil - acoustic and electric guitars
Chuck - bass
Tom - drums

Songs:
All Along the Watch Tower (Bob Dylan Cover)
Attach of The Giant Leeches
Brain Trust Theme
Celebrity (24k .ra)
Frog Boy
Heroin (Velvet Underground Cover)
Knocking On Heavens Door (Bob Dylan Cover)
Masters of War (Bob Dylan Cover)
Now I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop Cover)
Poison Tylenol
Submission (Sex Pistols Cover)
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen Cover)
Tonight Will Be Fine (Leonard Cohen Cover)
Tower Of Babel
What Ever Gets You Through

Brain Trust VII: 1996-1997
"This is mighty fine noise" - Allan Cohen
Official Publicity Photo

Due to the excessive number of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen covers, Chuck left the band. Phil also quit due to a major personality clash with Eric's wife. When Chuck heard that Phil had quit, he rejoined the group. Charles agreed to join the band on a full time basis only if rehearsals were not held on weekends. The group continued to practice in Eric's parents barn and Tom's basement. This grouped performed twice in May 1997 in Fitchburg, MA, and released the criticaly acclaimed tape "Who Are They?" before disbanding in December 1997 when Charles became a new father of twin boys.

Personnel:
Eric - vocals, acoustic guitar
Charles - synthesizers, electric guitar
Chuck - bass
Tom - drums

Songs:
Attach of The Giant Leeches
Celebrity (43k .ra)
Connect the Dots
Dirt (Iggy Pop Cover)
Jeffery's Fridge
Mandarin Queen
Mobius Strip
Poison Tylenol
Soldier of Fortune
Tower Of Babel
Who Are They
Who Do You Think You Are - complete song (8 kHz 16 bit Stereo, 1.49 Mbytes .ra)


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