Tim Branom

Tim Branom (born June 4, 1965) is an American musician, record producer, and writer. Best known for working with bands such as Alice In Chains producing audio cassette in the mid-80's.
Early career
First become known in the Seattle area with Juvenile [vocalist Tim Branom, guitarist Tom Thew, guitarist Vince Boccio, bassist Taze Yanick, drummer Jeff McCormack (Red Platinum, Heir Apparent, Nightshade)] which morphed into Sentence [vocalist Tim Branom, guitarist Kevin Hughes, bassist Taze Yanick, Ron Stokes (Uncle Sam), drummer Jeff McCormack (Red Platinum, Heir Apparent, Nightshade)] before breaking up in late 1985.
In 1986, at age 21, he produced a three-song demo tape for an early version of Alice In Chains (then called Alice N' Chains) that included vocalist Layne Staley (Alice In Chains, Mad Season), guitarist Nick Pollock (My Sister's Machine, Soulbender, Tanks of Zen), bassist Johnny Bacolas (Second Coming, The Crying Spell, Lotus Crush), and drummer James Bergstrom (Second Coming). These songs are still unreleased. Collectors call these Alice N' Chains recordings "Demo No. 1."
Gypsy Rose
In 1987, he formed a metal band called Gypsy Rose which had many different lineups. But the first lineup was the best known: vocalist Tim Branom, guitarist Brock Graue (Lipstick), bassist Mike Starr (Alice In Chains), and drummer Mike “Bones” Gersema (L.A. Guns). Guitarist Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) briefly played in the band and took Mike Starr (Alice In Chains) with him after the second Gypsy Rose line-up broke up.
In 1989, he would make a cameo in the locally televised Seattle cable movie “Father Rock” which would feature the unreleased music he recorded with Gypsy Rose and the early Alice ‘N Chains demos. This 90 minute film, Directed by Thaddeus Byrd, also featured music by other Seattle bands of the day and also shows footage of Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) at age 19 in 1986 made to look like he is performing to one of Branom’s songs. Fans view the footage and often think it is Staley singing, instead of Branom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQiXCjGS5Fk
Record producing, Other bands
In 1990, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a band called United Snakes Of America. The band was courted by new label Giant Records. But the band dissolved months later.
Branom permanently stayed in Los Angeles and in 1991, he would sing with Bone Dancer, a “street metal” band that echoed the scene on the Sunset Strip. .
In 1993, he would sing, play guitar, bass and keyboards for Cloud Nine. This band was a major departure from his other bands in that it was heavily influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. The band would finally break up after seven years without any official releases. An album was recorded in 1998 with guest backing vocals on three songs by Zoe Bonham, daughter of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. There were several different lineups, but the core band consisted of vocalist / bassist / keyboardist Tim Branom, guitarist Tim “Hoffa” Hofstetter, and drummer Scott Ernest. Other members included original drummer Joe Pafumi (Walter Trout Band), and bassists: Reed “Clackers” Kay (Leif Garrett Band), Lance Turner (Atomic Punks), Richard “Bumper” Renga, and Jean-Paul Tantet.
In 1995 he sang lead and background vocals for the drummer/singer/songwriter; Monn Tanno Mondo which appeared on the CDs; "Moods & Madness" then on "Tales of Eternity". One song of note is "Mental Orgasm" which is an acoustic rock song with heavy drums, characteristic of the Monn Tanno Mondo style and sound.
By late 1999, Branom changed musical direction again and began working with JVC A&R man Eiji Nakahira which lead to airplay in Japan of his new music. When enough interest was generated, a small tour and TV show were financed in 2000 by Tower Records & ANA Airlines in Miyazaki, Japan. Branom recorded all the songs himself, but a band was hired for the tour. This band, called Branom, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Tim Branom, guitarist Brian Davis, bassist Mike Davis (Rob Halford, Dramarama, Lizzy Borden) and drummer Jackie Ramos (Bangalore Choir).
Also in 2000, Branom was invited to Louisville, KY to record guitar tracks for Travis Meeks and Days Of The New (The Red Album on Interscope Records). But due to a technical error, his tracks never made it onto the album and he returned back to CA to resume working for an independent record label as a Staff Producer.
At record label Delta Entertainment, he began working behind the scenes on hundreds of albums in the areas of Liner Notes, Musician, Mastering, Editing, and as a Producer. These record labels included Time-Life Music, Reader’s Digest, Capriccio, Black Cat, Style, Delta, Laserlight, RCA Camden, BMG Special Products, EMI Special Products, and Yamaha.
In 2002, he assembled Jazz musicians to Produce three Christmas albums: “Martinis & Mistletoe”, “Holiday Dinner”, and “The Gift” (Label: Delta/Laserlight).
In 2003, He began playing guitar, bass and keyboards for future American Idol finalist and future We Are The Fallen vocalist Carly Smithson.
In 2004, two of his songs were remixed and released on the Tube Bar Collector's Edition by the Bum Bar Bastards for a limited time.
In 2007, his Seattle colleagues convinced him to write a book about Alice In Chains in the 1980s and his first-hand experiences. This book is still in the writing stage.
In 2010, Branom was asked to sing for Fifth Angel at their headlining reunion show at Germany's 2010 Keep It True festival. But after writing new songs, recording demos, and rehearsing in Seattle, musical differences led Branom to leave the band and vocalist Peter Orullian filled in for the festival. http://50.97.158.82-static.reverse.softlayer.com/news.aspx?modeArticle&newsitemID133275
In 2013, Branom resumed recording his solo album of sixteen songs called "Dogma", scheduled for release in early 2014. All the songs were written by Branom except "Taxman" which was written by Rick Nielsen and previously recorded by Cheap Trick in 1975. All vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion were played by Tim Branom while the drums were played by Chris Ross. The first music video from the album was filmed in Seattle with Director Thaddeus Byrd for the song "Enemy." www.timbranom.com
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