Braintree (band)

Braintree is a rock band from the Midwest. The band was formed by Peter Griffin, and has gone through a number of rotating backing members. Braintree had put out several EPs and singles that merited them quite a lot of attention. But when Braintree released their first full length “fabricate,” it quickly became the fastest selling indie release in the Midwest. When “Tsicavo” was released, both albums were selling large numbers fast. The third release by Braintree, “Rock Paper Zombie” debuted #4 on Billboards Heatseeker chart, #28 on Billboards Indie release chart, and #188 on Billboards Current Release chart. Week of March 5,2011. Braintree was dubbed “Chicago’s hottest rock band” by WLUP-FM in Chicago. The Big Takeover magazine called Braintree’s “Tsicavo,” “Wildly inventive. Great songwriting.”

History-formation

Braintree was originally a three-member band with Peter Griffin on drums and lead vocals. After the departure of original guitarist and bass player, Griffin re-organized the band into a 4 piece with him now on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. “ I knew there was no way I could be a good enough guitar player to be the only guitarist in the group. So I hired the best guitar player in Chicago, my brother Joe.”

The rhythm section of the band would go through many changes, until Jeremy Wanat joined the group on bass. Wanat proved to the band to be one of the nicest and most dependable musicians they had ever worked with.

Albums

Braintree had put out several EPs and singles when they were a 3 piece. But it was not until the original two other members left, that Braintree’s albums would become quite successful. Peter decided to record all of the instruments and vocals on the full-length album “fabricate.”

When he put together the new members, including Joe Griffin on lead guitar, they toured the mid-west and “fabricate” quickly became the fastest selling indie release in the Midwest. It was selling so fast that producer Chris Mara from Nashville flew into Chicago just to meet with Peter to find out how they were selling so many albums so fast, and how Peter could help the bands that Chris was working with. The sales of “fabricate” also caught the attention of Brian Rohan, the music attorney for acts like Aerosmith, Boston, and Hilary Duff.

Later Peter went into the studio again to work on “Tsicavo,” again performing all the instruments and vocals himself, save for a few backing vocals performed by Joe. This time Peter experimented with new sounds and stranger arrangements. For most of the guitars, he used acoustic guitars through vintage amps with distortion. This created a grittier and rawer sound. The Big Takeover magazine called Braintree’s “Tsicavo,” “Wildly inventive. Great songwriting.”

“Tsicavo” went on to sell just as fast as “fabricate.” Both albums sold well over 10,000 copies in a few weeks after release.

The Third release by Braintree, “Rock Paper Zombie” debuted #4 on Billboards Heatseeker chart, #28 on Billboards Indie release chart, and #188 on Billboards Current Release chart, on March 5, 2011.

Other Notes of Interest

Braintree founded the Rock Out HIV compilation CD and concert that was sponsored by KISS-FM. This helped them to raise hundreds of dollars for children dealing with HIV/AIDS.

References

See the Billboard chart at http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/heatseekers-albums?chartDate=2011-03-05