About this podcast
Local band Brainium tells stories about playing live (anywhere from bars to parking lots), recording music starting in the 80s (cassette tape) through today (DAW), their eventually-to-be-released stage musical, and more. Self-described (in the song “Our Kind of Town”) as “Two guys in disguise as a pseudointellectual music machine” Brainium is guitarist (and much more) Thom Ciezki and keyboardist (and much less) Gary Schmid. Both (especially Thom) have played in other local bands but only Brainium has endured through the decades. Weird, witty, and rarely dull, hear stories about music-making from local guys who haven’t made it big (yet) but have had a great time getting...nowhere. “Oh, that magic feeling...”
Episodes
The newest 20 of 56 episodes
- Keyboards of Brainium - Part 1 · 32 min · Episode 56Brainium famously (or infamously) has only two guys: a guitarist and a keyboardist. While one guitar ("The Strat") has consistently spanned our catalog, lots of different…
- Physicality · 24 min · Episode 55Playing in a band is a lot of fun but can also be a lot of work, especially for a small, local band. Hear what's involved, especially as it was back in Brainium's (first) heyday…
- Year Two in Review · 31 min · Episode 54Wow, we made it through two whole years! Kudos to our sponsors. And our listener(s), of course. In this episode, we do a (relatively) quick recap of all the episodes we published…
- Song Origins: Wait · 30 min · Episode 53Another Brainium song from the archives; this is one of Thom's favourites. We have a recording that predates Brainium (just keyboards), a studio version, and a "live" Basement…
- Vocals: Performing and Recording · 30 min · Episode 52We've covered Brainium instruments guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums. One more main instrument to cover: the voice. This one presents some unique challenges, especially live…
- Anjine de Poitrine Plays Microtonal Music · 28 min · Episode 51We're back with another episode on microtonal math rock band Anjine de Poitrine. Last time, we talked about how they use looping to build their sound. Now it's time to talk about…
- Angine de Poitrine and Looping · 25 min · Episode 50The band Angine de Poitrine has exploded onto the music scene this year with a musical style described as "microtonal math rock" and funky, interesting costumes and visuals. They…
- Metronomes and Click Tracks · 28 min · Episode 49Keeping time is usually pretty important when playing music. Help is available, for practice or live performances. From early metronomes to modern annotated click tracks, we…
- Did Brainium Almost Get A Recording Contract??? · 27 min · Episode 48Back in Brainium's early years, circa 1988, bands sent their music to record companies in an effort to secure a recording contract. Younger listeners may have no idea what that…
- Concert Review: The Warning in NYC · 31 min · Episode 47We saw The Warning last year in Chicago, this year in New York City at their only headline performance of the year. What did we think? Anyone who listens to this podcast knows we…
- Cover Songs #3 · 34 min · Episode 46Two more from Brainium's cover song history: another from Led Zeppelin and one from ... Elton John??
- Let's Put on a Show! · 29 min · Episode 45Bands don't always just go on stage and play music. Depending on the venue and the band, there may be lights, smoke, video, choreography, and more. Maybe even a picnic table!
- Learning to Play Instruments · 28 min · Episode 44Brainium is well-known (sort of) as one guy playing guitar and one playing keyboards. So how did we learn to play our instruments? And what other instruments can we play? And how…
- Playing Drums in a Band · 33 min · Episode 43Brainium used drum machines for its sound. That's one way of having drums in a band. More common, especially when playing live, is having a live drummer. What's it like having or…
- Cover Songs #2 · 35 min · Episode 42Continuing our exploration of cover songs that Brainium performed back in their "playing out" days.
- Pitch Correction · 22 min · Episode 41Technology has always been used in making music, some think not always for the better. Increasingly, pitch correction is being used by artists--even established ones--to "fix"…
- Song Origins: Didn't I · 37 min · Episode 40It's time to explore the origins and development of another Brainium song. We're pretty sure this is our only "ballad" (or "power ballad"). Includes plenty of discussion of…
- Playing Guitar in a Band · 30 min · Episode 39We've talked about playing bass and playing keyboards in a band. Now it's time for guitar and that means...it's Thom Time!
- Cover Songs #1 · 34 min · Episode 38Pretty much all local bands starting out play "covers" ... songs written and performed by other (successful) bands. Primarily because that's what people usually want to hear (as…
- Rehearsing · 23 min · Episode 37Those great band performances you see live don't just happen. Before ever getting on that stage, bands will spend many hours (or in Brainium's case, a few minutes) rehearsing the…
