The Bravery
Categories: American musical groups | Synth rock
The Bravery is an American indie/alternative rock band from New York City that consists of Sam Endicott (vocals/guitar), John Conway (keyboards), Anthony Burulcich (drums), Michael Zakarin (guitar), and Mike H. (bass). Their debut album reached the top twenty in the United States and the top five in the United Kingdom. Their musical style has been compared to The Strokes, The Cure, New Order, The Smiths, and, most notably, The Killers, with whom they have had a highly publicized feud.
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History
The New York five-piece got its start in early 2003. After playing its first gig at the Stinger Club in Brooklyn in mid-summer, the Bravery's post-punk-influenced dance rock was all the rage. A residency at Arlene's Grocery and whispers on the street eventually led the Bravery to a recording contract with Island Def Jam in the States and Loog in the U.K. The Unconditional EP followed in early 2005. The Village Voice proclaimed the Bravery to be "New York's Official Next Big Thing" while MTV and Rolling Stone hailed them as an artist to watch. Also, The band were tipped in the BBC News "Sound of 2005" as 2005's most promising act. They released their debut album, The Bravery on March 14, 2005 in the U.K. (March 29, 2005 in the U.S.), following releases of "Unconditional" and "Honest Mistake" as singles. Their first radio airtime came on the show 'Alter Ego' on the Boston radio station WFNX. A co-headlining tour with Ash in the U.S. in spring 2005 coincided the release of the Bravery's self-titled album.
In the June 2005 issue of SPIN magazine, it was revealed that frontman/songwriter Sam Endicott and keyboard-player John Conway were originally in a ska band called Skabba the Hutt [later re-named El Conquistador] along with CSI: Miami star Jonathan Togo, a far cry from The Bravery's current musical influences of Post-Punk and New Wave.
The Bravery have recently been involved in a highly publicised feud with fellow synth band The Killers. They faced criticism from Killers frontman Brandon Flowers on their performance at the NME Awards show in February 2005, causing them to retaliate. The Bravery's lead singer Sam Endicott said in an interview with an American radio station: "I feel bad talking bad about him (Brandon Flowers).. it's liking hitting a girl. I mean ... it's like picking on a kid in a wheelchair, you know, cause he has no personality and no sense of humour at all and so what can you say to that?" Bravery guitarist Michael Zakarin added: "If you've seen them live you know why ... they're incredibly boring ... they look like wax figures on stage."
Brandon Flowers later claimed that bands like The Bravery are only riding on the coattails of The Killers' initial success. [1] However, The Bravery claim they had finished recording their debut album before they were aware of The Killers and their music. The feud has been going on for some months now, however it has subsided within the past couple of weeks. The feud may have been encouraged by the band's management as the Killers and the Bravery are both signed to Island Records.
The song "Honest Mistake" has been interpreted by some as a song written from a gay or bisexual man's point of view; in the June 19, 2005 New York Times, writer David Colman interprets the lyrics as an apology from a guy who hit on his straight best friend. Colman also states that the band were recently featured in a European fashion magazine in what he termed "gay hustler" attire. It should be noted that several bands in the same genre are expressing, a la David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, a more fluid sexuality through appearance, music and lyrics; the band Franz Ferdinand featured a song, "Michael", also written with a gay or bisexual man's point of view. Somewhat ironically, rivals The Killers have also written a song that could be written from a gay or bisexual man's point of view. "Andy, You're A Star" seems to indicate a high-school crush on another man, and the chorus of "Somebody Told Me" speaks for itself. These songs and lyrics do not expressely indicate the sexuality of the performers, unless clearly noted (as with the band Scissor Sisters.)
The Bravery played at Glastonbury festival on Sunday 26th June 2005, following a year of success and increasing popularity. Their set was due to be aired live on BBC 3 in the daytime, but had to be shown well after the watershed, as the bass guitarist Mike H stripped naked on stage, due to the hot weather.
Members
- Sam Endicott - Vocals/Guitar/Fagot
- Michael Zakarin - Guitar
- Mike H. (nicknamed Dirt) - Bass Guitar
- John Conway - Keyboard (mostly analogue)
- Anthony Burulcich - Drums
Discography
Studio Albums
- The Bravery (2005), #18 US, #5 UK
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2005 | "An Honest Mistake" | #97 | #12 | #7 | The Bravery |
| 2005 | "Fearless" | - | - | #43 | The Bravery |
| 2005 | "Unconditional" | - | #34 | #49 | The Bravery |
Influences
Quotes
"We'd rather be a band that some people are going to passionately hate than be a ringtone band." -Sam Endicott
"There's no one as electronic as us that's also as rock 'n' roll as us." -Sam Endicott
"I think this is the beginning of a really cool period in music because what we've been living through has been mostly super-testosterone rock, and there's nothing wrong with testosterone but it is damn boring." -Sam Endicott
"We'll be touring in our van, and one guy's sleeping, one guy is watching porn and Mike's knitting." -Sam Endicott
"When I was about 12, I wanted a CD player for Christmas, but instead my parents gave me a really crappy electric guitar." -Sam Endicott