Bryan Mantia

Mantia (in the middle) with Les Claypool (left) and Larry LaLonde (1998)

Bryan "Brain" Mantia (born February 4, 1963 in Cupertino , California ) is an American drummer who has worked with well-known groups such as Primus , Praxis and Guns N 'Roses and can be found on many publications by the guitarist Buckethead .

Career

Mantia was born in Cupertino, California in 1963 and became interested in the music of James Brown , Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix from an early age before starting to play drums at the age of 16. He got his nickname Brain after studying the complex work Portraits In Rhythm by Anthony Cirone.

After some regional successes in California (including Limbomaniacs ) as well as brief guest appearances with Primus (1989) and Tom Waits , Mantia founded the group Praxis together with bassist and producer Bill Laswell in 1992 , to which guitarist Brian Carroll alias Buckethead joined shortly afterwards . Bassist and singer Bootsy Collins and keyboardist Bernie Worrell were also involved in the debut called Transmutation . Mantia and Buckethead became friends and, in addition to working together in practice, also released the albums I Need 5 Minutes Alone (as Pieces ) and a self-titled album as Giant Robot (both 1996).

A little later, Mantia joined Primus again and was involved in three studio productions and numerous appearances by the band until 1999, including the extremely successful album Antipop and the subsequent tour. In the meantime he helped Buckethead together with Les Claypool to his most successful album to date, Monsters & Robots . When Primus took a creative break in 2000, the drummer followed his friend Buckethead to Guns N 'Roses, where he re-recorded parts of the album Chinese Democracy and took part in the few appearances in 2001 and 2002.

In 2002 the instructional video Brain's Lessons: Shredding Repis On the Gnar Gnar Rad was released , which was shot with the charm of an amateur video and combined humor and drum theory. That same year, Praxis was supposed to play at the Bonnaroo Festival, but Laswell was unable to attend. Les Claypool stepped in for him at short notice, which resulted in the formation of Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains ( C2B3 for short ). After a few purely improvised performances, the musicians got together in the studio in 2004 to record The Big Eyeball In The Sky and present it on a large-scale US tour. At the end of 2004, Mantia accompanied Tom Waits on his Real Gone Tour together with Larry Taylor and Marc Ribot.

In 2006, Mantia appeared on Guns N 'Roses' European tour before fathering duties forced him to take a break. Frank Ferrer, who had already replaced him in 2006 for appearances in North America, stood in for him again and was subsequently listed as an official member. According to a report by Classic Rock magazine in February 2008, which relies on statements by management, Mantia was also still a member of the band and his relationship with Axl Rose should not have been negatively affected after Buckethead's departure in 2004. In November 2008, Mantia's exit was officially confirmed.

In 2007 Mantia participated in Elect The Dead , a solo album by Serj Tankian (singer of System of a Down ).

Trivia

• Mantia's first name is often incorrectly given as Brian .

Discography (selection)

• Brain's Lessons: Shredding Repis On the Gnar Gnar Rad (Instructional Video 2002)
• Brain's Worst Drum Instructional DVD Ever (Instructional Video 2008)

With practice

• Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis) (1992)
• Sacrifist (1994)
• Metatron (1996)
• Live in Poland (1997)
• Transmutation Live (1997)
• Warszawa (1999)
• Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness) (2008)

With Primus

• Brown album (1997)
• Rhinoplasty (1998)
• Antipop (1999)

With bullmark

• Interstate 76 Soundtrack (1996)

With Buckethead

• Pieces - I Need 5 Minutes Alone (1996)
• Giant Robot - Giant Robot (1996)
• Colma (1998)
• Monsters and Robots (1999)
• Cuckoo Clocks of Hell (2004)
• Kevin's Noodle House (2007)

With Godflesh

• Songs of Love and Hate (1996)

With El Stew

• No hesitation (1999)

With No Forcefield

• Lee's Oriental Massage 415-626-1837 (2000)
• God Is an Excuse (2001)

With Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains

• The Big Eyeball in the Sky (2004)

With Guns N 'Roses

• Chinese Democracy (2008)

With Serj Tankian

• Elect the Dead (2007)

swell

1. ↑ Classic Rock, February 2008, p. 32ff.

• Biography page of C2B3

Web links

• official homepage
• Further homepage