Brad - Best Friends?

I first fell for the voice of Shawn Smith through the Satchel tune Mr. Pink. It was on a CMJ sampler from the era when they were still considered a good idea. I picked up most of the Satchel and Brad catalogs (he sings for both) from cut-out bins around town, but to the best of my knowledge they never came through town. That seems like it couldn't be true, but there is a pretty good chance the Pearl Jam factor may have prompted some myopia on my part.

I'm embarasssingly hazy on the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure Brad predated Satchel, a band I believe that jumped off because Stone was tied up with Pearl Jam and one of the dudes was in the clink for weed. They have dropped three records since the inception in 1992 that are all better than most other bands out there, but vary in overall quality song and recording-wise. I'd start with Interiors, but you really can't go wrong with any of 'em. Brad have been threatening to release Best Friends for easily four years now. It isn't worth that long of a wait from where I'm sitting, but that doesn't mean Best Friends isn't a damn good record. The opening Price Of Love and Believe In Yourself alone are worth the price of admission and a couple three others are gaining ground with me. Stone always seemed like a solid dude, but I find his guitar playing here almost as boring as I find Pearl Jam. It's not bad, but for the life of me I can't really fathom the level of dick riding that goes on for that crew. We can thank PJ imprint Monkeywrench Records for releasing this, so that's something, I guess. Why a bunch of fucking millionaires with a vanity J Records imprint can't get an actual website with a one sheet up, I don't know, but you can get this and other delights aural and sartorial at the Brad Corporation website here. West Coasters should look out for some December shows.

R