Background In the late 1980s while attending
El Molino High in
Forestville, California, friends Marty Gregori and Larry Tinney bonded over a mutual admiration for rock band
AC/DC and began teaching each other guitar chords. After joining up with schoolmates Zack Charlos and Ray Castro they formed High Output, an early incarnation of the band that would later become known as Bracket. During these initial stages, the group played cover songs by
Tom Petty,
Creedence Clearwater Revival and
the Rolling Stones, with its earliest performances appearing at weddings, bar mitzvahs and high school parties. In the fall of 1991, Gregori and Charlos penned their first original song, "Why Should Eye", just before relocating to
Los Angeles where they made an attempt at starting a new project. Following an unsuccessful two months, Charlos moved back home and reconnected with Tinney and Castro. Gregori stayed behind for another year but continued to exchange song ideas with Tinney through telephone
answering machine messages.
Early years and Caroline era (1992–1996) When frontman Marty Gregori returned to Forestville in 1992, the quartet regrouped under the name Bracket after choosing the word at random from the dictionary. The band played shows across the
Bay Area on a frequent basis and self-released
The Giant Midget E.P. in 1993, exhibiting a
pop punk sound they would continue to build upon. Their first album
924 Forestville St. was released in May 1994 through
Caroline Records, a label that had previously issued debuts by a wide range of
alternative rock acts including
Hole,
the Smashing Pumpkins,
Wax and
White Zombie. The album's title is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference combining the name of longtime
punk rock establishment
924 Gilman Street with the band's nearby hometown of Forestville. Sessions were held at
Prairie Sun Studios in
Cotati, California with producer Joe Marquez. The album included the first installment of tracks to be named after bassist Zack Charlos' childhood friend Warren Rake ("Warren's Song, Pt. 1" and "Warren's Song, Pt. 2"), a theme that has remained consistent throughout the band's career. After a request to release 7-inch vinyl was turned down by Caroline, Bracket began issuing the format on
Fat Wreck Chords during the interim between albums. The band's singles
Bs. and
Stinky Fingers were both released by Fat in 1994 with cover art that parodied
Pearl Jam's
Vs. and the Rolling Stones'
Sticky Fingers respectively. Their song "2RAK005" was featured on the budget compilation
Fat Music for Fat People, which not only brought the track increased exposure but also helped introduce the group to a wider audience. Bracket released
4-Wheel Vibe in May 1995, its second album for Caroline Records produced by
Don Fleming. The album expanded on the pop punk style of their debut while beginning to showcase a wider range of songwriting, later described by Fat Wreck Chords as "catchy, quirky, guitar driven
power noise pop."
4-Wheel Vibe was promoted with continued touring, a prestigious
John Peel Session and music videos for "Trailer Park" and "Circus Act". Bracket promptly returned to the studio in the spring of 1996 to complete its third album
Like You Know at Prairie Sun with Marquez returning to the controls. The month-long session would play a pivotal role in the band's development, hinting at later experimentation and deviation from the confines of pop punk. While augmenting their sound with wurlitzer, vintage guitar effects and percussive toys, help was enlisted from
studio musicians (including a string quartet, horn section, keyboardist and pedal steel player) whose subtle contributions added depth to the recordings. After a catalog number was assigned and
promotional albums were distributed, a change in staff at Caroline resulted in Bracket being dropped from the label and
Like You Know was shelved. Five songs from the album were remixed and released subsequently on the
F Is for Fat EP. In November 1996, Bracket issued
E Is for Everything on Fat Wreck Chords, which compiled previously released vinyl material.
Fat Wreck Chords albums (1997–2002) While preparing for its next album, Bracket toured the United States with a variety of acts including
NOFX,
SNFU,
Tilt, the
Smoking Popes,
MxPx and
Everclear. In March 1997, their cover of "
867-5309/Jenny" appeared on
Before You Were Punk, a tribute album for
Vagrant Records. Having already traveled throughout the US, Canada and Europe, the band visited Japan for performances with
Husking Bee and Sprocket Wheel in July 1997. Although Bracket had been issuing vinyl on Fat Wreck Chords since 1994, their first studio album for the label didn't transpire until the September 1997 release of
Novelty Forever, co-produced by
Ryan Greene and
Fat Mike at Motor Studios in
San Francisco. With its unconventional chord progressions and harmonized vocals on full display, the album featured noticeably polished production as compared to earlier outings. Album track "Sour" exhibited the band's keen sense of power pop and was later included on the
Physical Fatness compilation in November of that year.
Novelty Forever would be the last album to include guitarist Larry Tinney who met his second wife following a tour stop in
Washington, eventually leaving Bracket. Due to his indefinite departure and the remaining members eagerness to continue working on music, they began considering the possibility of a replacement. During this transitional period, Gregori was approached by his younger cousin Angelo Celli who presented the band with a self-recorded
4-track cassette of himself playing Bracket songs on guitar while both singing and providing vocal harmonies to them. The group quickly realized Celli would make an ideal bandmate and he joined officially in 1998. Bracket appeared along with the
Fastbacks at the annual
Noise Pop Festival in February 1999, having previously performed at the event from 1994 to 1997. Later that year, the remaining tracks from
Like You Know were contributed to a
split EP with Humble Beginnings on Too Hep Records. The band played multiple shows along the West Coast in early 2000 with labelmates
No Use for a Name,
Good Riddance and the
Mad Caddies. Bracket returned to Motor Studios with Greene reprising his role as producer and completed
When All Else Fails, their second full-length for Fat Wreck Chords and fifth album overall, released in May 2000. While the band continued to mature beyond its pop punk contemporaries, their album seamlessly picked up where the expansive
Novelty Forever left off and included a return appearance from Fat Mike who co-wrote and supplied guitar on "No Brainer". Despite generally positive reviews upon release, Bracket felt the two-week recording session for
When All Else Fails was rushed and lacked many vocal embellishments they had planned yet didn't get a chance to incorporate. Gregori later explained he was proud of the songs but thought the album sounded unfinished. The leadoff track "Everyone Is Telling Me I'll Never Win, If I Fall in Love with a Girl From Marin" was featured on ''
More RPM's Than Floyd on a Scooter'', a free sampler used to promote releases from Fat and its subsidiaries
Honest Don's and
Pink and Black. In February 2002, Bracket issued
Live in a Dive, the second installment in a series of live albums for Fat Wreck Chords which also included releases by No Use for a Name,
Swingin' Utters and
Lagwagon, among others. The performance was recorded on August 14, 1999, when Bracket appeared in support of Tilt at
Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. Under the guidance of Fat Mike, the band organized a set that culled material from all its existing studio albums and tracks found on the
Live Fat, Die Young and
Short Music for Short People compilations. The insert for
Live in a Dive contained a comic book story written by Bracket with artwork from John Estes, Kevin Cross and
Rick Remender. Additionally, CD versions featured an
enhanced portion with interview segments and music videos.
Requiem and the Good Life Crisis (2003–2009) Bracket spent the next several years writing and recording at Trailer Park Studios, which was built by drummer Ray Castro with help from the other band members, inside an abandoned trailer on the Gregori family property. Enjoying a newfound sense of freedom, the band took its time to produce, engineer and mix the sessions themselves. While pushing the boundaries further on their unique brand of pop punk, Bracket completed an album that combined lush vocal harmonies reminiscent of
the Beach Boys with the straightforward songwriting characteristics of the
Descendents. Initially intended for release on Fat Wreck Chords, the band's finished sixth album
Requiem was rejected by their longtime label. The group ultimately settled on releasing the ambitious
concept album of sorts through
Takeover Records in February 2006. Stewart Mason of AllMusic described
Requiem as "wide-ranging and immensely tuneful ... with some delightful
psychedelic and
sunshine pop touches." The album was similarly praised by Razorcake who called it "a seventeen-movement rock 'n' roll symphony", while Exclaim.ca writer Stuart Green declared, "This could be the punk rock equivalent of
Pet Sounds", noting, "it's what
Jawbreaker might have sounded like if
Brian Wilson had produced
24 Hour Revenge Therapy."
Requiem consisted exclusively of "Warren's Song, Pt. 10" through "Warren's Song, Pt. 26", however the tracks didn't appear in succession. Unlike previous studio albums, the band declined to tour behind its release. After Castro moved to
Denver,
Colorado for a job relocation, Bracket became less active. With the other members remaining in California, they formed the Good Life Crisis in 2007. This
bluegrass influenced
side project included Gregori playing ukulele, Charlos playing acoustic guitar and Celli playing mandolin. That same year the trio began performing locally, with sets that consisted of original material, Bracket tracks and occasional cover songs by
the Beatles,
Nirvana, NOFX and
Tenacious D. Before work on the next Bracket album eventually commenced, the Good Life Crisis had released songs through its MySpace and YouTube pages but a physical release was never issued under this moniker. In December 2009, Bracket appeared on
Wrecktrospective, a three-disc compilation celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Fat Wreck Chords.
Digital albums and Hold Your Applause (2010–present) Bracket began hinting towards the possibility of a new album on its official Facebook page in February 2010, but the members had yet to reconvene until later that year. Following some advance preparation, the band (along with Tinney guesting on select tracks) played a one-off show in
Marin County on November 26, 2010. Bracket announced plans for a seventh studio album in June 2011. They posted regular updates to Facebook over the next several years which detailed each stage of the recording process and also expressed interest in self-releasing the new material. After lying unreleased for 17 years, Bracket issued its lost third album
Like You Know as a
digital download through their Bandcamp page on January 7, 2013. This marked the first time the songs would officially appear together with their original sequencing and mixes. They also released the rarities collection
Rare Cuts (in three separate installments) which included compilation tracks,
B-sides,
demo recordings and alternate versions of songs spanning their entire catalog. The sale of these digital only releases helped to finance their
home recording sessions and a physical format pressing of the upcoming album.
Requiem was made available for free
streaming on the band's Bandcamp page in October 2013. The new album
Hold Your Applause was released in August 2014, while progress continues on an additional forthcoming album. On June 30, 2016, Bracket announced a release date of August 5 and unveiled the cover for their next album, titled The Last Page. The album will consist of the lone track "Warren's Song Part 28" and will clock in at over 70 minutes long. This is Bracket's eighth full-length album, and their first since 2014's Hold Your Applause. ==Band members==