1996–2002: 1000 West and band formation In 1996, the band 1000 West was formed by multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist Scott Jones, bassist
Dallon Weekes, drummer
Matt Glass, and guitarist Cory Rowley. Starting as
cover band for
the Beatles, they released multiple original albums through the late 1990s. Two of their albums include the track "School Bell", which was later repurposed into the song "Monday Morning" for the Brobecks and "
Far Too Young to Die" for
Panic! at the Disco. After cycling through different band members, they disbanded in the early 2000s. In 2002, most of the original members of 1000 West formed a new band named the Brobecks, swapping Rowley for guitarist Michael Gross. The band name was inspired by when the members heard the name Jamie Brobeck via a school
intercom. This sparked curiosity as to who she was, but nobody knew. The band was named after Brobeck as an "homage to the unpopular".
2003: The 4th of JuLive and Understanding the Brobecks The Brobecks began writing their first album throughout 2003, recording it in early July and titling it
The 4th of JuLive. On July 14, Jones left the band and took the songs he had written and sung with him. The sudden lack of material led the band to scrap the album. Keyboardist Bryan Szymanski and guitarist Casey Durrans were recruited following the event, while Weekes and Gross became the lead members. The Brobecks began constructing a new album in September, The Brobecks' first concert was performed at Kilby Court in
Salt Lake City,
Utah, which was attended solely by family members and coworkers of the band. The album's online promotion was handled by Glass, who was proficient in technology and created a website to host music videos. He additionally ran the band's
MySpace page, furthering their audience reach.
2004–2005: Happiest Nuclear Winter The Brobecks recorded and produced their second studio album in 2004, titled
Happiest Nuclear Winter. They partnered with Never Break Records to release it on January 22, 2005, additionally performing an album release show at Kilby Court. The concert was their first major show, with prior performances in the venue and other concerts primarily including family and friends. This became a motivating factor for Weekes to pursue music, feeling appreciated for his work professionally. The album received favorable reviews upon release; Bill Frost of
Salt Lake City Weekly highlighted the album's memorable energy and tone, During this time, the band began receiving interest from record labels. They were offered a contract from an imprint of
Drive-Thru Records, and Weekes was offered solo record contracts by
Sony BMG and
Interscope Records if he would drop his bandmates, but all offers were declined as the band wished to remain independent and unsigned. and drummer Nate Leslie. They released a self-titled EP with the new members on August 20, 2005, which prominently featured songs to be included on their third studio album. They began recording their next project in early January 2006, finishing it in February It features the tracks "Heartbreak or Death" and "I'll Be Fine", which, alongside the single "Aeroplanes", are the only songs recorded by the Brobecks that Weekes sang but didn't write. Weekes retroactively disliked the album, stating "I guess I just didn't have my heart in it when we made it" on the album's
Bandcamp release page.
2007–2013: Violent Things and dissolvement in 2011 In early 2007, all members besides Weekes left the Brobecks. As the sole member, Weekes moved to California and recruited guitarist Matt Seppi and drummer Drew Davidson. followed later in the year by the holiday single "
Christmas Drag", which was available through the band's MySpace page. On June 3, 2008,
Ryan Seaman joined the Brobecks as a drummer. The band then released the EP
I Will, Tonight on September 27. Both extended plays featured various songs for their fourth studio album,
Violent Things, which was released on May 18, 2009. Produced by
Casey Crescenzo,
Violent Things acted as a replacement for the Brobecks' other albums, which were taken down from streaming services following its release. and overall received widespread positive reception. One of its songs, "Second Boys Will Be First Choice", was added to
KXRK's daily rotation and became number one on the radio station following its addition. Weekes released a cover of "Skid Row (Downtown)" from
Little Shop of Horrors (1982) on September 3, 2010, featuring additional vocals from
Brendon Urie. On November 5, 2012, the Brobecks released the EP
Quiet Title. Featuring the songs "Anyone I Know" and "
Clusterhug", Simultaneously, Dallon Weekes began recording new material after departing from Panic! at the Disco in 2017. He had kept in contact with Seaman since the Brobecks' original dissolution, leading to the two becoming bandmates again to form the duo
I Dont Know How but They Found Me. They described their style as picking up from where the band left off, incorporating
power pop and
new wave. "Anyone I Know", "Boring", "A Letter" and "Visitation of the Ghost" in concerts. The latter two are performed with varying aspects of audience participation, with Weekes orchestrating harmonies for "A Letter" by dividing the crowd into sections and having them sing along. For "Visitation of the Ghost", the band parts the crowd to perform the song's
bridge in the center. Weekes uses a megaphone to create a
call and response system with its lyrics, ending the track by
covering songs such as
Chappell Roan's "
Hot to Go!",
Sabrina Carpenter's "
Please Please Please", and
Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "
Murder on the Dancefloor". In 2017, Weekes stated a desire to revisit a few songs made with the Brobecks as I Dont Know How but They Found Me. This was followed by "
Clusterhug", re-recorded for the duo's debut studio album
Razzmatazz (2020). Weekes later re-recorded the song "A Letter" for his second studio album,
Gloom Division (2024), additionally collaborating with Matt Glass on the album. In April of the same year, Whisperhawk released a remastered version of
Understanding the Brobecks (2003), including the seven out of twelve tracks he wrote and sang for it. Yonni Uribe of
SLUG positively reviewed the new edition, commending its new level of clarity and smoothness in instrumentation and overall production.
2024–present: Reunion and Not Dead Yet Through the early 2020s, the Brobecks began trending online due to
TikTok and
Spotify, described by Weekes to be a breakthrough against the band's career plateau in their initial run. Until 2024, the only album available on streaming services was
Violent Things. Other albums remained unavailable due to a lack of agreements for royalty distribution. In June 2024,
Happiest Nuclear Winter was illegally uploaded to Spotify by a third-party, setting back a then-announced plan to re-release it officially. On December 10, 2024, the album was announced to be remastered and released onto streaming services for the first time, with participation from all four band members originally involved.
Happiest Nuclear Winter was re-released on January 1, 2025, alongside an announcement for
Not Dead Yet, an upcoming
documentary film that will feature interviews and archival footage of the Brobecks' first two albums. During an interview with
Rock Sound in March 2025, the band confirmed they were back together and working on at least two new songs. They also entertained the possibility of a deluxe version of
Happiest Nuclear Winter with demos and alternate mixes of songs. ==Musical style and influences==