Brainiac

There are at least two artists named Brainiac: 1) Brainiac (also stylized as 3RA1N1AC), is an American indie rock band from Dayton, Ohio. Brainiac was formed in January 1992 by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player (particularly Moog synthesizers) Tim Taylor (July 20, 1968 – May 23, 1997), bassist Juan Monasterio (Monostereo), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. On March 12, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything. After a couple of singles, they released their first album, Smack Bunny Baby on Grass Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine (who went on to form O-matic), followed the next year. In 1995 they played on the Lollapalooza side stage. They joined Touch and Go Records and released Internationale, produced by Kim Deal (of the Pixies). The following year, their third album, Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, was released on the Touch & Go label. All three of their albums were produced by Eli Janney (of Girls Against Boys). Brainiac generated a buzz as the live act to see that resulted in opening for Beck and receiving offers from some major labels. In 1997 they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record. Tim Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23rd, 1997 while driving back from a recording session for their fourth album, and the group disbanded. Artists who cite Brainiac as an influence include Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Matt Bellamy of Muse, Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, and Trent Reznor of NIN. 2) Brainiac is the psytrance project of producer Philipp Cepetic from Croatia, born and raised in Munich (Germany).