Artist Biography
The Chicago-based band John Brown Battery existed between 1998 and 2002 and was known for its powerful, sometimes even harsh sound. The group undertook a handful of American tours, released one full-length CD, and appeared on several singles and compilations. The group's name is lifted from various militias striving for a patriotic ring, so discographers concerned with the inevitable confusion with another band named John Brown's Army might wish something else such as "the George Washington Brigade" had been chosen. That doesn't seem like it would have drawn crowds in the late-'90s rock scene, though.
The John Brown Battery had traditional aspects, at least from the point of view of rock combos, that the militia movement never dreamt of. It was apparently a band that lived together, although that didn't mean the group practiced as much as Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, who reportedly were forced to live together. The domestic arrangement may have contributed to the rapid shift in band membership during the group's history, even resulting in a fanzine writer creating the phrase "John Brown's curse" to describe a band losing a member, a fairly acceptable band name in itself. The group's habit of using only first names in publicity could have also stimulated glory-hoggers to want to quit, or might have been the result of difficulties keeping track of who was in and who was out. The young age of many of this group's members sometimes meant the departure was simply due to someone going off to college. This situation is as typical with certain bands as having the van broken into and all the equipment ripped off, an unfortunate experience for John Brown Battery during a period when a whole rash of such incidents was taking place across the United States. ~ Eugene Chadbourne
Hometown
Genre
Punk