Brant Bjork

In addition to being a member of two of the '90s leading stoner rock bands, <a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1TKaUU8ooBgSW9TlyKsw6k">Fu Manchu</a>, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Brant Bjork issues solo albums, produces others, and runs his own record label. Bjork first became known in the late '80s as the drummer and founder of stalwart West Coast stoner rockers <a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a>. Post-<a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a>, Bjork became a fixture in the Palm Desert rock scene, delivering the decibels via multiple vehicles, including <a href="spotify:artist:5Ug0EkTXplXiip0C2OzVi7">Mondo Generator</a>, Stoner, <a href="spotify:artist:1TKaUU8ooBgSW9TlyKsw6k">Fu Manchu</a>, Ch'e, and <a href="spotify:artist:0ZLn6WYA1y4XYA9Sf0qOfi">Vista Chino</a>. In 1999 Bjork released his solo debut, Jalamanta, which retained the gritty, psychedelic aspects of his work with his other projects but also offered a quieter, more reflective sound. He would go on to maintain numerous solo iterations throughout the next two decades, operating under both his own name and as <a href="spotify:artist:1sqRE7hT130Mc1BM3a1yra">Brant Bjork & the Operators</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5cj8VWdJeJrFC6d5c200in">Brant Bjork & the Bros</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2OdlkHISDeMdm5TZU0PQzX">Brant Bjork & the Low Desert Punk Band</a>, and the Brant Bjork Trio.

Hailing from Palm Desert, California, Bjork began playing with guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Josh Homme</a>, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:5WCFj64gXT7nJwOEEzc0Wf">Nick Oliveri</a>, and singer <a href="spotify:artist:5Hr53UjzhLt2qU7XL7OFh8">John Garcia</a> while they were still in high school, resulting in the formation of <a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a>. The group's <a href="spotify:artist:5M52tdBnJaKSvOpJGz8mfZ">Sabbath</a>-like sound fit in perfectly with such other then-current bands as <a href="spotify:artist:5xUf6j4upBrXZPg6AI4MRK">Soundgarden</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:64tNsm6TnZe2zpcMVMOoHL">Alice in Chains</a>, which resulted in the release of the 1991 indie debut Wretch, before the band signed on with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%22">Elektra</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a> issued what has gone on to become one of the decade's landmark metal releases, 1992's Blues for the Red Sun, which almost single-handedly created the ensuing stoner rock movement. Bjork also showcased his songwriting talents, single-handedly penning two of the album's highlights, "Green Machine" and "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)."

But the original lineup began to splinter shortly after the album's release as <a href="spotify:artist:5WCFj64gXT7nJwOEEzc0Wf">Oliveri</a> left, and Bjork did the same after the release of 1994's Welcome to Sky Valley. After his exit, Bjork kept himself busy by producing others, like <a href="spotify:artist:1TKaUU8ooBgSW9TlyKsw6k">Fu Manchu</a>'s 1994 release, No One Rides for Free, another album that is held in reverence by hard rock fans. Bjork joined the group as its drummer a few years later, appearing on such subsequent <a href="spotify:artist:1TKaUU8ooBgSW9TlyKsw6k">Fu Manchu</a> releases as 1997's Action Is Go, 1999's Eatin' Dust, 2000's King of the Road, and 2001's California Crossing. Throughout the '90s, Bjork also found time to create his own indie label, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22El+Camino+Records%22">El Camino Records</a> (which would later be renamed <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Duna+Records%22">Duna Records</a>), appear on other artists' recordings (<a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Josh Homme</a>'s Desert Sessions series, etc.), and launch a solo career with the 1999 release Jalamanta. Also during the late '90s, Bjork was briefly an early member of <a href="spotify:artist:03xb2BUdIFzuRQ6o88yfCB">Homme</a>'s post-<a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a> band, <a href="spotify:artist:4pejUc4iciQfgdX6OKulQn">Queens of the Stone Age</a>, but exited before appearing on any recordings.

The early 21st century saw Bjork form a trio named Ch'e (issuing a lone album in 2000, Sounds of Liberation), in addition to playing as part of former <a href="spotify:artist:3HCpwNmFp2rvjkdjTs4uxs">Kyuss</a> bandmate <a href="spotify:artist:5WCFj64gXT7nJwOEEzc0Wf">Oliveri</a>'s project <a href="spotify:artist:5Ug0EkTXplXiip0C2OzVi7">Mondo Generator</a> (2000's Cocaine Rodeo and 2003's A Drug Problem That Never Existed) and issuing further solo releases (2002's Brant Bjork & the Operators, 2003's Keep Your Cool, and 2004's Local Angel). In 2007 Bjork closed up shop on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Duna+Records%22">Duna Records</a> and started a new label, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Low+Desert+Punk+Recordings%22">Low Desert Punk Recordings</a>. Arriving in 2008, Punk Rock Guilt, a collection of recordings from 2005 that he referred to as the "New Jersey Sessions," would be <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22LDP%22">LDP</a>'s first official release. It was followed in 2010 by Gods & Goddesses. That same year, Bjork formed Kyuss Lives! with Bruno Fevery, <a href="spotify:artist:5WCFj64gXT7nJwOEEzc0Wf">Nick Oliveri</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5Hr53UjzhLt2qU7XL7OFh8">John Garcia</a>, and headed across the pond for a European and Australian tour. The band changed its name to <a href="spotify:artist:0ZLn6WYA1y4XYA9Sf0qOfi">Vista Chino</a> in 2012 and released its debut album, Peace, the following year via <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Napalm+Records%22">Napalm Records</a>. In 2016 Bjork issued a new solo album, Tao of the Devil, followed by the psych-dusted Mankind Woman in 2018. Recorded in 2010 and put on the back burner, 2019's Jacoozzi saw Bjork deliver a jazz and funk-leaning instrumental set with the eponymous Brant Bjork appearing the following year. 2022's laid-back Bougainvillea Suite, Bjork's thirteenth solo effort, featured guest spots from Stoner bandmates <a href="spotify:artist:5WCFj64gXT7nJwOEEzc0Wf">Nick Oliveri</a> and Ryan Güt. 2024's One Upon A Time in the Desert marked the studio debut of the Brant Bjork Trio, which featured Güt behind the kit and Desert Rock dignitary Mario Lalli (Across The River, <a href="spotify:artist:2d06W6CY8NotPTPdIAgVoe">Yawning Man</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:54uUepiNjBSsmARWIjVcZw">Fatso Jetson</a>) on guitar. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi