Braid

Characterized by tight, mathy song structures, witty lyrics, constant touring, and a D.I.Y. work ethic that resulted in countless contributions to compilations and 7″ singles along with their album output, Braid started out as one of the definitive acts of ’90s Midwestern emo. The band’s relentless schedule ground them to a halt shortly after the release of their standout third album, 1998’s Frame and Canvas, but a 2011 reunion brought the band back for good. From that point on, they performed live and recorded sporadic releases like 2014′s No Coast.
In a search to find others interested in trading videos of live shows, drummer/singer Bob Nanna, of Friction, placed a classified ad in Maximum Rocknroll and met drummer Roy Ewing, of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1993. That fall, Nanna, a freshman at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, started hanging out with Ewing, who played in Lowercase N. Nanna’s friend guitarist Pete Havranek, of 42 Loads and Inkadink, wanted to play with someone new, so Ewing volunteered. Nanna became their singer and guitarist, Jay Ryan joined them on bass, and Braid was born. Shortly thereafter, Ryan left the band and went on to play with Hubcap and Dianogah. Todd Bell, who had played with Ewing in Lowercase N, replaced Ryan on bass. Kate Reuss was recruited to sing. Braid played their first show on December 10, 1993, in Danville, Illinois. Reuss left the band after the second show.
Braid then went through some drastic changes. Nanna’s other band, Friction, broke up for good, which meant that Braid was no longer a side project. Chris Broach joined as singer. Havranek left the band in August 1994, and Broach took over on guitar. A week later, Braid recorded the “Rainsnowmatch” 7″, which was released in December 1994 on Enclave Records. Braid’s debut album, Frankie Welfare Boy Age 5, was released in June 1995 on Divot Records. Second album The Age of Octeen followed in 1996. In March 1997, Ewing left the band. Damon Atkinson, of Figurehead, joined Braid’s spring tour and became the band’s drummer. Third album Frame and Canvas was released in April of 1998 with Polyvinyl Records. Though Polyvinyl had been early supporters of the band and had released multiple singles with them, this was Braid’s first full-length release with the label and it quickly became one of their most popular. More touring ensued, and in August 1999, Braid disbanded. Posthumous release Lucky to Be Alive followed in the spring of 2000, as did Movie Music, Vols.1 & 2, extensive collections of songs they had released over the years in the form of compilation tracks, singles, or other miscellaneous one-off songs.
After the split, members of the band broke off into a number of side projects. Bob Nanna formed the City on Film before eventually reuniting with Todd Bell and Damon Atkinson to form Hey Mercedes. Meanwhile, singer Chris Broach focused on his side project, the Firebird Band, on a full-time basis, and started his own label, Lucid Records. Braid reunited briefly for a one-off summer tour in 2004 before regrouping in a more serious capacity in 2011, when they released an EP, Closer to Closed, on Polyvinyl. Over the next few years, they played the occasional show, including their landmark 600th gig, on December 22, 2011 at the Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee where they announced they would record a new album. The release took several years to come to fruition but was finally finished. No Coast was released in July of 2014 on Top Shelf Records. Shortly afterward, Braid followed with two-song single “Kids Get Grids” in 2015. ~ Tracy Frey