Dan Braun
Encyclopedia
Dan Braun is a musician, composer, writer, editor, art director, and film producer.
, including Platinum Hardcore and Hack Ptooey. Their first real band was called Spinal Root Gang. Other members included Trey Sabatelli, Karen Fish, Janis Krasnow, Madonna Ciccone and their father, Saul Braun. Braun moved to New York City in 1979. Josh followed shortly thereafter, and they started the post-punk/no wave band Circus Mort
with Rick Oller and Michael Gira
, who later went on to form the Swans.
After recording one EP on Labor Records in 1981, Circus Mort broke up. Braun joined with Gira in the Swans for a short stint in 1982, and was on the album Body to Body, Job to Job
(1991). He then went on to play with a myriad of New York bands and musicians including DNA
co-founder Robin Crutchfield
, performance artist Julia Heyward, and composer Pat Irwin
. Dan and Josh then joined The Del-Byzanteens
; Dan played drums. Other members of the band were Phil Kline
and soon to be film director Jim Jarmusch
. They recorded one album, Lies to Live By, and one 45 single, "Draft Riot". Braun also toured and recorded with avant garde/no wave composer Glenn Branca
on his Symphony #5. Dan and Josh formed their own band in 1982 called Deep Six with Rick Oller, Trey Sabitelli, and Tony Braun, their younger brother. The band recorded one album, Garage D'or, on Twin Tone/Coyote Records in 1987 and released one single on #1 Records, "Pretty White/Looking for a Reason", in 1993. Braun played with producer Lefferts Brown in a band called Radio Firefight. Braun replaced Jules Baptiste from Red Decade on bass. The line-up was Braun on Vox bass and Lefferts on ARP 2500. The band played only two shows—one at the top floor of Danceteria and the other at the Speed Trials.
. Braun then ran the graphics division of TBWA Worldwide. Successes there include an advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka
, for which he sold nine ads. Braun took over the creative duties on the prestigious account. He won several awards that year, including the Art Directors Club Award. Braun worked on the brand for five more years and continued to win awards and help push the ad campaign into new territories, including the internet. He worked on "Absolut DJ", a custom online application that let consumers create "visual music" and interact with musical theorists like DJ Spooky
and Coldcut
.
, Mary Harron
, and Chris Smith
were three of the directors who participated. The site won advertising and web design awards and was written up in the Daily News and USA Today
.
, Control Room, Soul Power
, Kill Your Idols, Shadow Billionaire, Cropsey
, Super Size Me
, Spellbound, DIG!
, Baghead
, The Cove, The Eclipse, Bulletproof Salesman, Of All the Things, Tiny Furniture
, House of the Devil, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
, Smash His Camera
, LA Mission, Mystery Team
, Thundersoul, and Dark Mirror. Variety
listed Submarine Entertainment as one of the top film reps in the business.
Braun executive-produced the Palm Pictures released film Kill Your Idols in 2006, which won best New York documentary at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival
. Also seen at the Tribeca Film Festival was Blank City, a film about 1970s expermental and no-wave filmmakers. The film Gravity, about base jumping
, was released in 2010, produced in association with Alex Gibney
. Braun also produces and created the Instant Talk Show (instanttalkshow.com) with host Nick Scoullar. Braun is currently working on a documentary on free jazz with filmmaker Tom Surgal.
and Eerie
. After a protracted seven-year negotiation between Braun and the original publisher, Jim Warren, the group formed New Comic Company to hold the rights to the newly-acquired horror and science fiction library. Braun contacted publisher Mike Richardson at Dark Horse Comics
and worked out a partnership/license deal to release hardback compilations of the entire 246-issue run of Creepy and Eerie. The first Creepy Archive #1 was released in 2008. Braun collaborated on the editorial chores with Shawna Gore from Dark Horse. Eerie Archive #1 was released in March 2009. it made #2 on the New York Times Bestsellers list for graphic novels.
In 2009, Braun and Gore won the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection - Comic Books for their work on the Creepy Archives.
In July 2009, an all-new biannual Creepy comic was released, with classic artist Bernie Wrightson
and Mad Magazine artist Angelo Torres
, who was brought in to illustrate Braun's story "Hell Hound Blues" in issue #1. Modern writers, creators, and artists like Jason Shawn Alexander, Doug Moench, Joe Lansdale, and Joe Harris are contributing to the series. The covers are painted by Goon
artist Eric Powell. Braun takes the role of consulting editor on the series. Issues #2 and #3 feature Nick Cuti, Kevin Ferrara, Nathan Fox, and classic pulp cover artist Chuck Pyle.
Creepy development for movies, television, gaming, animation, licensing, and internet is ongoing.
, titled Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
, released in 2010. The song, titled "Dirty Windows", was written in 1987 but not recorded until 2002.
Early music career
Dan Braun and his twin brother Josh started several punk bands in high school in Stockbridge, MassachusettsStockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, including Platinum Hardcore and Hack Ptooey. Their first real band was called Spinal Root Gang. Other members included Trey Sabatelli, Karen Fish, Janis Krasnow, Madonna Ciccone and their father, Saul Braun. Braun moved to New York City in 1979. Josh followed shortly thereafter, and they started the post-punk/no wave band Circus Mort
Circus Mort
Circus Mort was a post-punk band from new York. Formed in 1979, the band included future Swans leader Michael Gira on vocals, guitarist Rick Oller, bassist Dan Braun, Josh Braun on keyboards and Angelo Pudignano on drums. Jonathan Kane, also of Swans, would become the third drummer for the group...
with Rick Oller and Michael Gira
Michael Gira
Michael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...
, who later went on to form the Swans.
After recording one EP on Labor Records in 1981, Circus Mort broke up. Braun joined with Gira in the Swans for a short stint in 1982, and was on the album Body to Body, Job to Job
Body to Body, Job to Job
Body To Body, Job To Job is a compilation album by the American no wave/noise rock band Swans. It was released simultaneously on LP, CD and audio cassette in 1991. It presents various live recordings, tape loops and previously unavailable material from the years 1982-1985...
(1991). He then went on to play with a myriad of New York bands and musicians including DNA
DNA (band)
DNA was a No Wave band formed in 1978 by guitarist Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Robin Crutchfield. Rather than playing their instruments in a traditional manner, they instead focused on making unique and unusual sounds...
co-founder Robin Crutchfield
Robin Crutchfield
Robin Crutchfield is an American artist. He is best known as one of the founding musicians of the former New York No Wave scene. He has performed at such hallowed musical grounds as CBGB's, Max's Kansas City and Artist's Space; as well as had his work on display at prestigious venues like MoMA and...
, performance artist Julia Heyward, and composer Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin is an American composer and musician, who was a founding member of a number of groups that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including 8-Eyed Spy and Raybeats. He has composed the scores for numerous films and cartoons...
. Dan and Josh then joined The Del-Byzanteens
The Del-Byzanteens
The Del-Byzanteens was a New York-based No Wave band active in the early 1980's. The band comprised Phil Kline ; Jim Jarmusch ; Philippe Hagen ; Josh Braun ; and Dan Braun...
; Dan played drums. Other members of the band were Phil Kline
Phil Kline
Phil Kline is an American composer. After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in English Literature, he formed the New York No Wave band The Del-Byzanteens in the early 1980s with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and painter James Nares, collaborated with photographer Nan Goldin on the...
and soon to be film director Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
. They recorded one album, Lies to Live By, and one 45 single, "Draft Riot". Braun also toured and recorded with avant garde/no wave composer Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
on his Symphony #5. Dan and Josh formed their own band in 1982 called Deep Six with Rick Oller, Trey Sabitelli, and Tony Braun, their younger brother. The band recorded one album, Garage D'or, on Twin Tone/Coyote Records in 1987 and released one single on #1 Records, "Pretty White/Looking for a Reason", in 1993. Braun played with producer Lefferts Brown in a band called Radio Firefight. Braun replaced Jules Baptiste from Red Decade on bass. The line-up was Braun on Vox bass and Lefferts on ARP 2500. The band played only two shows—one at the top floor of Danceteria and the other at the Speed Trials.
Advertising career
While still pursuing his musical career, Braun became a graphic designer–art director in the advertising business. One of his more banal early freelance assignments was a logo for Bed Bath & BeyondBed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. was formed in 1971 and today operates a chain of domestic merchandise retail stores across United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. They feature mostly medium-ranged, but also a limited selection of high quality, domestic merchandise: items for the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen,...
. Braun then ran the graphics division of TBWA Worldwide. Successes there include an advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
, for which he sold nine ads. Braun took over the creative duties on the prestigious account. He won several awards that year, including the Art Directors Club Award. Braun worked on the brand for five more years and continued to win awards and help push the ad campaign into new territories, including the internet. He worked on "Absolut DJ", a custom online application that let consumers create "visual music" and interact with musical theorists like DJ Spooky
DJ Spooky
Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...
and Coldcut
Coldcut
Coldcut are an English dance music duo, comprising Matt Black and Jonathan More. Their signature style is electronic dance music, featuring cut up samples of hip hop, breaks, jazz, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia.-1980s:In 1986, computer programmer Matt...
.
Launching Submarine
In 1998, Braun and two partners launched their own company, Submarine, which was called a "convergence programming studio". The first project was "Absolut Director", a project that let users create their own rescripted movies online. Spike LeeSpike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
, Mary Harron
Mary Harron
Mary Harron is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.-Overview:...
, and Chris Smith
Chris Smith (filmmaker)
Chris Smith is an American film director, cameraman, producer, writer, and editor. He is best known for directing American Movie, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival....
were three of the directors who participated. The site won advertising and web design awards and was written up in the Daily News and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
.
Submarine Entertainment
Submarine Entertainment, formed in 2001, expanded the entertainment activities of the company and reunited Braun and Josh as working partners. Submarine Entertainment represents, produces, and develops feature films and documentaries. The company has represented and sold for distribution a long list of successful films, including Man on WireMan on Wire
Man on Wire is a 2008 British documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Philippe Petit's book, To Reach the Clouds, recently released in paperback with the new title...
, Control Room, Soul Power
Soul Power (film)
Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film directed by Jeff Levy-Hinte about the Zaire 74 music festival which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in October 1974....
, Kill Your Idols, Shadow Billionaire, Cropsey
Cropsey (Film)
Cropsey is a 2009 American investigative-crime horror-documentary film, written and directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio. The film and its title uses the urban legend of "Cropsey", akin to the various incarnations of the Boogeyman, as an introduction to what eventually leads the film to...
, Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
, Spellbound, DIG!
DiG!
Dig! is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ondi Timoner, and produced by Timoner, Vasco Nunes, and David Timoner. Compiled from seven years of footage, it contrasts the developing careers of the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the bands' respective frontmen Courtney...
, Baghead
Baghead
Baghead is a 2008 comedy/horror film directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass. Its limited release began on 25 July 2008.-Plot:Four actors go to a cabin in the woods to write, direct, and act in a film that will jump-start their careers...
, The Cove, The Eclipse, Bulletproof Salesman, Of All the Things, Tiny Furniture
Tiny Furniture
Tiny Furniture is a 2010 American independent comedy film written, directed and starring Lena Dunham, daughter of co-star, Laurie Simmons.It premiered at South by Southwest, where it won best narrative feature, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 12, 2010.-Plot:Aura...
, House of the Devil, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a 2010 documentary film about the life and career of comedienne Joan Rivers. It premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival at the Castro Theatre on May 6, 2010.-Cast:* Joan Rivers* Melissa Rivers...
, Smash His Camera
Smash His Camera
Smash His Camera is a 2010 documentary film directed by filmmaker Leon Gast about the life and career of paparazzi photographer Ron Galella. In early 2010, the film won "Best Director" of a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, began a limited U.S. theatrical release on 30 July 2010 through...
, LA Mission, Mystery Team
Mystery Team
Mystery Team is a 2009 film created by the comedy group Derrick Comedy. The story was written by Donald Glover, DC Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Dan Eckman, and Meggie McFadden. It stars Donald Glover, DC Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes...
, Thundersoul, and Dark Mirror. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
listed Submarine Entertainment as one of the top film reps in the business.
Braun executive-produced the Palm Pictures released film Kill Your Idols in 2006, which won best New York documentary at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. Also seen at the Tribeca Film Festival was Blank City, a film about 1970s expermental and no-wave filmmakers. The film Gravity, about base jumping
BASE jumping
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects...
, was released in 2010, produced in association with Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney
Alex Gibney is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, Esquire magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time."...
. Braun also produces and created the Instant Talk Show (instanttalkshow.com) with host Nick Scoullar. Braun is currently working on a documentary on free jazz with filmmaker Tom Surgal.
Creepy and Eerie relaunch
In 2001 Braun, Josh, Craig Haffner, and Rick Brookwell started pursuing the acquisition of the classic horror comic magazine properties CreepyCreepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
and Eerie
Eerie
Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
. After a protracted seven-year negotiation between Braun and the original publisher, Jim Warren, the group formed New Comic Company to hold the rights to the newly-acquired horror and science fiction library. Braun contacted publisher Mike Richardson at Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
and worked out a partnership/license deal to release hardback compilations of the entire 246-issue run of Creepy and Eerie. The first Creepy Archive #1 was released in 2008. Braun collaborated on the editorial chores with Shawna Gore from Dark Horse. Eerie Archive #1 was released in March 2009. it made #2 on the New York Times Bestsellers list for graphic novels.
In 2009, Braun and Gore won the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection - Comic Books for their work on the Creepy Archives.
In July 2009, an all-new biannual Creepy comic was released, with classic artist Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
and Mad Magazine artist Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres is an American cartoonist and caricaturist whose work has appeared in many comic books, as well as a long-running regular slot in Mad magazine, typically film or television parodies.-Biography:...
, who was brought in to illustrate Braun's story "Hell Hound Blues" in issue #1. Modern writers, creators, and artists like Jason Shawn Alexander, Doug Moench, Joe Lansdale, and Joe Harris are contributing to the series. The covers are painted by Goon
The Goon
The Goon is a comic book series by Eric Powell. The series has a paranormal slant, with the average story concerning ghosts, ghouls, skunk-apes with an unnatural hunger for pies, extra-dimensional aliens, and mad scientists.-Publication history:...
artist Eric Powell. Braun takes the role of consulting editor on the series. Issues #2 and #3 feature Nick Cuti, Kevin Ferrara, Nathan Fox, and classic pulp cover artist Chuck Pyle.
Creepy development for movies, television, gaming, animation, licensing, and internet is ongoing.
The Dan Braun Experience
Braun writes, records, and produces music under the name "The Dan Braun Experience". The DBExperience had a song included on the soundtrack of the documentary on Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
, titled Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is a 2010 documentary film about Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is based on footage which director Tamra Davis took when they met in 1985. The first version was a 20-minute film which was shown at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival...
, released in 2010. The song, titled "Dirty Windows", was written in 1987 but not recorded until 2002.