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Brad Roberts (musician)
Brad Roberts (musician)
Brad Roberts Birth name Born Origin Genre(s) Occupation(s) Instrument(s) Voice type(s) Years active Label(s) Bradley Kenneth Roberts January 10, 1964 (1964-01-10) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Rock Singer-songwriter, musician Vocals, guitar Bass-baritone 1989–present Arista/ViK. Recordings (1991–2000) Cha-Ching/Deep Fried Records (2000–2006) www.crashtestdummies.com
Website
Bradley Kenneth Roberts (born January 10, 1964, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folkrock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range.
Career
His musical career began with a Bachelor’s degree with Honours from University of Winnipeg in 1986. Roberts began performing in a house band for the Blue Note Cafe in Winnipeg under the moniker Bad Brad Roberts and the St. James Rhythm Pigs. The band gradually evolved into The Crash Test Dummies. While studying at university and working as a bartender for The Spectrum, Roberts began writing his own songs and introducing them to the band. After attending a songwriters’ workshop with Lyle Lovett at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Brad wrote "Superman’s Song." Demos of Roberts’ songs began falling into the right hands around Canada, and the quirky bar band who had just begun to write original material found itself with record deal options, which led The Crash Test Dummies into a rushed but nevertheless impressive debut album, The Ghosts that Haunt Me. The album introduced the band to the rest of the
Canadian provinces, selling over 400,000 copies in Canada alone and also garnishing a 1991 Juno Award for Group of the Year. With more time and finances, Roberts set about to writing the band’s second album, God Shuffled His Feet. This to date is the band’s best selling and most popular album, taking them into the international arena of musical exposure. The album has sold over six million copies and caused The Crash Test Dummies to be nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1994. A Worm’s Life was released in 1996, selling over one million copies and showcasing a harder-edged sound as the band continued to evolve, producing this album on their own. 1999 introduced a mix of electronic funk and spontaneous wordplay with Give Yourself A Hand. Roberts met Greg Wells at a songwriters’ workshop. Roberts invited him to cowrite and assist in recording this album inspired by influences and flavours of Roberts’ new home in Harlem, New York. In 2000, Roberts found himself recuperating from a major car accident in Nova Scotia, where he began jamming with the locals (The Great Wind Jammers from Argyle, Yarmouth County) and produced from these sessions I Don’t Care That You Don’t Mind. This was the first album released by the band independent of a major record label. As they toured internationally, Roberts described it as "fine as wine", and a "great relief" to record and tour without the pressure of big record label bosses. Roberts now lives with his wife in SoHo, New York where he continues to write and record his music. He has had many artistic opportunities to work with other artists such as Joe Jackson, Scotty Hard, Greg Wells, Deltron 3030, and Medeski Martin & Wood. Puss N Boots was released in October 2003 with a European and additional American version. This album brought a more hardedged sound. Released on October 12, 2004, the acoustic Songs of the Unforgiven was recorded at Sacred Heart Church in Duluth,
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minnesota and is described by Roberts as reflective and "hymn-like." Roberts appeared on VH1’s I Love the ’90s miniseries. The 1994 episode discussed the song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" with Roberts claiming that his deep voice is a result of having a third testicle. On the official Crash Test Dummies website, he later noted that this was a joke. In 2005, Roberts joined the Paul Green School of Rock as a guitar teacher and songwriting teacher.
Brad Roberts (musician)
Style
Roberts is noted for his often humorous songwriting style. They often tell a folk story which elaborates on strange events and character dialog. "He Liked to Feel It," for example, describes a boy finding creative ways to pull his teeth out.
Solo discography
Videos
• Crash Test Dude (2001)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Roberts_(musician)" Categories: Living people, Crash Test Dummies members, 1964 births, Canadian rock guitarists, University of Winnipeg alumni, People from Winnipeg, Musicians from Manitoba This page was last modified on 15 April 2009, at 15:04 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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