Check Out Other Great Bands on !, , , , , , , , , and ! 8 months after Armageddon was supposed to happen, the nucleus of BRAZIL was born. In the beginning, there was Jonathon and Nic. Being brothers, the chemistry was there but something was lacking in instrumentation solely composed of drums and keyboards. Over the course of a few months, a handful of guitar and bass players were auditioned in the abandoned church in which they lived and the prototype to be known as BRAZIL was launched. The first several shows were almost serendipitous, including packed shows with The Juliana Theory in Louisville, Sullen in St. Louis, and CIRCVS fest with The Cancer Conspiracy, The Stryder, and Element101. After playing locally and regionally nearly every weekend for 6 months, the band embarked on a self booked month-long east coast and southern state tour. The shows were the kind die-hard indie kids swear by usually twenty kids in a musty basement or deserted club in a college town. Despite the low turnouts BRAZIL soldiered on like troopers, losing money and getting hungrier by the day. Their hand-me-down GMC Safari took them to Pittsburgh, NYC, Buffalo, Athens, and New Orleans while they sweat out each and every set in clubs like The Showplace Theater, The Engine Room, and CBGB’S not to mention a fair share of rancid houses, gutter record stores, and a boxing ring. After the tour, BRAZIL took some time off playing to write and restructure the band. By this time Aaron Smith, Benjamin Hunt, and Eric Johnson had become full time members. Scott Freeman would join seven months later. For a four month period, BRAZIL played only instrumental sets at art galleries and openings. Full-time playing was not an option because half the members were in school. In December of 2001, the band recorded a 6-song demo called ‘It Keeps the Machine Running’ and maxed out their credit cards mailing homemade kits to over 100 record labels, booking agents, and promoters. Immediately, they took off for a week down to the Deep South. In March, BRAZIL left for another weeklong tour, this time heading west to Minneapolis, Des Moines, Milwaukee, and Louisville and doing a brief stint with The Grey AM. By this time, they had turned Bob Becker’s head at Fearless Records. It was agreed that Fearless would put out an EP for BRAZIL at the end of summer. The break happened not a moment too soon several tour catastrophes had emptied the bank accounts of all the members, some of whom nearly resolved to eating dog food. Undeterred, or perhaps naïve, BRAZIL planned another tour for June, hitting Vermont, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh with Vermont’s Carrigan. Once the tour is through, the members of BRAZIL have committed to working to save some cash and, once the summer is over, moving to their new home the road.