Brain's real name is Brian Mantia. He was born in Cupertino, CA.
Brain is most known for his work with
Primus. Although not actually joining the band until August 1996, he had been a friend to the band a long time. He was about to join them around 1990, but he broke his foot in a skateboarding accident and
Tim Alexander took his place. When Alexander split with Primus in the beginning of August 1996, Brain in turn took his place. His drumming can be found on Primus's "Brown Album", "Rhinoplasty" and "Antipop".
Other then Primus, Brain has played with
Praxis,
Giant Robot (both together with future
GN'R-bandmate
Buckethead),
Limbomaniacs,
Godflesh,
Tom Waits and
Jon Hassell.
Brain playing with GN'R was a secret for over half-a-year, and when he was announced as the new GN'R drummer it came from the official Primus web site! Notable also is that, at that time, it was only two months before the
GN'R comeback gig in Las Vegas, NV. Naturally, this was Brain's first live appearance together with GN'R.
