Meet Wizard Brain

Few bands' names conjure up more delightful imagery than Wizard Brain. I can not stop picturing strange combinations, either a brain wearing a wizard hat or a brain with a bunch of wizard gear stuffed into it. I could go on for days. Instead, I will introduce you to this fantastic NJ based rock project. Wizard Brain is off the chain. At the core of the project is Bobby Kirner who writes the songs and plays a fair number of the instruments. Get to know them below as we talk about raccoons, groceries, and the positive effects of making music.

NAPOLEON a Mad-lib by, Wizard Brain

Although he was Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte was actually a Corsican, born on a small GOOSE in the Mediterranean Sea. When he was just ten years old, Napoleon was sent to a military CHEESE-DOG in France, where his GRUESOME stature earned him the nickname of "The MELANCHOLY Corporal." At 24, he was made a WHIMSICAL General and married Josephine, the daughter of a well-known Parisian GLOCKENSPIEL. Soon after that, he defeated the Italians at RAVIOLI and in 1804 was proclaimed Emperor of all the BALLOONS. But he made a PREPOSTEROUS mistake and attacked Russia. He reached Moscow, but the WORMS had burned all their LEMONS and his men got frozen SUNFLOWERS. In 1914, he was HOODWINKED and sent to Elba. But a year later, he came back to France and for 100 days was again the TALK SHOW HOST. However, he was defeated at Waterloo and imprisoned on the island of St. Helena, a SLEEPY place which resembled BERLIN.

Would You Rather

perform a cover of the cha-cha slide, the macarena, or cotton eye joe? How would you do it?

I think I’d probably be most comfortable covering Cotton Eye Joe, due to its folk music origins. I’m not sure if I could do it any justice but I’d probably replace the fiddle solo with like a kazoo or something.

Some questions with Wizard Brain

What are your top five favorite animals?

I'm definitely a dog person but I also quite enjoy the company of cats. Though for the sake of a more interesting answer, I’ll leave out domestic animals. Here is my current list. Raccoon, Chimpanzee, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Blue Whale, and Bird. 

Do you have a single favorite article of clothing? What makes it the favorite?

I don't think I have any specific clothing item that I could call my favorite. I often feel most comfortable in hoodies or sweatshirts. Usually, I like to latch onto one favorite hoodie before finding a new one to eventually take it's place. Which kind of sounds sad thinking of it that way. I have a necklace that my sister gave me thats probably my favorite thing that I have consistently worn. It's a clay pendant with a groovy little sun design on it. I haven't worn it in a while though because the string broke and I’ve been too lazy to replace it. I ended up using the design on the back cover of my last album so it defintely has some sentimental value.

What is the story behind that photo of the raccoon on the cover of your single “Seasonal Changes”                                       

 I think that photo is probably about 15 years old now. I wasn’t there for it but I believe either my mom or my sister took the photo. I don’t live there anymore but for some reason my back porch would get a lot of friendly visitors. This raccoon being one of them. Most of the time it would be deer but I can recall this one time when there were about eight turkeys just hanging out there. This photo only recently resurfaced about two years ago and I’ve been holding onto it since then so I could use it for some cover art. Thankfully this song felt like the right fit. 

What is on your grocery list? 

I usually have eggs for breakfast, so it's important for me to be stocked up on that. I’ve also been really into those Danon yogurts that come in a pack of both strawberry and blueberry. The strawberry is far superior but the blueberry is pretty good too. Raspberry-lime seltzer has become a new favorite of mine (My sister gets them and I usually just take them). I used to think seltzer was just TV static in liquid form until I realized that there were flavored ones. It's also essential to have an abundance of honey mustard for all occassions. 

Your latest single has a lot more instruments compared to your previous releases. Was there a rationale or catalyst that brought on this change?

I'm not entirely sure if it was a conscious decision or not. My last album was mostly acoustic based, aside for a few songs. The next album will probably the inverse of that. I think I just needed a change and full band arrangements seemed to be the way to go. Most of these songs had already been written with that intent. I think I didn’t really see the need for it as much for my previous releases. Seasonal Changes was written probably about 4 years ago and I've always pictured it with the sort of arrangement it ended up with. 

Can you give us your opinion on winter in New Jersey?

It's really the only winter I have ever known. This winter was surprisingly tame and not as harsh as some others I can remember. It only really snowed about a handful of times this winter. I remember one year it snowed really heavy in October before any of the leaves had fallen from the trees. A lot of branches ended up coming down since they couldn't support the weight of the snow. I personally don't really mind the snow too much, unless it messes up my plans. I just don't appreciate when there’s a lot of ice. I like to go for walks and I have a slight fear of slipping. I haven't yet but we shall see.

What is the most positive impact this project has had on your life?

I have to say that being able to see my songs get recorded and having them exist in the world is a very nice feeling. It might not seem like that much but it's almost therapeautic to watch the process of a song go from just a tiny thought into something that almost feels physical. I must give a shoutout to Max Rauch of Domestic Bliss recording who has recorded my past couple of releases, and also plays on a lot of it. He's been instrumental in helping me form my dinky songs into something more fleshed out in ways I wouldn't know how. 

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Stay tuned for a lot of new music on the horizon! and also "be excellent to each other!"