Lightning Bolt (band)

Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt in 2003. From left to right: Brian Gibson and Brian Chippendale
Background information
Origin	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Genres	Noise rock, experimental rock
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Load, Thrill Jockey
Website	www.laserbeast.com
Members	Brian Chippendale Brian Gibson
Past members	Hisham Bharoocha

Lightning Bolt is an American noise rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, composed of Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on bass guitar. The band met and formed in 1994, when the members of the then-trio attended the Rhode Island School of Design. The band signed to Load Records in 1997, and released their self-titled debut two years later. In total, Lightning Bolt has released seven full-length albums, numerous vinyl singles, and appeared on several compilations. Lightning Bolt were listed 8th in Metacritic's Artists of the Decade 2000-09.

Lightning Bolt are known for their guerrilla-style live performances, where they typically play on the ground rather than a stage, with the crowd gathered around them. The band's sound is typically loud and aggressive, though the group cites composers Philip Glass and Sun Ra as compositional influences.

Their song St. Jaques has been used as the main theme for the Fox ADHD block.

The band formed while Chippendale and Gibson attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, and Chippendale had heard about "a new kid who was a whiz on the bass guitar." The two formed Lightning Bolt, with Brian Chippendale on drums, Brian Gibson on bass guitar, and with Hisham Bharoocha on guitar and vocals joining the group after their first show. Bharoocha left the group in 1996 to continue with another RISD band that would eventually become Black Dice, and Chippendale took over vocal duties. The only officially released music with Bharoocha was a track on the Repopulation Program compilation. For the first few years, Lightning Bolt was primarily an improvisational band, touring the United States for months at a time and "just playing". The concept of writing songs and recording an album didn't occur to the band until 1997, when Ben McOsker, founder of Load Records, approached the duo.