Low Desert Punk

Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork at the Eurockéennes de Belfort, 2011
Background information
Born	(1973-03-19) March 19, 1973 (age 44)
Origin	Palm Springs, CA, US
Genres	Stoner rock, desert rock, heavy metal, hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer
Instruments	drums, guitar, bass, vocals
Years active	1987–present
Labels	El Camino Records, Duna Records, Man's Ruin Records, Low Desert Punk Recordings
Associated acts	Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Brant Bjork and the Bros, Ché, De-Con, LAB, Fatso Jetson, The Desert Sessions, Mondo Generator, Ten East, Vista Chino
Website	www.brantbjork.com

Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Palm Desert, California. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along with former Kyuss vocalist John Garcia. Until October 2014 when Nick Oliveri announced that there was a falling out and that Bjork and Garcia would continue working on their solo projects. He is one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert scenes.

While still in high school, Bjork got together with friends Josh Homme and John Garcia in 1987 to form a band called Katzenjammer. At Bjork's prompting, the band would soon be renamed Sons of Kyuss for a single EP, named after "The Sons of Kyuss" monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and then later shortened to Kyuss. The band relocated to Los Angeles in 1990 and signed to Chameleon Records, releasing their debut album, Wretch in September 1991. They were then picked up by the major label Elektra Records, becoming the first desert rock band to achieve international success. Bjork was a major creative force in Kyuss, contributing a substantial portion of the band's songwriting. In 1994, Bjork left the band following the release of Welcome to Sky Valley, frustrated at guitarist Homme's growing reluctance to play the songs he was contributing to the band.

Josh and I were the creative force of Kyuss. We had a very deep understanding of the need for each other in getting the band to exist musically. At the time of Sky Valley, I was young, probably about 19 or 20, and I certainly had a lot of artistic vision for Kyuss. I exercised that with Blues for the Red Sun, but when it came time for Sky Valley, there was a conflict in direction between Josh and I. That never really happened before, and I didn't know how to handle it.