Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Brain Tuel

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Today, we have this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we're again looking at 1-3 defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands (one this month), in order to spotlight them and their run for current readers! This month's random selection is ironically fitting, given that they posthumously uploaded a new Facebook video last week, but they're a missed fixutre of the local punk scene, so read on below for our newest Defunct Profile!
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Brain Tuel

Genre: Punk/Alternative Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Jeff Jonusaitis, vocals/keyboard
Andrew Pothier (Synthia), guitar
Zach Reid, guitar
Mark Schildroth (Synthia), bass
Marc-Andre Parent, drums

Audio/Video: Brain Tuel released three albums in the latter half of their run, including 2006's "Adeline Ave.", 2007's "Black & White", and 2008's acoustic EP "Stuck in Small Places". All are now out of print, but they can be streamed on Spotify & via bassist Mark Schildroth's YouTube channel, and bought from online download stores. For videos, guitarist Zach Reid's YouTube channel has 12 Brain Tuel videos (all but two coming from their last advertised concert), while their MySpace page has 5 earlier clips, and their Facebook page has at least one unique video. Here's Brain Tuel playing "Here's Looking at You, Kid" live at The Oddfellows Hall ca. 2005!

Info/Analysis: Formed in 2001 by then high school classmates, Brain Tuel soon became a fixture at local concerts, though surviving information on their early run is in short supply. Opening for notable out of town acts like Faber Drive, The Imports, and The Johnsons during their run, the band was frequently seen at The Oddfellows Hall, while also playing venues like LopLops Lounge, the Kiwanis Community Theater, and The Bellevue Park Bandshell over the years. Though nominally a punk band, Brain Tuel didn't stick to the typical punk tropes, and peppered their high energy sound with alt-rock influences, hardcore backing vocals, and an occasional hard rock flavour. Last visibly playing live at an acoustic show in May 2009 at The Arcadia Coffeehouse, Brain Tuel fell inactive later that year, and members largely now live out of town, but they have stated that they hope to record at least one more album, and their Facebook page is still occasionally updated.

While their albums' production could be a little inconsistent, Brain Tuel had a fun live sound and they'd still fit in nicely in today's local scene (imagine them on stage with Gnaeus and Id Iota, for example.) The band has said that they hope to stay together forever, which is an encouraging sign that we'll see Brain Tuel again, and hopefully they do come back down the road!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return next month with another randomly selected band, and out 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults will next take us to Sault Michigan, so which band is next? How about inactive epic metal quintet Integrated System of Machines?  This should be a fun profile, especially as it's our first solo Sault Michigan profile in this series in eight months (the last two were doubled up due to lack of surviving material), so watch for our I.S.O.M. profile on or around November 10th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more updates soon! Thanks everyone!