Brandon Kellum (born November 1, 1985), is an American musician, author, philanthropist from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

best known as the vocalist of the

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band American Standards. He is characterized for his charismatic live performances and philosophical lyrical content.

Early life and education

Kellum was born in

. He attended Trevor G. Browne High School and later

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He works as a business consultant for a

fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company.

Musical career

Vera Lynne/Movie script ending

He began his musical career in 2002 as the guitarist for the

post hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...

band Vera Lynne which originally performed under the name Movie Script Ending. Vera Lynne was the first of many

Monster Energy Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. As of March 2019, Monster Energy had a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull ...

sponsored artists that went on to play the Vans

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

and play tour dates with bands such as

It Dies Today It Dies Today (sometimes abbreviated "IDT") is an American metalcore band that formed in Buffalo, New York during September 2001 (around the time surrounding 9/11). The band achieved popular success in 2004 with the release of their debut album ...

, Still Remains,

The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Stei ...

, As Cities Burn and

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...

. The group disbanded in 2007 after releasing one EP and one LP.

The Hostage Situation

After disbanding, Brandon formed the

southern metal Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...

band The Hostage Situation assuming the position of vocals. The band had a tongue in cheek demeanor and was known for its high energy live shows. After releasing the LP "When I Say Go..." and touring in support of it, Hostage called it quits in 2010.

American Standards

In 2011 Brandon joined American Standards. American Standards was when Kellum started incorporating sociopolitical views into his lyrics which included satire and social commentary. This quality found him as a guest on several media outlets such as Alternative Press, Metal Injection, Revolver Magazine, Decibel Magazine and Lambgoat. American Standards has label backing and distribution through Victory Records and has shared the stage with several bands that Kellum has cited as influences, such as; Every Time I Die, The Chariot, Refused, Zao (American band), Comeback Kid, Atreyu and Emery.

Heart Shaped Canvas

During this time Kellum founded Heart Shaped Canvas, a nonprofit organization that acts as a collective of artists using their art to raise funds and awareness for the causes they believe in. Through Heart Shaped Canvas, he has hosted benefit shows and released compilation albums supporting organizations such as the

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary health organization based in New York City, with a public policy office based in Washington, D.C. The organization's stated mission is to "save lives and bring hope to those a ...

, Teen Lifeline, Halo Animal Rescue and the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

Side projects

In 2014 Brandon joined Your Young as the bassist, touring, recording and opening for bands such as Converge,

Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and was a major part of the Long Island music scene in the early 2000s. The band has been influential i ...

and Norma Jean. He is seen playing on the music video for the song 'The Sad, Sad Stories of Sadder Men'. In 2018, Brandon began hosting nostalgia themed DJ nights such as Break Stuff: Nu Metal Night, Top 8: Myspace Night and Free Skate: Tony Hawk Pro Skater Night. Brandon has also been a regular guest on music industry panels and podcasts such as Make It Loud, Talk Toomey, As The Story Grows, Brewtally Speaking and Apologue. Brandon is a regular contributor and staff writer for multiple music based websites such as Yum Yum Music And Arts.

Family

He has an older brother named Joe Kellum and mother, Melissa Kellum. His father and grandparents passed of cancer in 2015.

References

External links

American Standards on Facebook

American Standards on ITunes

American Standards on Spotify
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellum, Brandon American punk rock musicians American rock musicians Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Artists from Phoenix, Arizona 1985 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American heavy metal singers American rock songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Arizona Metalcore singers