John Brannon (born August 15, 1961) is the lead vocalist for the American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band

Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little known ...

. He also served as the frontman for

Laughing Hyenas Laughing Hyenas was an American post-hardcore band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to AllMusic, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the t ...

and Easy Action.

History

Early Years

John Brannon was born on August 15, 1961, in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

. His father was a minister and would take preaching jobs, moving between New York, New Jersey and Michigan, and finally settling in Detroit. Brannon's parents divorced when he was 9 years old and he embraced

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

. Brannon was discovered by guitarist Mike Levitt who was delivering newspapers to Brannon's house when he heard him singing an

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

song from inside the house in 1975. Knowing each other from middle school, Brannon was drafted to sing in Fallout, a group with Levitt on guitar, John Wise on bass and vocals, and Tom Wisely on drums and vocals. The band enjoyed great popularity on the east side of Detroit, and with a sound that was influenced by glam rock but came out louder and more like punk rock, played to packed houses at various venues such as Notre Dame and Regina high schools, and the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Response was so great to Fallout that the band became known for riots and violence after incidents at a series of shows in the summer of 1976. The band also put on nightly shows attended by hundreds of people in the basement of Brannon's mothers house, which had been painted black and converted to a rehearsal and performance venue by the band. After winning the Grosse Pointe battle of the bands twice, Fallout broke up due to creative tensions between Wise and Wisely who wanted to pursue progressive and folk rock, and Brannon and Levitt who wanted to play louder and less commercial material. Within a few weeks, Brannon formed the band Static, and Levitt left to join another group. Static was heavily influenced by the glam acts of the time, such as Alice Cooper and the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

, and would dress up and stage theatrical performances. Eventually Brannon grew disinterested in the scene and became drawn to the more aggressive nature of punk rock and

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

Negative Approach and Laughing Hyenas

In August 1981, he formed

with Pete Zelewski. Zelewski soon departed and Brannon was joined by Chris "Opie" Moore and Graham and Rob McCulloch. The line-up recorded a 10 song 7-inch EP and ''

Tied Down ''Tied Down'' is the only official studio album by hardcore punk band Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, parti ...

'', their sole full-length album, and released it through

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Tou ...

in 1983. Artistic differences and tension within the group caused the members to disband and pursue separate projects. Brannon then formed the

with Larissa Strickland from

L-Seven L-Seven was an American post-punk band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. The band existed during 1980–1983. Some band members had been formerly active in Detroit punk bands The Blind, Algebra Mothers, and Retro.Detroit Punk Archive: L-Sev ...

in 1985. The band released three studio albums and two EPs before breaking up in 1995.

Discography

;Negative Approach * Negative Approach EP ( Touch & Go, 1982) *''

'' ( Touch & Go, 1983) ;Laughing Hyenas * ''

Come Down to the Merry Go Round ''Come Down to the Merry Go Round'' is an Extended play, EP by garage rock band Laughing Hyenas. It was released in 1987 on Touch and Go Records. It was reissued in 1995 accompanied with five bonus tracks. Track listing Personnel Adapted ...

'' EP (Touch and Go, 1987) * '' You Can't Pray a Lie'' (Touch and Go, 1989) * '' Life of Crime'' (Touch and Go, 1990) * ''

Crawl Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to: Biology * Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait * Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground * Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characteriz ...

'' (Touch and Go, 1992) * '' Hard Times'' (Touch and Go, 1995) ;Easy Action *''Easy Action'' (Reptilian, 2001) *''Friends of Rock & Roll'' (Reptilian, 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brannon, John 1961 births American male singers American rock singers Hardcore punk musicians Noise rock musicians Living people Musicians from Pontiac, Michigan Singers from Michigan