Lou Brutus (born November 10, 1962) is an American radio personality, program director,

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

talent, musician, and photographer. He is best known as the host of the nationally syndicated rock radio programs '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' and ''hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus'', as well as his work at Sirius XM Radio.

Radio overview

As host of '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' and ''hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus'', as well as through his music programming for Sirius XM Radio, he has assisted in breaking many rock bands in the

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

radio format notably Slipknot,

Stone Sour Stone Sour is an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Josh Rand ...

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, ...

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its forma ...

Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 20 ...

, Five Finger Death Punch, Sevendust and

Halestorm Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her drummer brother Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. The group's self-titled debut album was re ...

among others. He was an early hire for

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

, later merged with Sirius Satellite Radio to form Sirius XM Radio, where he has acted as program director, senior program director, disc jockey, interviewer and

talent. Brutus' voiceovers there include acting as the primary voice of the

'40s on 4 40s Junction'' is a commercial-free music channel on the Sirius XM Radio platform, broadcasting on channel 73; as well as '' Dish Network'' channel 6073. The channel mainly airs big band, swing, and hit parade music from 1936 to 1949, with ...

channel which he based upon

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

announcer Ken Carpenter. Brutus has also hosted radio specials and created music channels for artists including

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, 3 Doors Down,

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

, Theory of a Deadman, Slipknot,

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Art, ...

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...

and others. In 2011, Five Finger Death Punch used Brutus to host their military intelligence-themed press conference in Los Angeles, California, for their ''Trespass America Tour''.

Music overview

In the music world, he is creator and lead singer of the comedy-rock bands Dead Schembechlers (a send-up of the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

versus

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

football rivalry) which he formed with members of the Columbus, Ohio-based band

Watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

as well as the Grumpy Old Punks (a band which features comedic punk rock takes on middle aged life). Other novelty flavored music has been released under the monikers Ol' Dirty Brutus (nerdish hip hop music) and Lou Brutus and the Perfect Pachydermus Percussion Pitches (baseball themed tunes). He was a co-writer on the Dash Rip Rock concept album ''Hee Haw Hell''. Early in his career, he created tracks to the WMMR Morning Zoo ''Abbey Dirt Road'' and ''Zoo's Next'' albums. He has contributed liner notes and or photography to several artists including

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Mary Prankster Mary Prankster is the moniker for an American singer-songwriter. She is primarily associated with Baltimore (but now residing in New England), and played a blend of alternative/indie music with frank lyrics. The name is a reference to Ken Kesey's ...

The Phenomenauts The Phenomenauts are a musical band from Oakland, California, that combine several styles of music with a futuristic science fiction theme. Their sound uses elements from rock and roll, punk, glam, garage rock and new wave styles of music. Th ...

and

The Methadones The Methadones were a band formed in 1993 by guitarist/vocalist Dan Vapid. The Methadones initially lasted only a few shows before Vapid put them to the side to focus on his main band Screeching Weasel. By 1999 Dan was no longer a member of Scree ...

. Brutus is a member of both

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

and

NARAS The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

Photography

As a photographer, Brutus has worked on field capturing images of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as an accredited league photographer including home games of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, San Diego Padres and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He has photographed numerous music acts and festivals he has covered during his radio duties. He also frequently photographs

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

fields as a hobby. He has stated on the air that he as yet does not wish to pursue selling his hobby shots for fear of turning it into work.

Popular culture

In November 1996, guitarist

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

chose The Lou Brutus Experience as the name for the all star band he put together to play the

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

Benefit concert. The group also featured

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

, Billy Sheehan and

Pat Torpey Patrick Allan Torpey (December 13, 1953 – February 7, 2018) was an American drummer and singer, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Mr. Big. As well as playing for other various singers and artists such as; John ...

. Chicago street singer Wesley Willis recorded the song "Lou Brutus" for his 1998 self-released album ''Rock 'N Roll Jackflash''. Author

Elwood Reid Brian "Elwood" Reid (born December 19, 1966) is an American novelist, short-story writer and television screenwriter. Early life Reid was born in Cleveland, Ohio in a working-class area. Reid played college football for the Michigan Wolverines ...

included a character named Lou Brutus in his first book ''D.B.: A Novel''.

Early life

Birth and education

Brutus was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Englishtown, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Manalapan High School in

Manalapan Township Manalapan Township (, ) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the t ...

where he was active in the theatre program as well as producing music concerts with local rock groups and acting as announcer of the afternoon PA announcements. It was at the suggestion of the school principal that Brutus was invited to be one of four students to record short vignettes for New York City radio station

WABC-AM WABC (770 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a conservative talk format known as "Talkradio 77". Owned by John Catsimatidis' Red Apple Media, the station's studios are located in Red Apple Media headqu ...

, which would be his first time on the radio. He later attended Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey where he was a disc jockey on its radio station

WBJB-FM WBJB-FM (90.5 FM, "Brookdale Public Radio, 90.5 The Night") is a non-commercial, member-supported, educational public radio station licensed to Brookdale Community College, serving Central New Jersey with "The News You Need and the Music You Love ...

Early radio influences

It was his growing up in Monmouth County in

Central New Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. Geographic area and descriptions While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...

that Brutus acknowledged as giving him a well-rounded appreciation of the radio world at an early age as signals were received from both the New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

radio markets as well as the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

stations. He has named radio personality Dan Ingram as a significant, early influence as well as Harry Harrison and

Ron Lundy Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

. He has also cited

Scott Muni Scott Muni (May 10, 1930 – September 28, 2004) was an American disc jockey, who worked at the heyday of the AM Top 40 format and then was a pioneer of FM progressive rock radio. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine termed him "legendary". Early life B ...

, Alison Steele and Vin Scelsa as others.

Radio career

WMMR Philadelphia

While attending Brookdale Community College, Brutus began an internship with

WMMR-FM WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC, and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The internship led to a job as morning show producer for

John DeBella John DeBella is an American DJ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 102.9 WMGK-FM. He was born in Queens, New York. Career Before arriving in Philadelphia, DeBella did a stint at WLIR Garden City. In the early 1980s he hosted ''The DeBella Traves ...

and shifts as a weekend disc jockey. He was there in those capacities from 1984 to 1988.

WPLJ New York City

In 1988 he accepted a job as morning show producer at

WPLJ-FM WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, K-Love. WPLJ's transmitte ...

in New York City where he worked with Jim Kerr, Shelli Sonstein and Howard the Cab Driver under Program Director Larry Berger.

WHJY Providence – WBCN Boston – WMMR Philadelphia

After a brief stint, Brutus left

to begin his first ever full-time on-air hosting job at WHJY in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. It was at this juncture that he began his trademark of closing his radio programs with a quote from writer

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...

. He met with Thompson twice during this time during appearances by the author at the Somerville Theater outside of Boston, Massachusetts. They stayed in contact until Thompson's death in 2005 including Brutus' unsuccessful attempts to convince the author to host a hybrid music/political program on

. Brutus was let go from WHJY in the spring of 1992. He did return for one night in 2003 to host a memorial edition of The Metal Zone in honor of his friend Mike "Dr. Metal" Gonsalves who perished in The Station Nightclub Fire. Shortly after his departure from WHJY, Brutus joined the staff of

WBCN-FM WWBX (104.1 FM, ''Mix 104.1'') is a radio station with a hot adult contemporary format in Boston, Massachusetts. The format started at 98.5 FM on February 9, 1991, and moved to 104.1 FM, replacing WBCN on August 12, 2009, to allow for the l ...

in Boston, Massachusetts where he worked weekend and fill in shifts. By fall of that year, Brutus was back at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

as host of the night shift. He remained in this capacity until offered the afternoon drive position at WRCX-FM in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

WRCX Chicago

It was while at WRCX, dubbed Rock 103.5 on the air, that Brutus began to reach a national audience. During this time he started to host album premiere specials for trade publication

Friday Morning Quarterback ''Friday Morning Quarterback'' (better known as ''FMQB'') was a trade magazine which covered the radio and music industries in the United States. Its coverage included programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay Airplay is how ...

. He also traveled extensively including being the lone U.S. radio representative at the 1995 Molson Ice Polar Beach Party in Tuktoyaktuk, Canada which featured a private performance by

. Brutus would also host the 1997 Molson Ice Polar Beach in

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...

with a performance by Collective Soul. Despite its success, the station changed formats within a few years. When asked about the station's short life Brutus said, "Its run may not have been as long as some other stations but I am reminded of Joe Turkel's line to Rutger Hauer in

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

, 'The light that burns twice as bright burns for half as long – and you have burned so very, very brightly.'"

''hardDrive with Lou Brutus''

While in Chicago, Brutus was approached by industry veteran Corinne Baldassano at the suggestion of Jacobs Media to host a new, nationally syndicated radio program, which would showcase the burgeoning

format. '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' debuted in thirty-five markets on July 4, 1996. Designed as weekend specialty programming, the two-hour, weekly show has since gone on to be heard in over 120 markets throughout the United States. It was originally distributed by Sony SW Networks later moving to distribution through Media America and then United Stations Radio Networks. The show has been cited as an influence by hard rock and metal musicians including

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

and

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the ...

of Slipknot who listened to the program while working at an Iowa porn shop as he plotted his path to stardom.

hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus

In 2007, a five-hour, weeknight version was launched and has gone on to be heard in over forty markets in the United States. The program's features include ''Rant of the Day, Poetry Corner, Weird World News, Odd and Ends, Flix Pix, Are You Game'' and ''It Came From the Web''. In 2011, Lzzy Hale of the band

was added to the program doing an "Ask Lzzy" segment where she answered personal questions from the audience.

WHFS Washington, DC

Brutus left Chicago in 1998 to accept the morning show host position with WHFS-FM in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He left in 1999.

Sirius XM Satellite Radio

In late 2000, he accepted the position of program director at

where he began in early 2001.

Special X

It was at XM that Brutus began the genre bending

Special X Special X was a Commercial-Free channel on XM Satellite Radio that played Novelty music with a "weirdness" theme. the Special X channel was on Channel 30 on XM Radio and on Channel 848 on DirecTV. In its early days, the channel was hosted by a cha ...

channel which mixed varied musical and spoken word formats into a bizarre amalgam known as Weirdness on

. Wired described the programming as, "Bizarre enough to make Dr. Demento woozy...a wild mix of wacky theme programming and 'categorically challenged' music." Brutus appeared on channel in the character of Generalissimo "Stoshu" Ortega during vignettes produced to sound like

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era Communist propaganda broadcasts promoting weird music instead of politics. The other regular channel voice was actor Joe Turkel. Special X also hosted themed programming like the baseball-centric "Play Ball" and the novelty holiday Special X-Mas programming. For Valentine's Day it featured ''The One I Love Ripped Out My Heart and Fed it to a Pack of Wild Dogs Anti-Valentine's Day Spectacular''. Additionally, the channel presented a two-hour daily program of strange cover songs entitled ''Cover Songs That Give You a Burning in Your Esophagus''.

Fungus 53

When Special X was dropped from the line up in 2008, Brutus was tasked with creating the first ever punk rock radio station

Fungus 53 Fungus, branded on air as Fungus 53, was a Commercial-free radio station on XM Satellite Radio, launched in early 2004 and was specialized in playing Uncensored Punk rock, Hardcore rock and Ska music. The channel was one of nine on XM that is mar ...

. Assistant programmer on the channel was DJ Russ Brown. The channel became respected enough for its support of the genre that it was celebrated by punk band

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

in the song "Fungus". The song featured the lyrics, "I hate the radio but I like Fungus. The only punk-rock station, it's humongous. I think they just play Misfit's Walk among us. Fungus 53."

Director of programming

After the punk rock format and channel were axed in 2008, Brutus was named as Senior Program Director of the

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format. This has included working with Sirius XM Radio channels

Octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...

, Liquid Metal, Rock Bar,

Faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...

and

The Grateful Dead Channel The Grateful Dead Channel is a Sirius XM Radio channel playing music spanning American rock band The Grateful Dead's entire career including unreleased concert recordings. It also has featured original shows hosted by band members Bob Weir, Mi ...

as well as creating the Mandatory Metallica limited run channel.

Artist Confidential

Brutus became host for the Artist Confidential Series following the death of original host George Taylor Morris. The long form music and interview series put Brutus together with artists as diverse as

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

Evanesence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

KoRn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

, Hank Williams Jr.,

, Shinedown,

Harry Connick Jr Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Parad ...

, Wynonna,

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

, Graham Nash, David Gray,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the ...

, Testament, The Fray and many more. He has criticized the Rock Radio format in regard to its artists relations, "I believe the rock end of the business needs to get its act together much in the way that country did when it comes to making artists a more integral part of each radio station. Management and labels need to step up and make their artists available to the stations. On radio's end, you must do a great job every time an artist is taking time out of their probably already overworked schedule. We on the radio have got to make the artists feel like they have to be on the air with us or they're missing out on something. Both sides need to respect each other, help each other and feed off each other."

Outside Endeavors

In 1992, Brutus began a series of comic books entitled "''The Adventures of Brutusman''." The comics featured other personalities and characters from his radio show including Sammy the Seal. The comics were drawn by Alan MacBain. An online only version, meant to be downloaded and colored, was released in 2010 under the title "''Brutusman: The Dark Nut Returns''." The comic was again drawn by MacBain and written by Brutus. Brutus has produced at least two micro-brewed beers including "Brew Loutus Ale" and "Lou-In-Brau." They were produced thru local beer brewers in the Providence, RI and Chicago, IL areas. Label design for each beer was by Alan MacBain. Lou Brutus won the

Radio Contraband RadioContraband is a Spokane, Washington-based radio promotion company founded by Steven Walker, Jacob Bunton and Beatrix Danko. It is a privately held corporation. It also operates the sister company Alternative Contraband. RadioContraband is ...

Rock Radio Award for "Dj of the Year" for 2013 and 2014 for "Syndicated DJ of the Year"

Music career

Dead Schembechlers

In 2004, Lou Brutus teamed with Colin Gawel and Joe Oestreich of the Columbus, OH based rock band

to form the group Dead Schembechlers. The group took a satirical look at the football rivalry between

and the

, named the greatest sports rivalry of all time by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Named for former Michigan head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

, The Dead Schembechlers featured pro-OSU/anti-Michigan songs like "''Michigan Stadium is A Pile of Shit''," ''Ann Arbor Girls Are Dirty Whores''," and "''I Hate Michigan''." Full length albums from the group include "''Rocket to Ann Arbor''," "''Wolverine Destroyer''," and "''Rodriguez to Ruin''," which also featured artwork by Alan MacBain. . Each band member took a first name of "Bo" and the last name of a famous punk rocker with Brutus becoming lead singer Bo Biafra, the last name a nod to Jello Biafra of the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

. While finding an early champion in Columbus, OH radio station WWCD-FM, the group's no-holds barred approach immediately garnered negative press including the November 19, 2004 front page of the Detroit Free Press with the headline "OSU Punks Rip into U-M Rivals." Brutus as Biafra appeared alongside footage of the band in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

documentary "''Michigan vs Ohio State: The Rivalry''" with one pro-Michigan reviewer calling his on camera appearance "awful." The band announced their retirement following Bo Schembechler's death just a few hours before their 2006 "Hate Michigan Rally." They have since sporadically reformed with proceeds going to the Bo Schembechler Heart of Champion Fund charity.

Grumpy Old Punks

Brutus joined with old school friends K Roy of the band Jehovah Waitresses and Guzda in 2011 for the band Grumpy Old Punks. Like the Dead Schembechlers, their music rooted in classic punk rock, with lyrics spoofing the problems of middle aged men. The band released the EP "''Grumpy Old Punks''" in 2011 and "''Anarchy in the Prostate''" in 2012. Artwork for both albums provided by underground cartoonist

Derf Backderf John Backderf (born October 31, 1959), also known as Derf or Derf Backderf, is an American cartoonist. He is most famous for his graphic novels, especially ''My Friend Dahmer'', the international bestseller which won an Angoulême Prize, and ear ...

. Song titles include "''My Adjustable Rate Mortgage Sucks''," "''That's No MILF That's My Wife''," and "''Gotta Get A Nose Hair Trimmer''."