Nelson Bragg (born August 14, 1961) is an American percussionist, vocalist and songwriter based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Biography

Nelson Bragg was born in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

on August 14, 1961. He played in several bands from 1979 to 1999, including positions as a pit drummer for more than twenty

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

s. He later played at the

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

theater in Boston, Massachusetts and at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Bragg's bands include the horn-driven/post-punk

dance band ''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Steven Geray. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director David Rawnsley. Plot When dance band ...

Big Noise (1981–1987) based in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

, and Farmhouse (1989–1992), a harmony-based

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

group based in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

. Bragg moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1999.

Bands

In 2000, Bragg joined several Los Angeles

pop band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of ...

s, including The Now People,

The Quarter After Rob Campanella is a musician, best known as a Los Angeles producer, engineer, and member of The Quarter After. Music career Producer and engineer Campanella has produced and engineered albums for his own band The Quarter After, and for cli ...

, Twenty Cent Crush and Cloud Eleven. In 2001, Bragg joined

Stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

for his album, titled ''Naked Dutch Painter'', and played subsequent shows promoting the album, which was named

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

's "Album of the Year" for 2002. Bragg also played with pop group The Negro Problem, Stew's former band and alter ego. In 2003, Bragg joined

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

's band as a percussionist-vocalist for live performances of Wilson's unreleased album ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

''. The February 2004 premiere in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and subsequent tour was followed by a formal recording of "Smile", released in September 2004. "Smile" received multiple nominations for the

2004 Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized acc ...

, including

Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

and

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...

(for Mark Linett). The album later won a single Grammy, in the category of

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

, for the track "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". In 2005, the ''Smile'' two-DVD set was released, featuring a full-length documentary of Brian Wilson's "Smile" story, and the making of it, both in 1966-1967 and newly again in 2004. The documentary aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

in October 2004, and was directed by

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

authority

David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is a Peabody and WGAW award-winning writer, director, and producer, known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography ''The Beach Boys and the California ...

. A live concert performance of "Smile" is featured on the second disc.

Tours

Bragg's tours included performances at London's Royal Festival Hall, two nights at Carnegie Hall (broadcast on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

radio, nationally on Thanksgiving Day 2004), two nights at

The Sydney Opera House ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

The Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, three nights with The

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

in 2008,

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, The Montreaux Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Newport Folk Fest, Brandenburgh Gate - Berlin for the worldwide Live 8 benefit, and at The 2005 Glastonbury Festival in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Bragg has also performed with Brian Wilson's band on several television appearances, including ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and on The Late Show with Conan O'Brien. Bragg's recordings include Brian Wilson's Christmas album, ''All I Really Want For Christmas'', released in 2005 and ''That Lucky Old Sun'', released in 2008. Between 2006 and 2007, the band performed the ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on th ...

'' album in the U.S. and Europe, celebrating its 40th anniversary (Beach Boy and Al Jardine joined the band for the U.S. leg of the tour). ''That Lucky Old Sun'' was an anticipated album that garnered mixed reviews.

Albums

In 2003, prior to his position with The Brian Wilson Band, Bragg started recording a solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

which was completed and released on Side B Music in 2007. The album features Nick Walusko, fellow Brian Wilson bandmate and Wondermint Mike Randle,

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

with Baby Lemonade and longtime member of Arthur Lee and Love Morley Bartnoff,

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

with

Burning Sensations Burning Sensations was a short-lived Los Angeles area rock band. The group is best known for its MTV hit "Belly of the Whale", the music for which blends a rather unusual fusion of rock and calypso styles, and for covering the Jonathan Richman s ...

and currently member of

Dramarama Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ...

Rob Campanella Rob Campanella is a musician, best known as a Los Angeles producer, engineer, and member of The Quarter After. Music career Producer and engineer Campanella has produced and engineered albums for his own band The Quarter After, and for cli ...

, organist-guitarist with

The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media noto ...

and

, Probyn Gregory, fellow Brian Wilson bandmate and Wondermint, Severo Jornacion, bassist with

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums & ...

and Debbie Shair, keyboardist with

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

. The album also features the Stockholm String Ensemble on seven of its twelve tracks. Bragg performed all acoustics, vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and percussion among other

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

on the record. The record is influenced by CSNY,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

, The dB's, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's The Grapes Of Wrath, and was produced by L.A. pop-garage

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Steve Refling. As of 2012, Bragg completed his second solo record entitled ''We Get What We Want''. Bragg's 3rd and final solo album "Gratitude Blues" was released on September 30, 2021. It too was produced with Steve Refling.

Other projects

Performances

Bragg has been involved with many bands throughout his time as a professional percussionist. He has recorded albums with the Now People,

, Cloud Eleven, The Mello Cads, Keven Kane (The Grapes Of Wrath),

Andrew Sandoval Andrew Paul Sandoval (born January 5) is an American, best known as a Grammy Award nominated reissuer and compiler and engineer of historical albums, containing popular music from the rock era. Additionally, Sandoval has ongoing careers as author, ...

and most notably

The Mockers The Mockers were a New Zealand pop band formed in Wellington in 1979 by Andrew Fagan. Fagan was the only ever-present of the band's line-up whose initial members were mostly drawn from Fagan's Rongotai College classmates. Their songs include "O ...

. Bragg has also garnered three tours of Spain with The Mockers in 2002, 2005 and 2007. 2008 brought Bragg back to Carnegie Hall as the house percussionist for Sting and Trudy's annual rainforest benefit. In 2009, Bragg produced the album "Tangle Free World" for singer/songwriter Anny Celsi. Bragg also toured the UK and Europe with Celsi in 2009, 2010 and 2011, where the duo was augmented by guest musicians including Roland Wolff, Duncan Maitland, Richard Snow, and Nico J Wouters.

Records and albums

Bragg is the drummer-percussionist and harmony vocalist on several dozen records, but his most well-known recording other than "Smile" came in 2006, on the ''In My Room'' CD tribute to Brian Wilson, included with ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' magazine's January 2007 issue. Bragg sang lead and drummed on The Mockers Beatlesque version of "God Only Knows." That recording was the largest exposure of Bragg's lead vocal to date with a pressing of over 200,000 copies worldwide. In the Spring of 2007, Bragg embarked on a 30-date tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the U.S. with Brian Wilson and

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rho ...

from The Beach Boys. The tour included a premiere in London of Wilson's new work ''That Lucky Old Sun''. ''That Lucky Old Sun''. In 2009, Bragg completed work on his first musical production with singer-songwriter Anny Celsi. "Tangle-Free World" garnered three tours of Europe in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. In 2010, Bragg embarked on two album tours with Brian Wilson for the Disney-Pearl label; ''Brian Wilson Re-imagines Gershwin'' and an album of Disney songs were released in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Bragg was the percussionist on both records and also contributed some vocals to the set. "The Re-imagines" Gershwin record garnered The Brian Wilson Band an elaborate tour of North America and Wilson's first-ever complete tour of

Beach Boys 50th Anniversary tour

Bragg participated in

The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour The 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour was a 2012 world concert tour by the American rock band the Beach Boys. The tour marked the first time since 1982 that founding member Brian Wilson had performed on a full tour with the band, although from 1965 t ...

as the band's

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

. John Voket wrote in his review that "...percussionist Nelson Bragg was amazing to watch as he deftly handled some of the unique hand instruments that flavored so many Beach Boys numbers while simultaneously contributing backing vocals to almost every tune."

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

, a ''Chicago Tribune'' music critic, also positively reviewed Bragg's performance.

References

External links

Nelson Bragg
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Nelson 1961 births Living people American rock drummers American rock musicians People from Dover, New Hampshire 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians