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Brainiac is one of independent rock's most tragic stories. The group was recording a new album, was headed to a big major label contract, and was earning recognition as the most exciting outfit of the post-grunge era when singer Tim Taylor was killed in an accident driving alone from the studio late one summer night. The Brainiac era was suddenly over as friends, family, and fans mourned the loss of a great human being and the demise of their favorite band.

Brainiac rocked with a unique smart-ass chaos, creating post-new wave punk rock, the band's members like four live wires tentacling across the stage, shocking audiences with reckless abandon. The group used so many sounds and samples that guitarist John Schmersal said at the end of their career he was hitting so many triggers, he couldn't exactly remember what exactly was going to happen. But Brainiac never lost their deep roots in rock and roll. They spliced together their recordings from a heady blend of noise, humor, pretension, found sounds, and pure energy with production guidance on all three full-length albums from Girls Against Boys' Eli Janney.

Brainiac released the EP Electro Shock For President in 1997, then began work on their never-to-be-completed fourth album. Jim O'Rourke produced the EP, which showed the group's potential to expand their sound into the electronic arena. The band's surviving members of the band have remained relatively quiet since Brainiac except for Schmersal, who has put together the group Enon. Enon's 2000 debut, Believo!, captured some of the old Brainiac zaniness. Their second, on Brainiac's old label Touch and Go, appeared in spring 2002.