Jesuseater - sound recording - Brief Article

Thrasher Magazine, Sept, 2002 by Oakland L. Childers

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Not a lot according to the members of Jesuseater, a band that comprises former Dag Nasty and Swiz vocalist Shawn Brown backed by a pack of Charm City tattooers. 'We're not a satanic band, but some people just freak out," says guitarist Brady Duncan, who slings in at Baltimore's Read Street Tattoo.

"When people hear it, whether they hate it or love it, they remember it." Duncan and fellow Read Street employee Matt Rinks started Jesuseater a few years ago as a way to kill time. "We didn't plan to do anything," says Duncan. "Matt bought a drum set and learned how to play so we'd have something to do on our day off." The result was solid, blistering rock in the vein of Helmet. The pair's search for a vocalist didn't take long since they already knew Brown, who volunteered his pipes for the band. And although Rinks and Duncan didn't know about Brown's storied past as a singer, a couple listens to his old CDs and the lyrics he wrote convinced them he was the man for the job. "We just gave him a ta pe and he rolled over with some lyrics," says Duncan. "It didn't seem like he really had to work at it. He's very professional." Although Duncan says tattooers don't necessarily make better music, it's hard to deny that they tend to come of with some crazy-ass design ideas. In the short time the band has been around, they've produced some of the most distinctive cover art in recent memory, Step Inside My Deathray (Deathwish). "Me and Matt always agreed we wouldn't do artwork for the band," says Duncan, "but so far Matt's done both records," Breaking that promise has helped make Jesuseater stand out, not only as something worth giving a listen to, but as a band that puts effort into all aspects of its creative self. "I want to look at the Deathwish catalog and be able to pick our records out," says Duncan. "That's how I'd like it."