Bradley Kenneth "Brad" Roberts
(born January 10, 1964, Winnipeg, Manitoba) is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range.
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BRAD ROBERTS TICKETS
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Career
His musical career began with a Bachelor's degree with Honours from
University of Winnipeg in
1986. Roberts began performing in a
house band for the Blue Note Cafe in Winnipeg under the moniker Bad Brad Roberts and the St. James Rhythm Pigs. The
band gradually evolved into The Crash Test Dummies. While studying at university and working as a bartender for The Spectrum, Roberts began
writing his own
songs and introducing them to the band. After attending a songwriters' workshop with
Lyle Lovett at the
Winnipeg Folk Festival, Brad wrote "
Superman's Song."
Demos of Roberts' songs began falling into the right hands around Canada, and the quirky bar band who had just begun to write original material found itself with
record deal options, which led The Crash Test Dummies into a rushed but nevertheless impressive
debut album,
The Ghosts that Haunt Me
. The album introduced the band to the rest of the Canadian provinces, selling over 400,000 copies in Canada alone and also garnishing a
1991 Juno Award for Group of the Year. With more time and finances, Roberts set about to writing the band's second album,
God Shuffled His Feet
. This to date is the band's best selling and most popular album, taking them into the international arena of musical exposure. The album has sold over six million copies and caused The Crash Test Dummies to be nominated for three
Grammy Awards in 1994.
A Worm’s Life
was released in 1996, selling over one million copies and showcasing a harder-edged sound as the band continued to evolve,
producing this album on their own.
1999 introduced a mix of
electronic funk and spontaneous wordplay with
Give Yourself A Hand
. Roberts met
Greg Wells at a songwriters' workshop. Roberts invited him to co-write and assist in recording this album inspired by influences and flavours of Roberts' new home in
Harlem, New York.
In 2000, Roberts found himself recuperating from a major car accident in
Nova Scotia, where he began jamming with the locals (The Great Wind Jammers from Argyle, Yarmouth County) and produced from these sessions
I Don't Care That You Don't Mind
. This was the first album released by the band independent of a major
record label.
Roberts now lives with his wife in
SoHo, New York where he continues to write and record his music. He has had many artistic opportunities to work with other artists such as
Joe Jackson, Scotty Hard, Greg Wells,
Deltron 3030, and
Medeski Martin & Wood.
Puss N Boots
was released in October 2003 with a
European and additional American version. Roberts appeared on
VH1's
I Love the '90s
miniseries. The 1994 episode discussed the song "
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" with Roberts claiming that his deep voice is a result of having a third
testicle. On the official Crash Test Dummies
website, he later noted that this was a joke.
In 2005, Roberts joined the Paul Green School of Rock as a guitar teacher and songwriting teacher.
In 2009, Roberts was finishing up work on a new
Crash Test Dummies album and started a new
Mantra side-project
Satsang Circus [1]
Solo discography
Albums
Videos
References
- Crashtestdummies.com