J-Card Press will release Brainiac, a short biography about the legendary art punks written by PopMatters and Spectrum Culture staff writer Justin Vellucci.

Days before flying to New York City to ink a major-label deal that might have propelled his band Brainiac to stardom, frontman Tim Taylor was killed in a car crash. But that’s only the beginning of the story. Rooted in the musical community and history of their native Rust Belt home, Dayton, Ohio, Brainiac left its punk and New Wave brand of indie rock on musicians ranging from Beck to the Mars Volta. Now, more than twenty-five years after the release of its swan song EP, Brainiac—called “the great lost band of the 90s” by Variety—has reunited, finding newfound fame, a celebrity-laced documentary, live shows, and a sense of closure.

“The thing that really sold me on Justin’s pitch is that the group is back and performing again,” J-Card’s Jeff Gomez says. “That makes this more than just an exercise in nostalgia, or even overcoming the tragic death of Tim Taylor. Instead, the story of Brainiac is about celebrating a great and important catalog of music and paying tribute to the city it came from.”

Brainiac is available online whenever books are sold. It is also sold directly from the J-Card website at www.jcardpress.com.

Photo by Lee Ann McGuire