Brainium Sounds Off
Local band Brainium tells stories about playing live (anywhere from bars to parking lots), recording music starting in the 80s (cassette tape) through today (DAW), their eventually-to-be-released stage musical, and more. Self-described (in the song “Our Kind of Town”) as “Two guys in disguise as a pseudointellectual music machine” Brainium is guitarist (and much more) Thom Ciezki and keyboardist (and much less) Gary Schmid. Both (especially Thom) have played in other local bands but only Brainium has endured through the decades. Weird, witty, and rarely dull, hear stories about music-making from local guys who haven’t made it big (yet) but have had a great time getting...nowhere. “Oh, that magic feeling...”
Local band Brainium tells stories about playing live (anywhere from bars to parking lots), recording music starting in the 80s (cassette tape) through today (DAW), their eventually-to-be-released stage musical, and more. Self-described (in the song “Our Kind of Town”) as “Two guys in disguise as a pseudointellectual music machine” Brainium is guitarist (and much more) Thom Ciezki and keyboardist (and much less) Gary Schmid. Both (especially Thom) have played in other local bands but only Brainium has endured through the decades. Weird, witty, and rarely dull, hear stories about music-making from local guys who haven’t made it big (yet) but have had a great time getting...nowhere. “Oh, that magic feeling...”
Episodes

May 8, 2026
Learning to Play Instruments
May 8, 2026
May 8, 2026
28 min
Brainium is well-known (sort of) as one guy playing guitar and one playing keyboards. So how did we learn to play our instruments? And what other instruments can we play? And how fun is it? (Hint: very.)
May 8, 2026
28 min

Apr 24, 2026
Playing Drums in a Band
Apr 24, 2026
Apr 24, 2026
32 min
Brainium used drum machines for its sound. That's one way of having drums in a band. More common, especially when playing live, is having a live drummer. What's it like having or playing drums in a band? The Boys of Brainium share their thoughts. You might even say they "sound off".
Apr 24, 2026
32 min

Apr 10, 2026
Cover Songs #2
Apr 10, 2026
Apr 10, 2026
35 min
Continuing our exploration of cover songs that Brainium performed back in their "playing out" days.
Apr 10, 2026
35 min

Mar 27, 2026
Pitch Correction
Mar 27, 2026
Mar 27, 2026
22 min
Technology has always been used in making music, some think not always for the better. Increasingly, pitch correction is being used by artists--even established ones--to "fix" their vocals to be spot-on when singing. It's used on recordings, but also used by some artists when performing live. Is this a good thing? Brainium sounds off.
Mar 27, 2026
22 min

Mar 13, 2026
Song Origins: Didn't I
Mar 13, 2026
Mar 13, 2026
36 min
It's time to explore the origins and development of another Brainium song. We're pretty sure this is our only "ballad" (or "power ballad"). Includes plenty of discussion of Thom's guitar solo!
Mar 13, 2026
36 min

Feb 27, 2026
Playing Guitar in a Band
Feb 27, 2026
Feb 27, 2026
30 min
We've talked about playing bass and playing keyboards in a band. Now it's time for guitar and that means...it's Thom Time!
Feb 27, 2026
30 min

Feb 13, 2026
Cover Songs #1
Feb 13, 2026
Feb 13, 2026
34 min
Pretty much all local bands starting out play "covers" ... songs written and performed by other (successful) bands. Primarily because that's what people usually want to hear (as opposed to original music). In this episode, we discuss three of those songs and include snippets of each to illustrate how a two-man band played these things. We have more songs to review in future episodes!
Feb 13, 2026
34 min

Jan 30, 2026
Rehearsing
Jan 30, 2026
Jan 30, 2026
23 min
Those great band performances you see live don't just happen. Before ever getting on that stage, bands will spend many hours (or in Brainium's case, a few minutes) rehearsing the songs they are going to perform. (And probably a few extra.) What's that all about?
Jan 30, 2026
23 min







