Brass Against

Brass Against
Brass Against
Members	Brad Hammonds (guitar/band leader); Andrew Gutauskas (baritone sax); Sophia Urista (singer); Mazz Swift (violin); Mariel Bildsten (trombone);
Website	brassagainst.com

Brass Against is a musical collective that creates brass-inflected cover versions of rock songs. The collective chooses politically charged songs and other socially conscious music in order to raise awareness of various issues and to encourage activism and social change.

Brass Against was founded by guitarist Brad Hammonds. Hammonds was galvanized by the rise of Donald Trump. Hammonds later said he felt "we needed Rage Against the Machine more than ever" in the run-up to the 2016 United States presidential election "and wanted to do something besides simply expressing views on social media." Hammonds and saxophonist Andy Gutauskas gathered some friends who recorded their first video, a cover of "Bombtrack" released in September 2017.^[2]

In 2021, lead singer Sophia Urista urinated on a fan onstage during a Welcome to Rockville performance at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Brass Against apologized, tweeting that Urista had gotten "carried away". They added: "That's not something the rest of us expected, and it's not something you'll see again at our shows." The band was banned from performing at the festival and future NASCAR events.^[3]

Their cover of Rage Against the Machine's song "Wake Up" was featured in the end credits of the 2021 film The Matrix Resurrections.^[4]

References

^ "Brass Against official". Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^ Lewry, Fraser (4 December 2018). "Meet Brass Against, the band reinventing protest music in the age of Trump and Brexit". Louder. Future Publishing. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^ Marr, Madeleine (19 November 2021). "What does the urinating singer say now about Florida concert? 'I am not a shock artist'". Miami Herald. McClatchy Media Network. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^ Robinson, Ellie (23 December 2021). "Brass Against reinvent Rage Against The Machine's 'Wake Up' for 'The Matrix Resurrections'". NME. NME Networks. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

External links

[1] "Brass Against official". Retrieved 5 February 2023.

[2] Lewry, Fraser (4 December 2018). "Meet Brass Against, the band reinventing protest music in the age of Trump and Brexit". Louder. Future Publishing. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

[shock-3] Marr, Madeleine (19 November 2021). "What does the urinating singer say now about Florida concert? 'I am not a shock artist'". Miami Herald. McClatchy Media Network. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

[4] Robinson, Ellie (23 December 2021). "Brass Against reinvent Rage Against The Machine's 'Wake Up' for 'The Matrix Resurrections'". NME. NME Networks. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

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