The Bravery

The Bravery biography

The Bravery is an American rock band from New York City that consists of Sam Endicott (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Zakarin (lead guitar also known as Moose, backing vocals), John Conway (keyboards, backing vocals), Mike Hindert (bass, backing vocals), and Anthony Burulcich (drums, backing vocals). Their music is a synthesis of both post-punk revival and New Wave.

Formation and rising fame: (2003)

Frontman-songwriter Sam Endicott and keyboardist John Conway were classmates at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York in the late 1990s. As freshmen, their musical partnership began inauspiciously, playing local bars in mock-ska band Skabba the Hut, which also included star Jonathan Togo. The three went on to play together in numerous bands and recording projects, including new wave outfit Conquistador. Upon moving to New York City in early 2000s, Endicott switched from bass guitar to vocals and began writing music that would later become "The Bravery".

Guitarist Michael Zakarin joined after answering an advert in a local paper, and brought with him bassist Mike Hindert, a classmate of his from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Drummer Anthony Burulcich was living in Boston, Massachusetts where he had studied percussion at Berklee College of Music. After the death of his sister, Burulcich moved back to his childhood home in Long Island New York to be with his family. On the day Burulcich was moving, while driving with his belongings in a U-Haul truck, Endicott called him. Endicott and Burulcich were introduced by mutual friends from the New York band Bishop Allen. Though Burulcich is the official drummer for the band, the majority of the debut album was drummed by Steven Lourie, who played with the Boston power-pop trio Lincoln Conspiracy.

The band played their first gig at the Stinger Club in Brooklyn in November 2003. To promote their local shows, they manufactured 1,000 posters and 3 song cd samplers containing the songs "An Honest Mistake", "No Brakes" and "Public Service Announcement". Both items featured the iconic "Phoenix"� image by New York artist C. Finley. The same artwork later became the cover of The Bravery's debut album. The band self promoted themselves by handing out CDs and postering the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The band also promoted themselves on the internet and were one of the first bands on MySpace to have a profile. Their MySpace profile pointed to the thebravery.com where the same 3 songs were available as downloadable MP3s.

Unconditional EP: (2004)

After a few months of headlining and selling out small clubs, The Bravery booked a residency at the Lower East side club Arlene's Grocery. The Bravery played every Thursday at 10pm in May 2004. Every show sold out and garnered the attention of many record labels. Around the same time, the band received their first radio airplay on the show 'Alter Ego' hosted by Paul Driscoll on the Boston's WFNX. Aaron Axeleson at Live 105 in San Francisco and Zane Lowe at BBC Radio 1 in the UK, also downloaded the MP3 of "An Honest Mistake" from thebravery.com. With three major radio stations around the world playing the MP3 of "An Honest Mistake" and sold out shows in New York, The Bravery signed in August 2004 to Island Def Jam in the United States and Loog Records in the UK.

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