Lowbrow

History

Lowbrow formed in Brandon, Florida in February 1998 after Allen West leaves Six Feet Under. Obituary Roadie, Richard Hornberger, approaches Allen about forming new band. Some discussion of who would fill out the line up revolved around "I'll do it, if he does it". The first line-up of the band was Richard Hornberger - vocals, Allen West - guitar, Ben Meyer - guitar, Scott Carino - bass, and Curtis Beeson - drums.

A jam session was formed and some of the first riffs that appeared that day became 'Cold Stale Souls'. Allen and Ben's guitars blended in an evil yet familiar way. Adding the crushing rhythm section of Scott and Curtis and Richard's death grunts just completed the deal. Regular rehearsals were scheduled and Lowbrow began the task of writing songs. The song writing was mostly group effort with Allen or Ben jamming a riff and the rest expounding on the idea until it came together. Some of the first songs were uniquely either Ben's or Allen's.

A demo was in order so Lowbrow booked time in a local Tampa Bay studio May of 1998. Truly a "garage" recording, it was enough to secure Lowbrow the opening slot on the Tampa stop of the Slayer/Fear Factory tour. The crowd, bands and crew warmly received Lowbrow.

With in weeks Lowbrow came to terms with a small independent record label, Crook'd Records. Time was booked at Morrissound Studios in Tampa with Mark Prator engineering and Donald Tardy producing. Recording lasted from March 30 to April 14, 1999 and the final result was Lowbrow's debut album 'Victims at Play'. The final mastering was completed on April 20, 1999 around one in the morning. Later that day, the Columbine Massacre occurred. Lowbrow had already named the album but this was an eerie omen of confirmation. The American cover art depicted children in pools of blood on a playground. European distributor had issues with the art so when Hammerheart Records released 'Victims at Play' it featured different artwork done by Joey Maloney. 'Victims at Play' was well received by critics and fans alike.

Lowbrow played a number of shows following the release of the debut album. Personal demons within the band started to surface and needed to be addressed. Around this time Scott needed to secure a more solid future for his family, which led to his departure from the group. Legal issues with other members slowed Lowbrow progress. Richard Bateman was approached about filling the bass slot and he accepted. Richard was a natural addition having played with Curtis and Ben in Nasty Savage. With a solid new line-up in place, Lowbrow set to writing their next album. The songs written during this period, reflected Lowbrow coming into their own.

If one song could typify the Lowbrow sound, that song would be 'Sex.Violence.Death.'. 'S.V.D.' was the template. 'Sex.Violence.Death.' was the perfect album title. Recorded again at Morrissound with Donald and Mark at the controls, from May 29 through June 16, 2001. Released through Crook'd Records in the States and Massacre in Europe, 'Sex.Violence.Death.' continued where 'Victims at Play' left off.

Around this time, through some Crook'd Records maneuvering, Lowbrow became one of the first truly extreme metal bands to be offered on iTunes. Many shows followed, including the New Jersey Metalfest and 'S.V.D.' received numerous positive reviews. A US tour was planned and rehearsals started. After some time it was realized that Richard Hornberger would not be available to tour. Lowbrow proceeded with plans to tour with Curtis' brother, Sanford Beeson handling vocals. Lowbrow toured September/October of 2002.

Following the US tour Lowbrow went on Hiatus. Allen returned to do another Obituary album and tours. Ben, Richard Bateman, and Curtis wrote and recorded a new Nasty Savage album. Allen was incarcerated on a probation violation and serves time in Florida, 2007. Curtis went to join Denial Fiend with Kam Lee, Terry Butler and Sam Williams. Allen was released in February 2008. April 2008 Lowbrow reforms in preparation for a proposed European tour. May 2008 Scott Carino is welcomed back on bass, as Lowbrow reunited to play a European tour on Halloween 2008. Later, the band split up.

(source: Lowbrow, February 2009)