BRAXXTON - American Rock 'N Roll CD

Braxxton was originally formed in 1984 by brothers Dan Smith (drums, backing vocal) and Tim Smith (guitar, lead vocal) along with schoolmates Jeff Alleman (guitar, backing vocal) and Erik Brinkman (bass, backing vocal).  Tim and Jeff were the same age (16), Dan and Erik were a year older. Tim heard that Jeff played guitar and he said he was forming a band with his brother. Jeff auditioned, mainly playing "Photograph" and "Foolin'" by Def Leppard note-for-note, they were suitably impressed, and Jeff was in. Both Jeff Alleman and Tim were into Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Judas Priest, all these amazing twin lead guitar bands and were wanting to do the same thing with Braxxton. Erik was a very mellow and cool guy who really liked Van Halen and wanted to play in the band, and the band needed a bassist (which Erik played bass) and the band was set. This version of the band only played at school functions such as the Homecoming Assembly and they also played at six or seven different school get togethers. The sets mainly started with covers and then toward the end of the set they would do a few originals.  For being 16 and 17 years old, this was a big crowd. The auditorium at Viewmont High (Bountiful Utah) seemed beyond huge, so they had a blast every time.  This lineup stayed together until December 1985 when Jeff Bagford joined as Lead Vocalist.  Tim left the band at that point, so they were still a basic four piece.  Jeff Alleman had recorded a demo of Jeff Bagford’s previous band on his Teac 4-track reel-to-reel (a beneficial thing to have at that time for developing songs, playing, etc) and thought he had a good, professional sounding voice, so Jeff Alleman asked if he wasn't serious with his current band, if he would join Braxxton.  They had been looking for a singer for a while, because Tim wasn't particularly thrilled with it and liked focusing on playing guitar more. Jeff Bagford left his previous band and joined Braxxton.  Tim had been frustrated with the band a bit, possibly more so due to him sharing it with his older brother than anything stylistic.  Siblings can battle, and they were only a year or so apart age wise. Tim’s departure seemed inevitable and the band moved on with only one guitarist (Jeff Alleman).

​Braxxton had been planning to record a professional 24-track demo for a while, so as soon as Jeff Bagford joined they started rehearsing for the studio.  Initially they planned to record just two songs, “Living in the Shadow of Your Love” and “In the Night”.  Those were tracked January 6, 1986 at Audio Vision Studios in Lindon Utah by Sam Foster (The Osmonds). This was the premier studio in Utah. Many of Braxxton’s local peers recorded there, such bands as Lixx, Moviescreen and Megattack. When they (and their friends) heard how good they turned out, Braxxton started dreaming of EPs, then ultimately an album. Jeff Alleman was quickly writing new songs, so the band could get back into the studio and lay down some more tracks.

Jeff Bagford recruited one of his schoolmates from Layton High School Scott Sneddon (guitar, backing vocals) to join the band in February 1986. Both Layton High boys (Jeff B. and Scott) both had long hair and looked the part of rockstars, while the Centerville boys had relatively short hair (and looked more the part of going to church than rockin’ on stage…. which wasn’t too far off). The remaining seven songs were tracked in two sessions in June 1986 and mixed in one session a couple of days later.

​​Braxxton mainly played at all ages places, for obvious reasons. One of their main venues was a place called R COMFORTS that was run by a guy named Roger Comfort, who was a definite character.  You'd sometimes see him walking with purpose, wearing a white suit, maybe carrying a gun.  He drove a white Cadillac with one of those enormous early car phones. He always looked out for the band and gave them a place to play.  He'd video the bands and run the shows on TV sets set up throughout the club.  It was a popular gig for other locals such as CIRKUS (who Jeff Alleman later joined) and LIXX.  R Comforts was open from 1985 to 1986 at 342 S. State St in SLC.  The biggest show Braxxton ever played was at the Fairgrounds Horticulture Building on March 8, 1986 with MEGATTACK headlining, LIXX in the middle slot, and Braxxton opening.  The crowd was 3,000 strong and the night’s lineup rocked the house. Erik couldn't make that gig because he was in a High School production, of "Brigadoon" or "Macbeth", but Tim came back and filled in on bass for that show, so Erik was off the hook. The crowed really got into songs such as “American Rock ‘N’ Roll” as well as “Plaything”, though the girls always went wild for the ballad, “Never Give Up on Love”.

Erik departed the band in June of 1986 and was replaced by John Tremonte (a friend of Jeff B. and Scott). Braxxton was still very focused and determined to gain more notoriety and momentum as the band continued playing high energy shows.

One of the band’s greatest accomplishments came on October 4, 1986, when the band entered Salt Lake City’s Battle of the Bands contest at the Fairgrounds Colusium. Braxxton was going up against some of Salt Lake’s finest, such bands as Aerial, Lixx, Mercenary, Equinox, Genocide and Cirkus. The heavy favorite going into the battle was Lixx, but there were many veteran bands that could strait up play. In the end, Lixx took home the crown, but it was this new band on the scene called Braxxton that took home 2nd place over Cirkus who took 3rd.

The band’s last show was November 1, 1986 at Musician's Pro Shop, a music store that had a performance room. Dan left shortly thereafter on November 17, 1986 and he was briefly replaced by Scott Bennet. The band didn’t play another show and called it quits on December 6, 1986.

Fast-forward to 2018. When the band was asked “What would you like included in the liner notes of the new CD”, they responded: “We're all glad to see the album getting a definitive release.  Prior to this, it was circulated on cassettes from person to person, it was never officially duped on a professional scale.  For me (Jeff Alleman) personally, it was good to transfer the masters and hear the band and the songs again.”

TRACK LISTING:
1. Fading Away
​2. Shadow Of Your Love
3. In The Night
4. Never Give Up On Love
5. Takin' On The World
6. Plaything
7. Into The City
8. Distant Thunder
9. American Rock 'N' Roll