Trip To Stardom Long -- But Worth It For Drummer
For a 36-year-old guy who took up drums at 15 and began playing full time in rock bands just a year later, Mike Brasic's road to stardom has taken some long and arduous turns.
The former Grand Rapids resident who attended Union High School has played in a slew of rock groups, including Strike Force as a teenager here and Bent Lucy in Detroit.
He eventually moved to Los Angeles to work for record labels and as booking manager for Whiskey A Go Go, playing drums for various artists, including singer-songwriter Pete Yorn.
But recently, Brasic and his new band, Ceesau, have soared to sudden, global popularity -- partly because his bandmates happen to be Hollywood actors: Lead singer and guitarist Carmine Giovinazzo is better known as Det. Danny Messer on the popular CBS TV drama "CSI: NY," and lead guitarist John Patrick Amedori has appeared in numerous TV shows and films such as "The Butterfly Effect."
The band independently released its first recording, "Era of the Exposed," in mid-March. The five-song CD instantly became such a hot commodity on the band's Web site (ceesau.com) and at cdbaby.com, Ceesau has had difficulty keeping copies in stock. The CD ranks as one of cdbaby.com's top sellers.
"We have orders coming in from France and Sweden and Japan and the U.K. It's just really starting to grow," Brasic said in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he has lived the past 12 years. "It's a great thing. It feels good to finally get some notoriety."
Having high-profile actors as bandmates hasn't hurt the cause, considering Giovinazzo and Amedori have several fan Web sites that spread the word. A feature on Ceesau is slated for an upcoming issue of TV Guide.
Brasic, who met Giovinazzo seven years ago, said the pair would "just get together and goof around" musically. But last summer, with Amedori on lead guitar, the band "kind of struck on something. We said, 'Hey, this is pretty good.' So we whittled down 12 songs and tracked the EP."
Melodic yet muscular, the band's music has "a punk aesthetic and pop sensibilities," suggested Brasic, who's a full-time drummer again. "We go at it like a punk band would. Nirvana's a definite influence on Carmine's songwriting and vocals."
In a telephone chat after a late-night shooting session for "CSI: NY," Giovinazzo raved about Brasic and Amedori's musical talent, saying Brasic devoted lots of time behind the drums to help him write new songs and that Amedori is "ridiculous" as a guitarist. "He's just got that gift for the guitar that makes you want to break yours," he quipped.
The band hasn't yet played any live shows, but Brasic hopes to stage a CD-release party in Los Angeles, followed, perhaps, by a brief tour, if time allows. While Ceesau rehearses regularly, it's a challenge due to the rigorous shooting schedules of the actors-turned-musicians.
"We rehearse sometimes at midnight, sometimes at 6 a.m., sometimes at noon," Brasic said. The band also has filled in with some "hired guns" because Amedori's busy filming movies. That makes regular gigging somewhat tenuous.
Ceesau's initial success has been especially satisfying for Brasic, whose parents, Joanne Brasic and Bud Brasic, still live in the Grand Rapids area. Joanne Brasic vividly recalls her teenage son pounding on the drums in the basement and, incidentally, "so do the neighbors."
It's gratifying, she conceded, that Brasic has finally found a promising vehicle for his talent after all these years.
"You have to be passionate enough to wait this long," she said.
Yes, the kid who bought his first drum kit at Rainbow Music on Leonard Street NW fondly recalls how his band teacher let him skip his third-period math class to play drums in a darkened band room. He also remembers his high school principal scolding him, "You're not here to play the drums!"
Brasic disagrees.
"I always knew my drums would be my life," he insisted. "I didn't expect to end up in a situation like Ceesau, but I'm not complaining."
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