Brendon Small
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Brendon Small | |
---|---|
![]() Brendon Small in July 2010.
|
|
Background information | |
Also known as | Donald Cock (occasional stage name) Captain Mustache (stage character) |
Born | Springfield, Illinois |
February 15, 1975
Genres | Comedy: Improvisational comedy, observational comedy, character comedy, satire, slapstick Music: Melodic death metal, comedy rock, heavy metal, hard rock |
Occupation(s) | Animator, comedian, television writer, musician, and voice actor |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drum programming |
Years active | 1997–present |
Website | brendonsmall |
Notable instruments | |
Gibson Explorer Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Explorer Brendon Small "Thunderhorse" Explorer Brendon Small "Snow Falcon" Flying V |
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American producer, writer, animator, stand-up comedian, voice actor, and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the animated series Home Movies (along with Loren Bouchard) and Metalocalypse (along with Tommy Blacha) and as the creator of the virtual death metal band Dethklok.
Contents
Early career
Small started learning guitar at age 14 after a kid in his neighborhood began teaching him about guitar and music.[1] At his first public performance his hands shook so wildly that he had trouble controlling the guitar. It was another ten years before he was comfortable performing in public.[2] He graduated from Salinas High School in Salinas, California. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1997. During his music studies he concurrently took several writing and comedy classes at Emerson College. After graduating, he felt that the rock music genre was fading in popularity so decided to try his hand at comedy.[2]
He was performing at The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square when he was spotted by Loren Bouchard, who at the time was casting for the central character for a UPN pilot produced by Tom Snyder Productions which eventually evolved into Home Movies.
Career
Media
Brendon Small was the co-creator, writer, voice actor, composer and musician for Home Movies, a cartoon initially aired on the UPN television network and then moved to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The final episode of Home Movies aired on April 4, 2004, after running four seasons, although the show is periodically rerun on Adult Swim. In the series, he voiced the show's protagonist, 8-year-old aspiring filmmaker Brendon Small, as well as a number of other characters.
Small lent his voice to a number of other animated shows. He co-starred as Chad in the BET animated sit-com, Hey Monie!, and has voiced many supporting characters in The Venture Bros., including that show's shell shocked and drug-addicted version of Jonny Quest. Small has also had cameo roles in Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies, Reno 911!, and Frisky Dingo. Small along with Scott Adsit appeared as lead characters of the Adult Swim pilot Let's Fish; the show's pilot premiered on May 13, 2007, but the series was not picked up.
In April 2005, the Sci Fi Channel announced an upcoming debut of a half-hour animated ensemble comedy show created by Small titled Barbarian Chronicles. The show, which has yet to be seen, was said to be produced by Small and Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Small has said that there are currently no plans to produce the show but that anything can happen in the future.[3]
Small posed for a pictorial that appeared in the April 2006 issue of Playgirl magazine, as part of a humor-themed issue. Small posed naked holding a medieval flail and a strategically placed metal shield that hid his genitals. Along with comedians Ron Lynch and Craig Anton, Small has hosted the "Tomorrow Show", a weekly live comedy show at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles.
Small's latest television project is as co-producer, co-writer, composer, and voice actor for the Adult Swim series Metalocalypse, which premiered on August 6, 2006. The series focuses on a fictional death metal band named Dethklok, and each episode features a song "performed" by the band. In addition to all of the behind-the-scenes work he does for the series, he also provides voice talent for the characters Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Pickles, and Nathan Explosion, three of the five members of Dethklok. Small has stated that while this is his dream job, he does not really like watching animation that much.[2]
In 2007 and 2009, Small hosted the Guitar Superstar competition and in September 2008 he was one of the judges.[4]
In 2010 Small directed Soundgarden's music video for "Black Rain", and The Damned Things' music video for "We've Got a Situation Here".
Small's virtual band Dethklok appeared, via video, at the 2009 Golden Gods Awards. The band received the award for Best International Band. At the 2010 Golden Gods Awards, Small attended and performed with Brian Posehn's band and introduced Fear Factory's set. At the 2011 Golden Gods Awards, Small attended and introduced DevilDriver's set.[5] Small attended the 2012 Golden Gods Awards and introduced Trivium's set. Small had been nominated for best guitarist at the 2013 Golden Gods Awards but did not win.[6]
In early 2012 Small finished work on the fourth season of Metalocalypse, which began airing on April 29, 2012 and concluded July 15, 2012. The DVD was released on October 30, 2012.
On May 10, 2013, Small and Adult Swim announced that a one-hour rock opera Metalocalypse special, entitled Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem, was in the works.[7] It aired on October 27, 2013, and featured brand new music from Dethklok.[8]
In May 2014, Small wrote a column for Premier Guitar regarding his guitar techniques.[9]
Small appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast on May 15, 2015. The episode was taped live on Sunday May 11 at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland Oregon as part of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival.
Comedy
Throughout his adult life, Small has frequently performed stand-up comedy in the Los Angeles area. Small was one of the hosts (along with Ron Lynch and Craig Anton) of The Tomorrow Show, a live weekly musical and comedic variety show; in his off-time Small still occasionally appears as a guest.[10] One of his prominent forms of stand-up is character comedy, where he acts out a character he created to garner laughs. Some of the characters he has played are Captain Moustache, Victor Diamond, Tiny and Bernie Fretts, all of which he has performed as in the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang! Bang!.[10] In recent years Small's time has become booked from his music and television career, but he still occasionally performs stand-up at venues such as The Steve Allen Theater and The Baked Potato.
Music career
Small wrote all the music for the show Home Movies, and released all the songs he had written for the show on the Home Movies: Bonus CD. The CD was included with purchase of the Season 4 DVD box set.
With his new series Metalocalypse, Small continued to write all the music for the show. In September 2007, he completed work on the Dethklok album titled The Dethalbum, in which he collaborated with Gene Hoglan to deliver an authentic melodic death metal sound while simultaneously retaining the light-hearted nature with which Small portrays the heavy metal genre.[11] The album debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-rated death metal album on the Billboard at that time.[12][13]
In November 2007, Small, Hoglan, Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller performed live as Dethklok at twelve US college campuses in support of The Dethalbum. The Adult Swim-sponsored "Dethtour" featured Dethklok supporting indie rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.[14] The foursome reunited in 2008 to headline a longer "Dethtour", where they toured the US in June and early July with fellow metal bands Chimaira and Soilent Green. During the tour they released the ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead/Dethklok split EP for free at the concerts.
The second Dethklok album, Dethalbum II, was released on September 29, 2009. Dethalbum II reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting death metal album in history. A tour in support of the new album began in late 2009, where Dethklok co-headlined with the band Mastodon.
Small performed guest vocals as Nathan Explosion on the Zimmers Hole song "The Vowel Song". Small also contributed guitar work to the songs "Devils Teeth" from Exodus's album Exhibit B: The Human Condition, as well as "More Metal Than You" from comedian Brian Posehn's album Fart and Wiener Jokes. Small created the "Murder Mix" of the song "Liar" by Emilie Autumn from the Liar/Dead Is the New Alive EP. Small performed the solo for the song "Get It Up" (Van Halen cover) on Sylencers' debut album A Lethal Dose of Truth.[15] Small performs a guitar solo on the song "Let's Make Out" on the Sex Slaves album Call of the Wild.
In early 2011, Small introduced the Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Explorer from Gibson, a guitar made to his own specifications, and modeled after Skwisgaar's Gibson Explorer.[16][17] A limited edition Epiphone "Thunderhorse" Explorer, based on the Gibson "Thunderhorse" Explorer, was introduced in early 2013.[18] In May 2012, Small introduced the prototype for the Gibson Flying V "Snow Falcon", built to his own specifications, and modeled after Toki Wartooth's Gibson Flying V.[19] The final version of the guitar was released on December 13, 2013.[20]
In April 2012 Small released his debut solo album, Brendon Small's Galaktikon.[21] The album featured Dethklok members Beller on bass and Hoglan on drums. Small described the album as a "high-stakes, intergalactic, extreme rock album" and described it as being similar to Dethklok but with more melodic vocals and rock elements.[22] Small performed songs from Brendon Small's Galaktikon for the first time at "WesFest 8" on March 3, 2013, in West Hollywood, California.[23]
On April 29, 2012, Small started a weekly guitar lesson video series on the adult swim YouTube channel, entitled "Shreducation", which consisted of 12 installments.[24]
Small, Beller and Hoglan got together to work on the third Dethklok album, Dethalbum III, which was released on October 16, 2012. Small released a fourth Dethklok album, entitled The Doomstar Requiem, on October 29, 2013, which it is a soundtrack album to the Metalocalypse special of the same name. The album featured Hoglan on drums, Beller performing guest bass on a track, and Mike Keneally performing guest vocals.
BS records
In 2012 Small self-released his solo album, Brendon Small's Galaktikon, independently on his personal record label BS Records. He funded the album himself, and used all of the profits he received from the album to fund future projects. In 2013 Small made the decision to release the fourth Dethklok album, The Doomstar Requiem, on his personal label (as opposed to the usual Williams Street Records) because he wanted to make sure there was a future for Dethklok's music.[25] He explained that if he had not done this, Dethalbum III would have been the last Dethklok record released. He went on to explain that the only way to keep Dethklok's music going was by making this personal investment, regardless of whether or not it would be financially beneficial to him.[25]
Personal life
Brendon Small currently resides in Los Angeles.[26] He had a dog named Ernie (a weimeraner), but the dog died in January 2014.[27] He got a new dog named Gilda, also a weimeraner. Small is of Lithuanian descent.[28] He married Courtney Bates on May 3, 2014.[29][30]
Filmography
Film and television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Victor Diamond | •Actor (1 episode) |
2015 | Love in Moreno Valley | Pastor Mitchell | •Actor |
2014 | Turbo FAST | Clip/Clap | •Voice actor (2 episodes) •Animated series |
2014 | Getting Doug with High | Himself | •Web series |
2014–present | Black Sails | Pirate | •Voice only •Featured in the opening theme •TV series |
2014 | WordGirl | Chazz | •Voice actor •Episode: "A Questionable Pair/All That Chazz" •Animated series |
2013 | 'tallica Parking Lot | Nathan Explosion | •Voice only •Animated short •Premiered at Fantastic Fest[31] |
2013 | Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem[7] | Nathan Explosion Pickles Skwisgaar Skwigelf Charles Foster Offdensen Various characters |
•Creator •Producer •Writer •Voice actor •Composer |
2013 | Morgan Ågren's Conundrum: A Percussive Misadventure |
Himself | •Documentary |
2013 | All Growz Up with Melinda Hill | Himself | •Web series |
2013 | Law of the Land | Guy Fellow | •TV series •Actor (5 episodes) |
2012–2013 | Motorcity | N/A | •Composer |
2011 | Jon Benjamin Has a Van | Musician | •Episode: "Smoking" •Composed the song "Christ Pipe" •Composed the theme music •TV series |
2011-2014 | Bob's Burgers | Animal Control Guy | •Voice actor (2 episodes) •Episodes: "Sacred Cow", "Dawn of the Peck" •Animated series |
2010 | Last Call with Carson Daly | Himself | •Air date: October 5, 2010 |
2007 | Let's Fish | Kevin | •Actor •Executive producer •TV pilot |
2006–2010 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Rice Mascot |
•Voice actor •Episodes: "Hands on a Hamburger", "Dickesode" •Animated series •Credited as Donald Cock |
2006 | Frisky Dingo | Brent & Trent | •Voice actor •Episode: "Meet Killface" •Animated series •Credited as Donald Cock |
2006–present | Metalocalypse | Nathan Explosion Pickles Skwisgaar Skwigelf Charles Foster Offdensen Various characters |
•Creator •Executive producer •Writer •Director •Voice actor •Composer •Animated series |
2006–present | The Venture Bros. | Action Johnny Plastic Surgeon Hector Swifty Agent Hauser Sgt. Hatred Various Characters |
•Voice actor (12 episodes) •Animated series |
2006 | Ergo Proxy | Po | •Voice actor •Episode: "Shôjo sumairu" (English dub) •Animated series |
2005–present | Squidbillies | Dr. Jerry Devil |
•Voice actor (2 episodes) •Episodes: "Family Trouble" (voice actor), "Mephistopheles Traveled Below to a Southern State Whose Motto Is 'Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation'" (composer and voice actor) •Animated series •Composer (1 episode) •Credited as Donald Cock |
2005 | Lucy: The Daughter of the Devil | Classmate | •Voice actor •Episode: "He's Not the Messiah, He's a DJ" •Composed the song "Maneater" •Animated series •Uncredited |
2004–2007 | Perfect Hair Forever | N/A | •Composed theme music |
2004 | Last Laugh '04 | Red Sox fan | •Actor •TV movie |
2004 | Reno 911 | Priest | •Actor •Episodes: "Raineesha X", "Not Without My Mustache" •Composer •TV series |
2003 | Hey Monie | Chad | •Voice actor •Animated series |
2000 | New Apartment | New Tenant | •Actor •Short film |
1999–2004 | Home Movies | Brendon Small Duane Perry Junior Adelberg Ken Adelberg Various characters |
•Creator •Writer •Producer •Voice actor •Composer •Animated series |
Music videos
Year | Artist | Song | Notes |
2007 | Dethklok | "Bloodrocuted" | Co-director (with Jon Schnepp) |
2010 | Soundgarden | "Black Rain" | Director |
2010 | The Damned Things | "We've Got a Situation Here" | Director |
Video games
Year | Game | Role | Notes |
2013 | Metallica Pinball | "Sparky" and "The Snake" | [32] |
Podcasts
Year | Podcast | Role | Notes |
2009–2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself Captain Moustache Bernie Fretts Victor Diamond Tiny Willard “Willy” Mapleton |
•Comedy podcast •Episodes: #32, #256, #260, #294, #301, #320, #326, #343, #357, #373 |
2013 | Rafflecast | Himself | •Episodes: #26 |
2014 | Sklarboro Country | Himself | •Episodes: #227 |
2015 | TV Guidance Counselor Podcast | Himself | |
2015 | With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus | Adalwolf Ditmar | •Episodes: #30 |
2015 | Nerd Poker | Himself | •Episodes: #145, #147, #148 |
2015 | Pointless | Himself | •Episodes: #97, #132 |
Discography
Solo
Dethklok
- 2007: The Dethalbum
- 2007: Adult Swim Presents: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead on Tour with Dethklok (split album with ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead)
- 2009: Dethalbum II
- 2012: Dethalbum III
- 2013: The Doomstar Requiem
Soundtrack
- 2004: Songs Brendon's Not Allowed to Name (also known as "web") – Free online download previously available on Small's website, comprising 15 songs from Home Movies and an early version of the Metalocalypse theme song[33]
- 2006: Home Movies: Bonus CD (released with the Home Movies Season 4 Boxset)
- 2006: Saw III soundtrack (European version) (featured Dethklok song "Hatredcopter"; credited as Brendon Small)
- 2014: Bear McCreary – Knights of Badassdom – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[34] (guitar work on "Your Heart Sucks My Soul")
Video games
- 2006: Guitar Hero II (Dethklok – "Thunderhorse")
- 2009: Brütal Legend (Dethklok – "Murmaider")
- 2010: Guitar Hero 5 "Metal Track Pack" DLC (Dethklok – "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence")
- 2010: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Dethklok – "Bloodlines")
- 2011: Saints Row: The Third ("Adult Swim" radio station; Dethklok – "The Cyborg Slayers")
- 2015: Rocksmith 2014 "Dethklock 3-Song Pack" DLC (Dethklok – "Thunderhorse", "Awaken", "Go Into the Water")
Guest work
- 2006: Emilie Autumn – Liar/Dead Is the New Alive ("Murder Mix" of the song "Liar")
- 2008: Zimmers Hole – When You Were Shouting at the Devil... We Were in League with Satan (guest vocals on "The Vowel Song" as Nathan Explosion)
- 2010: Brian Posehn – Fart and Wiener Jokes (guitar work on "More Metal Than You")
- 2010: Exodus – Exhibit B: The Human Condition (guitar solo on "Devils Teeth")
- 2012: Sex Slaves – Call of the Wild (guitar solo on "Let's Make Out")
- 2012: Sylencer – A Lethal Dose of Truth (guitar solo on "Get It Up") (Van Halen cover)[35]
- 2014: Flying Lotus – You're Dead! (guitar work on "Turkey Dog Coma" and "Siren Song")[36]
- 2015: The Aristocrats – Tres Caballeros (guest vocals on "Smuggler's Corridor")
Collaborations and other appearances
- 2005: They Might Be Giants – Venue Songs DVD/CD (co-writer of "Taste the Fame")
- Unreleased: Cover of "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" by Ylvis (with Scott Ian, Brian Posehn, and Corey Taylor)[37]
- 2014: Nashville Pussy – Up The Dosage (writer of "Takin' it Easy")
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references>
tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />
, or <references group="..." />
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brendon Small. |
- Official website
- Brendon Small at the Internet Movie Database
- Brendon's Instagram
- Brendon's Twitter
- Brendon's Myspace
- Brendon Small's Berklee Alumni profile
- Songs Brendon's not allowed to name – brendonsmall.com (Archived URL) Original link
- SCI FI Reveals New Series (Archived URL) Original link, including Barbarian Chronicles
- Brendon Small interview (2008)
- Scene Missing Magazine Interviews Brendon Small
- Interview with Brendon Small at Lambgoat.com
- Interview with Brendon Small at Metalunderground.com
- Brendon Small To Host "Toontrack Presents: Studio Pass" Online Course at Metalunderground.com
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with reference errors
- Use mdy dates from December 2014
- Articles with hCards
- Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1975 births
- Living people
- American animators
- American cartoonists
- American comedy musicians
- American male composers
- American heavy metal bass guitarists
- American heavy metal guitarists
- American heavy metal singers
- American male singers
- American multi-instrumentalists
- Death metal musicians
- American satirists
- American stand-up comedians
- American male television actors
- American television directors
- American television writers
- Male television writers
- American male voice actors
- Writers from Springfield, Illinois
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- American people of Lithuanian descent