Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician,

Internet personality An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

, podcaster, and

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

. He is best known as a member of

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

musical duo A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...

Ninja Sex Party Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy rock duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also part of ...

and video game-based comedy music trio

Starbomb Starbomb is an American Comedy music, musical comedy group composed of Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht of musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party together with Adobe Flash, Flash animator and Internet personality Arin Hanson and "space rock masters" TWRP ...

. He has also appeared on the

Let's Play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and (in some cases) a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough ...

webseries ''

Game Grumps ''GameGrumps'' is an American Let's Play web series hosted by Arin Hanson (2012–present) and Dan Avidan (2013–present). Created in 2012 by co-hosts Hanson and Jon Jafari, the series centers around its hosts playing video games. After Jafa ...

'', all three alongside

Dan Avidan Leigh Daniel Avidan (born March 14, 1979), also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, internet personality, comedian, and actor. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with Brian Wecht, as well as th ...

. Wecht originally worked as a theoretical physicist, and notably held research positions at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and the

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. Specialized in

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

, his work included research on

string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and intera ...

supersymmetry Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...

, and

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

. He retired in 2015, choosing to join ''Game Grumps'' while focusing on his musical career. He is also the co-creator of ''The Story Collider'', a science-based story telling podcast recorded in front of a live audience. In

, Wecht plays the character of "Ninja Brian", a non-verbal, homicidal masked

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

, in both live shows and music videos. He performed all instruments on early Ninja Sex Party albums, until TWRP started acting as their

backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...

in 2015. Wecht also co-hosts the podcast ''Leighton Night with Brian Wecht'' and portrays Ninja Brian on his live comedy show titled ''Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular''.

Career

Education

Wecht attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

and the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

where he obtained his PhD in

in 2004. Wecht held research positions at

, the Center for Theoretical Physics at the

, the

, and the

, prior to becoming a faculty member at the

. While there, Wecht worked on

, and

. Wecht has an extensive record of highly cited contributions. He retired in 2015 to join ''Game Grumps'' and dedicate himself to his music career.

Ninja Sex Party

Prior to meeting

, Wecht was the

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of an

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

troupe in New York. In 2009, Avidan, who had conceptualized Ninja Sex Party and was in search of a bandmate and/or producer, was introduced to Wecht by Julie Katz, a member of Wecht's comedy troupe (who would later be featured in Ninja Sex Party's music video "The Decision"), to whom Avidan had asked if she knew any musicians. Specializing in humorous songs, both on stage or in their music videos, the duo started by appearing on various film festivals. They regularly published original songs on their YouTube channel, which progressively helped them in becoming popular, as well as studio albums on a regular basis. Although he only played keyboards on stage, Wecht performed all instruments on early Ninja Sex Party albums, including piano and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s, while Avidan was in charge of all vocals, except for occasional backing or spoken vocals by Wecht. Ultimately, the duo was joined by

TWRP in 2015, after which Wecht focused solely on keyboards for studio recordings.

Starbomb

Wecht's bandmate

had been the co-host of the

webseries ''

'' since 2013. The same year, Wecht, Avidan, and Avidan's ''Game Grumps'' co-host

Arin Hanson Arin Joseph Hanson (born January 6, 1987), also known as Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Play seri ...

formed

. This new comedy band followed the humorous style of Ninja Sex Party, but focused on video game parodies. The project was officially revealed on December 3, 2013. It was quickly followed by a self-titled album on December 17. A second album, ''

Player Select ''Player Select'' is the second studio album by American Comedy music, comedy Supergroup (music), supergroup Starbomb, composed of Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht of American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party and Adobe Flash, Flash animator and Internet ce ...

'', was released on December 16, 2014. Starbomb's third album, '' The TryForce'', was released on April 19, 2019.

''Game Grumps''

Wecht officially joined the ''Game Grumps'' team alongside Avidan and Hanson on November 5, 2015, becoming their new social media manager; he had occasionally appeared in their videos, mainly alongside Avidan to promote Ninja Sex Party. The team officially introduced him via a humorous sketch featured at the beginning of their '' BurgerTime'' video, "revealing" him to be the secret mastermind behind ''Game Grumps'' all along. He is occasionally featured in some of their videos, mostly in ''Grumpcade'' and ''Steam Train'', but also in several non-gameplay videos. He was the co-writer, composer and

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

on their promotional short ''I Burgie Burgie'', and its sequel ''All Hail Burgie''.

Others

Wecht appeared in an episode of ''Hot Pepper Game Review'' episode on September 16, 2013, "reviewing" the video game ''

Dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

'' under his Ninja Brian persona after eating a "very spicy"

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

; the episode is a joke, as Ninja Brian simply stares at the camera in silence for the entire episode, not blinking a single time in almost four minutes. Although his mouth is not visible, Wecht confirmed that he did actually eat the pepper while filming. He also appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of '' Child Genius'' in 2014, having set questions about

for the participants, and reacting to their different answers. He voiced the character of Quizzmaster Quinn in the video game '' Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator'', a 2017

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

video game made by members of ''Game Grumps''. He also appeared in two episodes of '' Good Game'', a webseries starring Avidan and Hanson. Alongside fellow ''Game Grumps'' member Barry Kramer and

Rooster Teeth Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC was an American entertainment company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth was a subsidiary o ...

writer Miles Luna, Wecht co-wrote the episode "Grey vs. Gray" of ''

Red vs. Blue ''Red vs. Blue'', often abbreviated as ''RvB'', is an American web series created by Burnie Burns with his production company Rooster Teeth. The show is based on the setting of the military science fiction first-person shooter series and media fr ...

''. In 2019, Wecht appeared in the music video for Canadian rapper

Freddie Dredd Ryan Mitchel Chassels (born September 19, 1997), known professionally as Freddie Dredd, is a Canadian rapper, singer, producer and songwriter. He gained prominence on TikTok with several viral songs including "GTG", "Opaul", "Limbo" and "Cha C ...

's song "Cha Cha", playing a cameraman. In 2020, Wecht began co-hosting the podcast ''Leighton Night with Brian Wecht'' alongside writer and game developer Leighton Gray. Alongside Jim Roach, Wecht creates music for kids in a band called "Go Banana Go!" which has released three albums, ''Hi-ya!'' (2020), ''Dark Side of the Banana'' (2022), and ''Hot Fudge Saturday'' (2024). Wecht released his first jazz album under the alias "Trey Magnifique" on November 10, 2023.

Discography

Go Banana Go!

* ''Hi-ya!'' (2020) * ''Dark Side of the Banana'' (2022) * ''Hot Fudge Saturday'' (2024)

As Trey Magnifique

* ''Mature Situations'' (2023)

Ninja Sex Party

* ''

NSFW Not safe for work, also called not suitable for work (NSFW), is Internet slang or shorthand used to mark links to content, videos, or website pages the viewer may not wish to be seen viewing in a public, formal, or controlled environment. The ...

'' (2011) * '' Strawberries and Cream'' (2013) * ''

Attitude City ''Attitude City'' is the third studio album by the American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party. The album was released on July 17, 2015. Six tracks from the album, "Party of Three", " Dragon Slayer", "Attitude City", "Why I Cry", "Peppermint Crea ...

'' (2015) * '' Under the Covers'' (2016) * ''

Under the Covers, Vol. II ''Under the Covers, Vol. II'' is the fifth studio album by American comedy music, comedy Double act, duo Ninja Sex Party. It is their second cover album and a follow-up to their previous album ''Under the Covers (Ninja Sex Party album), Under th ...

'' (2017) * ''

Cool Patrol ''Cool Patrol'' is the sixth studio album by American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, released on August 17, 2018. Following two cover albums, it marks their return to original and comedy-oriented material since Attitude City in 2015. It i ...

'' (2018) * ''

Under the Covers, Vol. III ''Under the Covers, Vol. III'' is the seventh studio album by the American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, originally released on November 15, 2019. It is the third cover album released by the duo, following '' Under the Covers'' (2016) and ' ...

'' (2019) * ''The Prophecy'' (2020) * ''Level Up'' (2021) * ''The Very, Very, Very, Very Classy Acoustic Album'' (2021) * ''These Nuts'' (2024)

Starbomb

*''

'' (2013) *''

'' (2014) *''The TryForce'' (2019) *''Starbomb Boom: Rise of Lyrics'' (2024)

Personal life

Wecht is married to Rachel Wecht (née Bitney). The couple have a daughter, Audrey, who was born in 2014; nicknamed "Ninja Audrey", she appeared on several special ''Grumpcade'' episodes in 2017 with her father to celebrate

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

. Wecht has a PhD and one of his inspirations for becoming a theoretical physicist was the television series ''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

''. He is strongly pro-vaccine, and is critical of the use of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

over scientifically-proven treatments for serious illnesses and diseases.

Bibliography

Forewords

References

External links

* *
Brian A. Wecht
on

INSPIRE-HEP INSPIRE-HEP is an open access digital library for the field of high energy physics (HEP). It is the successor of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) database, the main literature database for high energy physics since the 1 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wecht, Brian 1975 births 21st-century American comedians American comedy musicians Comedians from California Harvard University staff Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology staff Starbomb members American theoretical physicists University of California, San Diego alumni University of Michigan staff Williams College alumni MIT Center for Theoretical Physics people Ninja Sex Party Comedians from Morris County, New Jersey