Bran Van 3000 (also known as BV3) is a Canadian

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Founded by James Di Salvio and E.P. Bergen, they collaborated on a number of songs with Stéphane Moraille, Sara Johnston, Steve "Liquid" Hawley, Jayne Hill,

Jean Leloup Jean Leclerc (; born May 14, 1961) is a Québécois singer-songwriter and author from Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. He is popularly known as Jean Leloup (which he likes to translate to John the Wolf), a stage name he kept using until 2006, when h ...

, Kim Bingham, Pierre-Luc Cerat and many other musicians. The name of the group is derived etymologically from Swedish liquor

Brännvin Brännvin (Swedish language, Swedish spelling; see ) is an old Nordic countries, Nordic term for distilled beverage, distilled liquor, generally from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) sawdust brandy, wood cellulose etc, and is today primarily used a ...

, a general term referring to any type of distilled spirit. The name originated as a joke associated with the taupe-coloured Volkswagen Camper Van owned by Bergen in the mid-1990s which was said to run solely on bran flakes, brännvin and brand recognition when carrying the artists on tour around Canada. Between 1996 and 2016, Bran Van 3000 was among the Top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada.

History

1994–1996: Formation

In 1994, James Di Salvio had received a royalty cheque for work on a remix he had done on a track for Quebec songwriter

, and invited his friend E.P. Bergen to "come help him spend the money" in New York. Di Salvio was a video director and asked E.P. to teach him how to produce tracks with a sampler and turntables; in the process, they created Bran Van 3000. E.P. returned to Montreal and co-wrote/produced a single with Leloup called "Johnny Go"; E.P. invited James to record his first ever rap on that song. It later went to number one on the Quebec charts. Di Salvio also directed the music video. James and E.P. went back to New York to record "Forest" and "La Chambre" for Leloup's album ''Le Dôme''. These tracks were very successful (the album went platinum); for BV3, this led to a record deal with Audiogram Records. Together with Haig V, they co-produced the first BV3 album, for which Leloup donated the song "Forest". Bergen started a cover of

Cum On Feel the Noize "Cum On Feel the Noize" is a song by the English rock band Slade which was released in 1973 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK Sin ...

with plans to have Sara Johnston sing on it, but Di Salvio discovered Steve "Liquid" Hawley. In 1996, when the album was almost finished, James and E.P. sent a demo of the songs "Drinking In LA", "Couch Surfer" and "Everywhere" to the

Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industry conference and music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.David Friend"Canadian Music Week buyers rename event Departure Festival, expand its scope" ...

contest. Bran Van 3000 tied for first place with Jack Rustle, but was disqualified because there was no real band to perform the showcase. They finished the album and put together a touring band that included Gary Mackenzie, Nick Hynes and Rob Joanisse.

1996–1999: ''Glee''

Bran Van 3000 finally released their first single, " Drinking in L.A.", in February 1997 in Canada. It peaked at number 35 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Singles chart on July 28. In April of that year, the band released their first album, ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

''. The record went gold and at the

Juno Awards of 1998 The Juno Awards of 1998 were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The primary ceremonies at GM Place before an audience of 10 000 on 22 March 1998. Actor Jason Priestley of the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' hosted ...

, won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Best Alternative Album. BV3 was nominated for Best New Group and "Drinking in L.A." was nominated for Single of the Year. ''Glee'' contained 17 tracks, with "Forest" in French and featuring Leloup. "Afrodiziak", produced by E.P. Bergen. sold 100,000 copies in Germany and appeared in the movie

XChange XChange or X-Change may refer to: * ''XChange'' (film), a 2000 Canadian science fiction film * ''Xchange'' (TV series), was a BBC Children's television programme * X-Change, a Chinese spin-off of ''Wife Swap'' (British TV series) See also * * * ...

. The song "Everywhere" was featured on the soundtrack to the film ''

Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film based on the 1995 novel '' Practical Magic'' by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, ...

'' and " Drinking in L.A." was featured in the soundtrack to ''

Playing by Heart ''Playing by Heart'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters. It was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. It stars Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, ...

''. "Ceci n'est pas une chanson" (later "Une chanson") contains the main melody of "Perfect", a song from

The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...

. In March 1998, ''

'' was released internationally, albeit with some changes: "Ceci n'est pas une chanson" became an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

simply called "Une chanson"; the French song, "Forest", was reworked with several

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

s. The international version has 19 tracks. Previously unreleased songs were "Rainshine", "Carry On" and "Old School". After signing with Capitol Records, Bran Van 3000 began a massive touring schedule. It started across Canada, then zigzagged across the United States. The played the

H.O.R.D.E. Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a concert tour, touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands ...

festival,

Endfest Endfest was an annual summer music festival hosted by KNDD, also known as 107.7 The End, an alternative rock radio station based in Seattle, Washington. It featured such bands as Mudhoney, Beastie Boys, Interpol, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wolfmother ...

; in Europe, they opened for

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

and

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

and, back in Quebec, for

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

. In May 1998, "Drinking in L.A." reached number 34 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming their first transatlantic hit. In August 1999 the single was re-released after the song was featured in a popular TV commercial for

Rolling Rock Rolling Rock is a 4.4% abv American lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anh ...

and peaked at number 3 in the UK.

2000–2002: ''Discosis''

In the summer of 2001, Bran Van 3000 released the album ''

Discosis ''Discosis'' is the second album by Canadian group Bran Van 3000, released in 2001. The album features several collaborators, including Curtis Mayfield, Youssou N'Dour, Jean Leloup and reggae artist Eek-a-Mouse. The album cover was derived from an ...

''. The song " Astounded" featured the final recorded performance from soul legend

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

and became the most successful Canadian single by the collective, reaching number 3 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...

. Other collaborators on the album were

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese singer

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist Eek-a-Mouse. The song "Go Shopping" was featured on the soundtrack to the Mexican film ''

Y Tu Mamá También ''Y tu mamá también'' (Spanish for ''And Your Mother Too'') is a 2001 Mexican Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy drama Road movie, road film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the script with his brother Carlos Cuarón, Carlos. I ...

''. A remix of the song "The Answer" was done by the Latch Brothers and was featured in the 2002 video game, ''

Jet Set Radio Future is a 2002 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. The sequel to the Dreamcast game ''Jet Set Radio'' (2000), it features refined gameplay mechanics, updated graphics, larger open world environments, new characters, ...

''.

2006–2007: ''Rosé''

BV3's third album, ''

Rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

'', was released in Canada on October 30 and in the US on November 27, 2007. ''

'' was co-produced by James Di Salvio and Sara Johnston with the collaboration of

Fatlip Derrick Lemel Stewart (born March 26, 1969), known professionally as Fatlip, is a Los Angeles–born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde. Career The Pharcyde As a member of The Pharcyde, Fatlip contributed ...

Max-A-Million Max-A-Million is an American recording group from Chicago, Illinois. The group, active from 1994 to 1998, consisted of singers A'Lisa B., Duran Estevez, and Tommye. During their early years, Max-A-Million released one album containing four singles ...

, Swanza,

Chris Opperman Chris Opperman (born November 20, 1978) is a composer. Opperman is known mostly for his work orchestrating the music of guitarists Steve Vai and Mike Keneally for their respective performances with Holland's Metropole Orkest. Opperman also perfo ...

, Noel Osborne and others. The album was written in Los Angeles and was recorded at

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

's studio and in Hollywood at

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

's Studio. On July 1, 2008, the original group got back together to perform at the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, in front of a crowd numbering around 180,000.

2010–2012: ''The Garden''

After the death of his friend and father, Bobby Di Salvio, James got the collective back together. The album ''The Garden'' was released on October 19, 2010. Di Salvio and parts of the group then toured through Canada, collaborating with different singers and instrumentalists like Pierre-Luc Cérat, Nick Hynes, Pascal Lepage and Stéphane Moraille. In 2015, they released the album ''French Garden''. On May 3, 2022, on its Facebook page, Bran Van 3000 announced an upcoming 25th anniversary tour of Canada, the US, the UK and Europe.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Soundtrack credits

*''

'' (1998), "Drinking in LA", "Exactly Like Me" *''

'' (1998), "Everywhere" *''

Entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the micros ...

'' (1999), "Drinking in L.A." *''

Y tu mamá también ''Y tu mamá también'' (Spanish for ''And Your Mother Too'') is a 2001 Mexican Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy drama Road movie, road film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the script with his brother Carlos Cuarón, Carlos. I ...

'' (2001), "Go Shopping" *'' Xchange'' (2001), "Afrodiziak" *''Skeppsholmen'' (TV Series) (2002), "Astounded" *''

'' (2002), "The Answer" *''

Everwood ''Everwood'' is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive producers. The series aired on the WB from September 16, 2002, to Jun ...

'' (2004), "Rock Star" *''

FIFA Street 2 ''FIFA Street 2'' is the 2006 sequel to the EA Sports video game '' FIFA Street''. A new "trick stick beat" system was introduced and new authentic tricks were also introduced. The game was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlaySt ...

'' (2006), "Astounded" *''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' (2008), "Loaded", "Rock Star" *''

The Trotsky ''The Trotsky'' is a 2009 Canadian comedy film directed and written by Jacob Tierney and starring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Colm Feore, Saul Rubinek, and Michael Murphy. Plot High School student Leon Bronstein believes that he is the re ...

'' (2009), "Shine" *''

Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 ''Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2'' is a 2017 Canadian action comedy film directed by Alain DesRochers. A sequel to the 2006 film '' Bon Cop, Bad Cop'', it stars Colm Feore and Patrick Huard in a reprisal of their original roles.Aftersun ''Aftersun'' is a 2022 semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Charlotte Wells in her feature directorial debut. Starring Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, and Celia Rowlson-Hall, the film is loosely based on Wells' chi ...

'' (2022), "Drinking in LA"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bran Van 3000 Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups from Montreal Musical collectives Canadian dance music groups Capitol Records artists Virgin Records artists English-language musical groups from Quebec Audiogram (label) artists Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year winners 1996 establishments in Quebec 2002 disestablishments in Quebec 2006 establishments in Quebec Alternative dance musical groups French-language musical groups