Bryan "Brain" Mantia

Bryan "Brain" Mantia (born February 4, 1963 in Cupertino, California) is a contemporary rock drummer. He has played with bands like Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis and Godflesh, and with other popular performers such as Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Buckethead. He has also done session work for numerous artists and bands. Born in 1963 in the South Bay city of Cupertino, California to an Italian-American father and a Japanese American mother, Mantia became interested in such 'groove heavy' artists as James Brown, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix early on, but it wasn't until he was 16 years old that Mantia began playing drums. Shortly thereafter, Mantia acquired the nickname "Brain" while playing in a high school concert band,...