Before Braille

Before Braille
Before Braille shortly after recording The Rumor
Background information
Origin	Mesa, Arizona
Genres	Math rock, indie rock, experimental rock, emo
Years active	1999–2006, 2010
Labels	Sunset Alliance, You and Whose Army? Records, Aezra Records
Associated acts	Art for Starters, Loyal Wife, Rajiv Patel, The Letterpress, The Retaliation for What They Have Done to Us
Website	www.beforebraille.com

Before Braille is an independent rock band from Mesa, Arizona known for its DIY work ethic and as a pioneer of Arizona's emo-core movement, or as they liked to call it, "480-area-core," during the early 2000s.

Before Braille was originally formed in 1999 by former high-school buddies David Jensen and Hans Ringger. After each returned to their Arizona homeland after two years overseas, they met up to play music. Soon after that, they would recruit another high school friend, Brandon Smith, to join them on the bass. Eventually, the line-up was completed with Kelly Reed on drums, and Rajiv Patel on guitar (original guitarist Braden McCall left the band shortly before recording its debut full-length).

According to Jensen, the band's name comes from the idea of using guidelines to reach goals: "Everybody battles rules, but there are some that help you achieve. Braille is an example...with universal guidelines, a whole new world opened up." In the beginning, some of the guidelines that the band set for itself included: "(1) no guitar solos; (2) no drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes; (3) no individual songwriting credits; (4) no 'image'; and, (5) no patience for dishonesty."

Early on, they released songs on various compilations and started to garner some local attention. After reading about them in local publications, Aezra Records (an Arizona-based mid-major) contacted the band about making a record. According to the band, Aezra asked them to produce a ten-song demo in ten days, and if they liked it, they would pay to record Before Braille's first album. Even though the songs were far from polished, Aezra enjoyed the demo and made its formal offer. While Before Braille had originally planned to release its debut LP on Sunset Alliance, it decided to take advantage of Aezra's offer. In March 2002, Aezra released Before Braille's debut four-song EP, helping the band begin to attract serious attention and airplay.

In the fall of 2002, Aezra Records released Before Braille's debut full-length album, The Rumor, distributing it nationally through a distribution agreement with BMG Music. The Rumor continued to put Before Braille into both the local and national spotlight. For example, in 2003, the band was recognized by the Arizona Republic as Phoenix's best local band. Before Braille music also made it onto some of Phoenix's radio playlists with their song 24 minus 18.

National critics also heaped on the praise. For example, Stephen Carradini of independentclauses.com listed Before Braille as an up-and-comer in the "New Wave of Emo," stating that "Lyrical brilliance and dramatic delivery ensure Before Braille’s spot on this list." College Music Journal also praised Before Braille's sound, attesting that its "musical chops" would give the band lasting power after the rest of the emo movement had long past. The magazine's Jason Kundrath later stated that the band "brews its own unique blend of rock for the new millennium. Seething with salt, sweat, honey and asphalt (not unlike seasoned AZ contemporaries Jimmy Eat World), this foursome delivers a positively commanding performance that betrays its relatively recent appearance on the radar." All the praise appears to have been well earned. At its debut, Before Braille's The Rumor was the most added record on college radio. In addition, The Rumor made a significant run on CMJ's New Music Charts. In its second week, The Rumor hit number 28 on the CMJ Radio 200, and would continue to make a 9-week run on that chart.