The Briefs

Emerging in late 1999, retro-punks the Briefs hit the Seattle music scene with the visual style of a new wave act, sporting skinny ties, bleached hair, and plastic sunglasses. The four-piece delivered a cheerfully insolent attitude while drawing its sound from late-’70s British punk and early-’80s Los Angeles outfits, openly displaying debts to Buzzcocks, the Adverts, the Adolescents, Generation X, and the Undertones. Local audiences quickly embraced the group’s high-energy performances, playful wit, and strong melodies, prompting national tours alongside T.S.O.L., the Queers, Flogging Molly, and the Adicts.

Daniel J. Travanti on guitar and vocals, Lance Romance on bass and vocals, Steve E. Nix on guitar and vocals, and Chris Brief on drums and vocals formed the original lineup. After issuing a single on Dirtnap Records, the band released its debut full-length, Hit After Hit, in 2000. Multiple members contributed to the songwriting process, which yielded the 2002 follow-up Off the Charts. Although the Briefs inked a contract with Interscope Records around this period, the arrangement dissolved without any recordings surfacing. The group rebounded in 2004 by signing with BYO Records and delivering Sex Objects; that September, BYO also reissued the band’s initial pair of Dirtnap titles. Constant road work led to Steal Yer Heart in October 2005, the first album to feature new bassist Stevie Kicks, previously of Vancouver punk band New Town Animals. Lance Romance had exited amicably to pursue other projects yet stayed connected by directing the video for the album’s track “Getting Hit on at the Bank.” Also in 2005, Revel Yell issued the singles compilation Singles Only. Early 2006 brought European dates, after which the band returned for U.S. spring shows supporting HorrorPops before entering a hiatus during which Nix launched the Cute Lepers.