Brian Howes

After learning to play the guitar at an early age, Brian soon discovered a natural ability to write songs; he played guitar and sang backup in several cover bands after graduation, which gave him the opportunity to sharpen his musical abilities and also to play some of his own songs. After being forced to fill in for a sick singer one night, Brian realized he not only loved singing, but that it went hand-in hand with his burgeoning love for songwriting; he decided a better outlet was needed for the music he was creating, and punk-ska-rap band DDT was born.

DDT plunged Brian into the world of ska, punk and hip hop. They toured with bands such as Public Enemy, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, The Scorpions and DOA, and Brian had the honor of writing with punk legend Wayne Kramer of MC5. After the release of their indie album, LOTGOOP, the band crossed paths with Lars Ulrich of Metallica; it wasn’t long before they became the first act to be signed to his new label, TMC/Elektra. Urban Observer, produced by Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More, REM), was released in North America to critical acclaim, spawning the Top 40 hit Walkabout. After touring extensively throughout North America and Europe, however, the band unfortunately imploded and Brian was left to do some serious soul searching. He was eventually introduced through mutual friends to drummer Robin Diaz of Liars, Inc., and when they began collaborating on a few songs, the result was Closure.

Closure allowed Brian to experiment more with melodies and chord changes, creating a solid mixture of rhythm and straight-up arena style rock. Within months, Closure had touched off a bidding war. They chose TVT/Universal as their new home, and quickly began working on their self-titled album with Joey Moi (Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman). The first single Look Out Below went to the Top 30 and earned placements in several movies, and they toured heavily throughout North America with bands such as 12 Stones, Sevendust, and Trapt.

It was during this period of time that Brian’s songs began getting cut by other artists. The first one, Love the Sinner, was with BMG South Africa artist Justin Bergh; it went to No. 1 in South Africa, and Justin later co-wrote three more songs with Brian for his next album. This was followed by Desperate Measures being placed in the VH1 movie Out Of Sync, starring Gail O’Grady and Kari Wuhrer; VH1 submitted it for an Emmy nomination for Best Song in a TV Movie. Canadian band Wave (Warner Canada) released “Sleepless”, which went to the Top 10 in Canada. This was soon followed by cuts with both the Polish and German Idol winners.

Taking a break after Closure's first album, Brian segued into not only writing for other bands, but also producing them. His first project was to develop, produce and write with Oklahoma-based band Hinder. Within six months they had secured a record deal with Universal U.S., and Brian was tapped to produce and write for the album. Extreme Behavior’s first two singles, Get Stoned and Lips of an Angel have both scored in the Top 10 on the charts. The album has been released in North America and went gold in the U.S., with a prediction for platinum by Christmas 2006. It will soon be released to the rest of the world.

Next came the Universal Canada band, Hedley, whose self-titled album is now platinum in Canada. The first three singles went to No. 1, and they were recently signed to a U.S. deal with Capitol Records. The first single is to be released in the U.S. in July 2006, with the album coming out in October 2006.

Brian followed up his success with Hedley by producing and writing with the Grammy-nominated Atlantic Records band Skillet, whose album will be released in the fall of 2006.

Brian is currently working on an album with Canadian band Faber, which he has been developing for the past two years with Joey Moi. Faber are signed in Canada to Chad Kroeger’s 604 Records, and recently signed a deal with Universal U.S. The first single is slated to be released in North America in August 2006, with the album dropping in October 2006.

Brian has also had the opportunity to write with several A-list songwriters such as Kara Dioguardi, Shelly Piken and Chad Kroeger, and is currently collaborating with Chris Daughtry of American Idol fame for his RCA Records album, due to come out in October 2006.

This winning streak attracted the attention of EMI Publishing, and in the fall of 2005, Brian was signed to a co-publishing deal.

By combining exceptional talent with a tremendous amount of ambition and determination, Brian Howes is set to take over the world, one song at a time.