An Introduction to Bam Bam Brown & The Wild Professors

Bam Bam Brown & The Wild Professors will be performing at Park Acoustics on Sunday. Cape Town folks might be a little bit more familiar with “them” than Gauteng folks, so here’s a little introduction.

Kieron “Bam Bam” Brown has been around. Quite a bit, for quite some time. You may have seen him on your local festival stages in the past few years as a solo act, or with other projects Saintfearless and more recently, Feverstone.

Or, you may have seen him playing alongside some or other lovely muso, just as is… He’s done the Koppi’s, The Daisies, The Creeks and The Synergy, amongst a few other ridiculously cool happenings. He has been featured on recordings and live collaborations from snowy peaks and desert sands to salty sea shores and forested auditoriums. So when I say, Bam’s been around, he has. (Wait till you read about this “Wild Professors” idea, it may make a bit more sense to you then).

“Okay so… what is this Wild Professor nonsense? And how does it relate to Bam?”

In short my friend, you are a Wild Professor. (Brace yourself for a sigh and an eye roll, it gets a little cheesy from here). Most think that the Wild Professors are just the guys playing in Bam’s backing band. What it actually pertains to, is The Wild Professors Network, a street team style, live active directory of movers and shakers from musos to visual artists to writers, designers, speakers, project managers, anyone with one of those things we like to call an idea, accompanied by a useful tool called incentive.

Bam Bam’s one of those self-righteous do-gooder guys, you know, the kind that just seems like he’s too nice? It’s like that ass-hat Johnny Depp and Chris Martin had sex in some green tea while listening to Incubus. It sucks, because he genuinely gives a damn. Especially about his chosen industry. And apparently, the kid can play a tune too, and sing, just a bit…

See that kid in the picture above? That’s Ryan, in July 2015 he was inaugurated as the first ever Wild Professor. David Van Vuuren (SA Idols Winner)? He’s one of the most recent additions. If you’ve gotten this far into the document, you’ve more than likely got a Professor in you that’s as Wild as they come. Feel that warm fuzzy tingling inside? Ah ha, no don’t thank me, that’s all you.

“So, what does this mean in terms of actual music?”

The Wild Professors are the collaborators partaking in every Bam project that happens at that time. Someone once said it’s like Kasabian – with Kwassa. Some say it’s like the Tale of two Toms – Waits and Yorke, but young and foolish. But it is ever changing. Trust that Bam has put serious work into making each show a fitting performance for its time and place. There is a Wild Professors Live Directory available on request with links to each one’s respective works. Yes, you may have it, he’s paying it forward.

Bam doesn’t have a band, unless it says so on the poster or the booking sheet (hence the “& The Wild Professors”). Otherwise he may turn up with a stomp box, or a guitar, or his laptop and controller, or whatever he has been fiddling with the day before – It’s 2016 I mean, why not twist it up?

Yes he has fixed musical releases, (We hope you enjoyed the background beats) and is working on a first album for 2016 (You try squashing the all the colors in his head onto one album, I dare you). In the past years since the project’s launch, his shows have seen a musical diversity of a new age nature. The set list and line up of featuring artist’s change with each show and tour, and Bam’s relentless passion for creating fresh musical collaborations have created an exclusive chain of once off musical masterpieces, almost theatrical in their execution.

To quote Tecla Ciolfi from Texx and The City: ‘they say the scene is dead. they say, “where are the new bands??” they say and say and say and say… you & your crew changed the game up my friend. forcing the pendulum to swing…. the future is bright’ Plus, to be fair…damn, the boy can sing. But I suppose that’s for you find out?

“By the way- What’s with the face paint?” Na. The guy’s just a little weird hey…but aren’t we all?

To give you an idea of Bam Bam Brown & The Wild Professors’ sound, have a listen to their track “Bite My Lip” below:

Make sure that you check out Bam Bam Brown & The Wild Professors on Sunday at Park Acoustics. Something tells me that it’s going to be interesting…

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music News category on Running Wolf’s Rant.