Back in the summer of 2003 Chris Brennan (28) and Shaun Brundle (28) wanted to improve their guitar skills so decided to get together once a week. After learning the basics, they wanted to form a band. They recruited Brett Baber (23) as the drummer plus Robbie Cook (21) as another guitarist. After a few jamming sessions, they decided to push Chris to lead vocals and put Brett on Bass guitar and backing vocals.
The band started as an acoustic cover band (called Camouflage For Beginners) playing in local pubs around Diss, Harleston and Norwich. They all soon realised that their passion was rock music played by bands such as The Who, Jet and Kings of Leon and felt that there was a gap in the market for a British band to play in this style. So the four founding members of the band (Baber, Brennan, Brundle and Cook) set to work.
After much hard work the band started to get the feel of the music they were writing. To get to the next level, they realised that they would need to recruit a new drummer to replace Brett’s move to the Bass guitar. They found the young and enthusiastic drummer Joel Mullin (18). Six months down the line they would head back to the pubs and clubs they started at with their new live set. The response they received from their own material was greater than they had ever expected, during which time they entered Pj’s Battle of the Bands at the Atlantis Arena in Great Yarmouth and achieved a respectable second place, even after being quoted by the organiser as “comparatively equal to or better than any professional band I have ever seen” (Lowestoft Journal 2005). The influences from the individuals of the band began to show in their music, and it was later described as 80’s rock with a modern indie twist. At this stage, they also decided to change their name to match the rock image they had worked so hard to master. They became The Oppenheimers, after Dr Robert Oppenheimer who pioneered the invention of the atomic bomb. It was never the bands intention to scare or intimidate but to suggest how one man could change the world forever.
After much industry interest, they contacted the record label Matchbox recordings who decided to sign the band to their label and release one of the bands tracks (Caught in the Middle) on a compilation album. They are now adding the finishing touches to there debut album, which will be available in Spring. The Oppenheimers are looking at supporting some mainstream bands in bigger venues and festivals across the UK in the forthcoming 12 months, with the final aim to gain a recording contract with a major record label.
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