Brian Goss

Brian Goss (October 5, 1970) is an American guitarist, songwriter and composer who is known for being a member of the bands Dripping Goss and Warzone. He is currently the guitarist for The Noise.

Not conforming to any strict style, Goss has contributed to the hardcore, punk and acid rock scenes throughout the late eighties and nineties.

Goss has been a longtime musical collaborator with Simon Felice (Felice Brothers) and has played with members of Television, Guns N' Roses and The Misfits.

Early life Goss grew up in the Catskill Mountains in Palenville, New York. Raised by his mother and step-father, after his father left when he was 2, Goss’ introduction to music came largely from the vast record collections and music knowledge of his three older brothers.

After his older brother Robert moved to London, Goss would receive tapes in the mail by artists like Joy Division, Bauhaus and The Birthday Party, which only seemed to seal his fate as a career musician.

At the age of 9, Goss began to teach himself how to play guitar.

When Robert returned from London, he began to introduce Goss to live music by taking him to the Pyramid Club and after-hours parties at Save The Robots. Another brother, Tom, worked at The Ritz and was a roadie for The Ramones.

Music played a prominent role in his upbringing, with much of his youth devoted to tape trading, record collecting as well as forming a series of shortly lived bands.

Goss made his foray into music while still at high school, releasing his first album when he was only 17.

Music career

The Warm Jets 1987-1989 Goss formed his first successful band with his brothers Robert (Bass) and Tommy (Drums) and lifelong friend, Michael Billera (vocals) in 1987. While the band remained in Palenville

With New York experiencing the final throws of its punk movement, the band cut their teeth on the Lower East Side, at clubs like the Pyramid Club, CBGB, Downtown Beirut and The Lismar Lounge.

The band split up in 1989 when Tom Goss left to play with Jack Bruce (Cream).

Dripping Goss 1991 - 1999 Two years after Tom Goss left, the brothers reunited to form the most successful band of their musical partnership, Dripping Goss. which used a minimalist and atmospheric feel to address the themes of mourning and loss.

The tour that followed would see the band play with the likes of Fugazi but also lead to the band's partial dissolution. After the unexpected resignation of Tommy Goss at the tour's end, Dripping Goss had only two members left - Goss and Dan Souza. This led to Goss taking some time away from the band during which he became a member of Warzone.

By the time Goss started the band again, they had been dropped by their label, Another Planet Records, but after adding Curt Steyer on bass and Frank Ferrer (Guns N' Roses, Psychedelic Furs), who was shortly replaced by Tobias Ralph (Lauryn Hill, King Crimson, Tricky) on drums, they were signed to IndieCent Magazine's label Popsmart Records.

For, what would be their last release, the band recorded at IWII Studios in New Jersey. The 1998 album called Blue Collar, Black Future was engineered by Roy Cicala,(John Lennon) and produced by Genya Ravan. The album’s cover featured a photo by Mick Rock.

It was rehearsed in something of a psychedelic sanctuary that Goss created in Manhattan. The importance of this space was summed up by Goss when he said: "For me, to hear the record and really listen to it, it smells like the room".

The band split up in 1999.

Warzone 1994 - 1997 In 1994 Goss joined seminal New York hardcore band, Warzone. Goss and lead singer, Raymond "Raybeez" Barbieri, met when they worked at The Ritz and Goss joined the band upon the recommendation of Todd Youth (Motörhead, Ace Frehley).

Goss played guitar on the albums: Split with Cause for Alarm and Lower East Side, both of which were released by Victory Records. Goss then toured with Warzone through Europe and Japan.

Goss continued to play with the band until Babieri’s death in 1997.

Fuzz Deluxe 2000 - 2003 Goss next project was with, then, young poet from Palenville named Simon Felice. Recognising the talent of the man who would later found The Felice Brothers, Goss put together Fuzz Deluxe so Felice would have a band around him.

With the two sharing their love for 70s AM music and an understanding that comes from growing up in the same town, they wrote over 50 songs together.

The band was originally a lounge band and they gigged in supper clubs as well as playing notorious late-night parties at Joe’s Pub in the New York Public Theater.

Fuzz Deluxe marked a change in Goss’ musical direction, to which he once said: "Dripping Goss weren’t a harmony band, but then I got into harmonies working with Simone Felice."

Children Of The Sun 2011 On 29 November 2011, Goss released an EP called Children of The Sun.

The Noise - 2012 - present Goss is the guitarist and founding member of the New York punk-rock band, The Noise, which also features Arthur "Googy" King (founding member of The Misfits) on vocals, George Musa on bass and Dave Blackshire on drums.

The Noise "takes its musical influences from the over crowded and extremely loud streets of New York City." In many ways the Noise is a throwback to bands from the early New York punk scene as well as those who existed when Goss moved to New York for the first time in the late eighties.

Following the release of the album, The Noise embarked on a tour of America, Canada and Europe.

Additional projects and contributions Goss has worked for Gary Posner's (Tom Tom Club) production company Whirled Music where he was responsible for creating scores for the Discovery Channel, History Channel, Nickelodeon and ESPN.

He has played as a session guitarist for Duke and the King's record Northing Gold Can Stay.