Lou Brutus (born November 10, 1962) is an American radio personality, program director, voice-over talent, musician, and photographer.
[3] As host of hardDrive with Lou Brutus and hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus, as well as through his music programming for Sirius XM Radio, he has assisted in breaking many rock bands in the active rock radio format notably Slipknot, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Sevendust and Halestorm among others.
[4] Brutus' voiceovers there include acting as the primary voice of the '40s on 4 channel which he based upon Bing Crosby announcer Ken Carpenter.
Brutus has also hosted radio specials and created music channels for artists including Metallica, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down, Rush, Theory of a Deadman, Slipknot, Smashing Pumpkins, A Perfect Circle and others.
In 2011, Five Finger Death Punch used Brutus to host their military intelligence-themed press conference in Los Angeles, California, for their Trespass America Tour.
[11] As a photographer, Brutus has worked on field capturing images of Major League Baseball as an accredited league photographer including home games of the Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
[13] Chicago street singer Wesley Willis recorded the song "Lou Brutus" for his 1998 self-released album Rock 'N Roll Jackflash.
[18] In 1988 he accepted a job as morning show producer at WPLJ-FM in New York City where he worked with Jim Kerr, Shelli Sonstein and Howard the Cab Driver under Program Director Larry Berger.
After a brief stint, Brutus left WPLJ-FM to begin his first ever full-time on-air hosting job at WHJY in Providence, Rhode Island.
They stayed in contact until Thompson's death in 2005 including Brutus' unsuccessful attempts to convince the author to host a hybrid music/political program on XM Satellite Radio.
[19] Shortly after his departure from WHJY, Brutus joined the staff of WBCN-FM in Boston, Massachusetts where he worked weekend and fill in shifts.
He also traveled extensively including being the lone U.S. radio representative at the 1995 Molson Ice Polar Beach Party in Tuktoyaktuk, Canada which featured a private performance by Metallica.
'"[20] While in Chicago, Brutus was approached by industry veteran Corinne Baldassano at the suggestion of Jacobs Media to host a new, nationally syndicated radio program, which would showcase the burgeoning active rock format.
The show has been cited as an influence by hard rock and metal musicians including Breaking Benjamin and Corey Taylor of Slipknot who listened to the program while working at an Iowa porn shop as he plotted his path to stardom.
[23] The program's features include Rant of the Day, Poetry Corner, Weird World News, Odd and Ends, Flix Pix, Are You Game and It Came From the Web.
"[27] Brutus appeared on channel in the character of Generalissimo "Stoshu" Ortega during vignettes produced to sound like Cold War era Communist propaganda broadcasts promoting weird music instead of politics.
The long form music and interview series put Brutus together with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Evanesence, KoRn, Hank Williams Jr., Smashing Pumpkins, Shinedown, Harry Connick Jr., Weezer, Cheap Trick, Indigo Girls, Snow Patrol, Reba McEntire, Fall Out Boy, Eddie Money, Wynonna, Megadeth, The Oak Ridge Boys, Graham Nash, David Gray, Chicago, George Thorogood, Testament, The Fray and many more.
Lou Brutus won the Radio Contraband Rock Radio Award for "Dj of the Year" for 2013 and 2014 for "Syndicated DJ of the Year"[41] In 2004, Lou Brutus teamed with Colin Gawel and Joe Oestreich of the Columbus, OH based rock band Watershed to form the group Dead Schembechlers.
Full length albums from the group include "Rocket to Ann Arbor," "Wolverine Destroyer," and "Rodriguez to Ruin," which also featured artwork by Alan MacBain.
[47] Like the Dead Schembechlers, their music rooted in classic punk rock, with lyrics spoofing the problems of middle aged men.
Song titles include "My Adjustable Rate Mortgage Sucks," "That's No MILF That's My Wife," and "Gotta Get A Nose Hair Trimmer."