The Brandos achieved commercial success in the United States in 1987 with the release of their first album, Honor Among Thieves and the single "Gettysburg."

In the fall of 1984, Dave Kincaid and Larry Mason were playing the Seattle club circuit as members of The Allies.

At the same time, New Jersey based Soul Attack (with Ernie Mendillo and Ed Rupprecht) were playing gigs in and around their home state, with occasional jaunts into New York City.

[1] Immediately upon arrival Kincaid began scouring the local music papers, namely the Village Voice, looking for a new band.

The favorable reviews began to pour in: the Gavin Report dubbed them "Best new American band", Rolling Stone magazine ran a full-page story describing them as "Real contenders", and Time magazine clinched it with their quote "The Brandos' roots run deep and offer great nourishment".

[2][additional citation(s) needed] The better part of 1991 was spent writing and recording new material for a new album that would become Gunfire at Midnight, which would land a contract with SPV GmbH in Germany in the spring of 1992.

[citation needed] In 1996, The Brandos returned with Pass the Hat[3] and Frank Giordano (guitar, vocals) replacing Kempner.

Chris Layer (uilleann pipes, flute and whistle)accompanied Kincaid, Mendillo and Giordano for performances in Germany, Holland, Belgium and Denmark, with three of the shows being recorded.

Kincaid and Mendillo were accompanied on the drums by Funaro once again along with Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) and Simon Kirke (Bad Company, Free).

Another tour followed with ex-Del Lords and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts member Eric Ambel (guitar, vocals) and Phil Cimino (drums).