California-based Bracket -- comprised of vocalist/guitarist Marty Gregori, bassist Zack Charlos, guitarist Larry Tinney, and drummer Ray Castro -- got together in the early '90s and first showcased their pop and punk sensibilities on the self-released 7" The Giant's Midget Thought EP. Playing all around the San Francisco area, they signed to Caroline Records and released 924 Forestville St. and 4-Wheel Vibe to a growing fan base. Four tracks left off the latter album were issued on the 1996 EP 4 Rare Vibes, and their catchy guitar-driven punk soon caught Fat Wreck's attention. While the label had previously put out a few of the band's 7" singles, Bracket officially joined their ranks in the summer of 1996. Their first official Fat releases came that same year with the double 7" "F Is for Fat" and the "E" Is For Everything On Fat Wreck Chords CD/EP.

Touring all over the world followed, including U.S. dates with SNFU, NOFX, Smoking Popes, MxPx, Everclear, and Tilt, before Bracket issued the full-length Novelty Forever in September 1998. Guitarist Angelo Celli joined on in Tinney's place the following year. When All Else Fails appeared in May 2000; two years later their installment of the Fat Wreck Live In A Dive series surfaced complete with a comic-book booklet and an enhanced CD of videos and interviews. They inked a deal with Takeover in July 2005, and for their next album, Bracket enjoyed a newfound sense of freedom and control by recording in a self-made studio inside an abandoned trailer, producing, mixing, and engineering the record themselves. The resulting exploratory 17-song Requiem was released in February 2006 to rave reviews. ~ John Bush & Corey Apar, Rovi