Brian Wecht Explained

Brian Wecht
Other Names:Ninja Brian, Trey Magnifique
Birth Name:Brian Alexander Wecht
Birth Date:22 April 1975
Birth Place:Pompton Plains, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation:Theoretical physicist, musician, songwriter, record producer, Internet personality
Years Active:2009–present
Spouse:Rachel Bitney
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Genre:Comedy rock, synth-pop, electronic
Instrument:Keyboards, piano, saxophone, clarinet, programming
Current Member Of:Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party, Starbomb
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Field:Theoretical physics
Doctoral Advisor:Kenneth A. Intriligator
Thesis Title:Topics in string theory and supersymmetry: a-maximization, nongeometric compactifications, and tachyon cosmology
Thesis Url:https://www.proquest.com/docview/305205354
Thesis Year:2004

Brian Alexander Wecht,[1] also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet personality and theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy musical duo Ninja Sex Party and video game-based comedy music trio Starbomb. He has also been a past member of the affiliated Let's Play webseries Game Grumps, all three alongside Dan Avidan.

Wecht originally worked as a theoretical physicist, and notably held research positions at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Institute for Advanced Study, the University of Michigan, and the Queen Mary University of London. Specialized in particle physics, his work included research on string theory, supersymmetry, and quantum field theory. He retired in 2015, choosing to join Game Grumps while focusing on his musical career. He is also the co-creator of The Story Collider, a science-based story telling podcast recorded in front of a live audience.[2]

In Ninja Sex Party, Wecht plays the character of "Ninja Brian", a non-verbal, homicidal masked ninja, in both live shows and music videos. He performed all instruments on early Ninja Sex Party albums, until TWRP started acting as their backing band in 2015. Wecht also co-hosts the podcast Leighton Night with Brian Wecht and portrays Ninja Brian on his live comedy show titled Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Career

Education

Wecht attended Williams College and the University of California, San Diego where he obtained his PhD in particle physics in 2004.[8] Wecht held research positions at Harvard University, the Center for Theoretical Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the University of Michigan, prior to becoming a faculty member at the Queen Mary University of London.[9] While there, Wecht worked on string theory, supersymmetry, and quantum field theory.[10] [11]

Wecht has an extensive record of highly cited contributions.[12] He retired in 2015 to join Game Grumps and dedicate himself to his music career.[13]

Ninja Sex Party

See main article: Ninja Sex Party. Prior to meeting Dan Avidan, Wecht was the musical director of an improv comedy troupe in New York.[14] In 2009, Avidan, who had conceptualized Ninja Sex Party and was in search of a bandmate and/or producer, was introduced to Wecht by Julie Katz, a member of Wecht's comedy troupe (who would later be featured in Ninja Sex Party's music video "The Decision"), to whom Avidan had asked if she knew any musicians.[15]

Specializing in humorous songs, both on stage or in their music videos, the duo started by appearing on various film festivals.[16] [17] [18] They regularly published original songs on their YouTube channel, which progressively helped them in becoming popular, as well as studio albums on a regular basis. Although he only played keyboards on stage, Wecht performed all instruments on early Ninja Sex Party albums, including piano and drum machines, while Avidan was in charge of all vocals, except for occasional backing or spoken vocals by Wecht. Ultimately, the duo was joined by backing band Tupper Ware Remix Party in 2015, after which Wecht focused solely on keyboards for studio recordings.

Starbomb

See main article: Starbomb. Wecht's bandmate Dan Avidan had been the co-host of the Let's Play webseries Game Grumps since 2013. The same year, Wecht, Avidan, and Avidan's Game Grumps co-host Arin Hanson formed Starbomb.[19] This new comedy band followed the humorous style of Ninja Sex Party, but focused on video game parodies. The project was officially revealed on December 3, 2013.[20] [21] It was quickly followed by a self-titled album on December 17.[22] [23] [24] A second album, Player Select, was released on December 16, 2014.

Starbomb's third album, The TryForce, was released on April 19, 2019.[25] [26]

Game Grumps

See main article: Game Grumps. Wecht officially joined the Game Grumps team alongside Avidan and Hanson on November 5, 2015, becoming their new social media manager; he had occasionally appeared in their videos, mainly alongside Avidan to promote Ninja Sex Party.[13] The team officially introduced him via a humorous sketch featured at the beginning of their BurgerTime video, "revealing" him to be the secret mastermind behind Game Grumps all along.[27]

He is occasionally featured in some of their videos, mostly in Grumpcade and Steam Train, but also in several non-gameplay videos.[27] [28] [29] He was the co-writer, composer and puppeteer on their promotional short I Burgie Burgie, and its sequel All Hail Burgie.[30] [31]

Others

Wecht appeared in an episode of Hot Pepper Game Review episode on September 16, 2013, "reviewing" the video game Dark under his Ninja Brian persona after eating a "very spicy" chili pepper; the episode is a joke, as Ninja Brian simply stares at the camera in silence for the entire episode, not blinking a single time in almost four minutes.[32] Although his mouth is not visible, Wecht confirmed that he did actually eat the pepper while filming.[33]

He also appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of Child Genius in 2014, having set questions about string theory for the participants, and reacting to their different answers.

He voiced the character of Quizzmaster Quinn in the video game , a 2017 visual novel video game made by members of Game Grumps. He also appeared in two episodes of Good Game, a webseries starring Avidan and Hanson.

Alongside fellow Game Grumps member Barry Kramer and Rooster Teeth writer Miles Luna, Wecht co-wrote the episode "Grey vs. Gray" of Red vs. Blue.[34] [35]

Alongside Jim Roach, Wecht creates music for kids in a band called "Go Banana Go!" which has released three albums, Hi-ya! (2020), Dark Side of the Banana (2022), and Hot Fudge Saturday (2024).

Wecht released his first jazz album under the alias "Trey Magnifique" on November 10, 2023.[36]

Discography

Go Banana Go!

As Trey Magnifique

Ninja Sex Party

See main article: Ninja Sex Party discography.

Starbomb

Personal life

Wecht is married to Rachel Wecht (née Bitney). The couple have a daughter, Audrey, who was born in 2014; nicknamed "Ninja Audrey", she appeared on several special Grumpcade episodes in 2017 with her father to celebrate Father's Day.[37] [38]

Wecht has a PhD and one of his inspirations for becoming a theoretical physicist was the television series Quantum Leap.[39] He is strongly pro-vaccine, and is critical of the use of pseudoscience over scientifically-proven treatments for serious illnesses and diseases.[40]

Bibliography

Forewords

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Record #1020184. INSPIRE-HEP.
  2. Web site: Pratfalls of Parenting. Pratfalls of Parenting. December 9, 2019.
  3. Web site: Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular – Tickets – The Ballroom at Warehouse. Ticketfly. July 29, 2018. July 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180727024507/https://www.ticketfly.com/event/1706187-ninja-brians-all-star-variety-houston/. dead.
  4. Web site: Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular. Hard Rock Hotel. July 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180727024407/https://hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas-entertainment/VINYL-ninja-brians-2018.php. July 27, 2018. dead.
  5. bwecht. 992476880405192704. en. Ninja Brian's All-Star Variety Luau Spectacular will be having its first-ever LA show at @theroxy on May 16th! Music! Comedy! Other weird stuff! With @SuperMegaShow @JPincorporated Sugar Rum Tantrum & more!. Wecht. Brian. July 29, 2018.
  6. Web site: Ninja Brian's All Star Variety Luau Spectacular Show. HouseofIndependents. January 24, 2018. March 3, 2022.
  7. Web site: Leighton Night With Brian Wecht. Apple. March 3, 2022.
  8. Web site: Brian Wecht – Institute for Advanced Study. IAS. December 9, 2019.
  9. Web site: Brian Wecht – NECSS. NECSS. May 9, 2017. November 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125030731/https://necss.org/brian-wecht/. dead.
  10. Web site: TALK NERDY. Stitcher.
  11. Web site: Brian Wecht – Perimeter Institute. Perimeter Institute.
  12. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Brian+Wecht&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C33&as_sdtp= Google scholar
  13. Web site: Ninja Sex Party Tales of Strawberries and Cream. Living Myth Media. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140316055249/http://www.livingmythmedia.com/blog/2013/07/11/ninja-sex-party-tales-of-strawberries-and-cream/. March 16, 2014.
  14. Web site: Ninja Sex Party Interview. Augustborn. Nicolas. January 9, 2013. YouTube.
  15. Web site: Ninja Sex Party Interview. 2010. Double Down the Line. November 6, 2017.
  16. Web site: SXSW Lineup: Friday, March 11. Sched.org. March 11, 2011. June 16, 2016.
  17. Web site: Music Videos. Dragon Con. September 2011. June 16, 2016.
  18. Web site: Live Review: 3rd Annual L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival. Garcia. Conrad. Disarray Magazine. DisarrayMagazine.com. April 19, 2011. June 16, 2016.
  19. Web site: Luigi's Ballad. Dueling Analogs. Steve. Napierski. December 19, 2013. March 15, 2014.
  20. Web site: Egoraptor and NSP are STARBOMB!. Arin Hanson. Show You. December 18, 2013.
  21. Web site: Egoraptor and Ninja Sex Party announce their newest project: STARBOMB. Herd. James. Pixcelation Entertainment. WordPress. December 18, 2013.
  22. Web site: Starbomb Is Coming NEXT WEEK!. Ninja Sex Party. YouTube, Google. December 18, 2013.
  23. Web site: STARBOMB Debut Album Pre-Order – GET HYPED!!. Game Grumps. YouTube, Google. December 18, 2013.
  24. Web site: Starbomb drops TOMORROW!. Ninja Sex Party. YouTube, Google. December 18, 2013.
  25. Web site: 2019 Game Grumps Updates + More!. YouTube.
  26. Web site: REGRETROID - Starbomb 3D Animated Music Video (By Antony Manley). YouTube.
  27. Web site: Burger Time – Grumpcade. GameGrumps. November 5, 2015. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  28. Web site: Elevator Action – Grumpcade. GameGrumps. November 17, 2015. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  29. Web site: The Ad Monster – GrumpOut. GrumpOut. April 26, 2016. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  30. Web site: I Burgie Burgie – NEW SHIRT!!. GameGrumps. August 14, 2015. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  31. Web site: All Hail Burgie – Spooky Halloween Shirt!. GameGrumps. October 3, 2015. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  32. Web site: Dark – Hot Pepper Game Review feat. Ninja Brian. Hot Pepper Gaming. September 16, 2013. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  33. bwecht. 614429084395941888. Yes, I ate the pepper. Yes, this is a single take with no cuts. No, it wasn't easy.. November 26, 2017. Wecht. Brian. en.
  34. bwecht. 765019918282596353. I wrote an episode of Red vs Blue with @razzadoop & @TheMilesLuna! Check it out. Wecht. Brian. en. no.
  35. Web site: Grey vs. Gray Credits. . January 5, 2023.
  36. Web site: Michael Major . September 8, 2023 . Ninja Sex Party's Brian Wecht Debuts Trey Magnifique Project With 'Satin Velvet' Single . Broadway World.
  37. Web site: The Goonies II: The Last Goon – PART 7 – Game Grumps. GameGrumps. April 22, 2014. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  38. Web site: Robot Party with Ninja Audrey – Grumpcade. GameGrumps. June 18, 2017. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  39. Web site: Zelda Tri Force Heroes: Ultimate Lifeform – PART 1 – Grumpcade. GameGrumps. November 10, 2015. November 26, 2017. YouTube.
  40. Web site: Hey guys, it's Brian. I'm on a plane. Ask me stuff! • r/gamegrumps. reddit. January 15, 2016. November 26, 2017.