Buckethead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Buckethead
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Buckethead performing in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Patrick Carroll |
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| Born | May 13, 1969 Pomona, California, U.S. |
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| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1987–present |
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Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known as Buckethead, is an American guitarist. He is famous for his creative and amazing electric guitar playing.
Buckethead has released many solo albums. In 2011, he started releasing albums in a special "Pike" series. These are like mini-albums, usually about 30 minutes long. Each one has a number, like a comic book. As of October 2024, he has released 662 Pike albums. This includes almost 300 live recordings.
Buckethead has also released seven albums under the name Death Cube K. This name is an anagram of Buckethead. He has worked with many other musicians and bands. These include Guns N' Roses, Praxis, and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains. From 2000 to 2004, Buckethead was the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses. He played on their album Chinese Democracy (2008). He also performed with them on tour.
Buckethead performs wearing a KFC bucket on his head. Sometimes, it has an orange sticker that says FUNERAL. He also wears a plain white mask. This mask was inspired by the 1988 horror movie Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. During his shows, he uses nunchaku and does robot dancing. Buckethead always stays in character when he performs or is interviewed. He never shows his face without a mask.
Guitar World magazine praised Buckethead. They said he started a "new era of amazing guitar playing." They listed his 1992 debut album Bucketheadland as the 45th greatest moment in electric guitar history. The magazine also called him one of the "25 all-time weirdest guitarists." They also listed him among the "50 fastest guitarists of all time."
Contents
Early Life and How He Started
Brian Patrick Carroll was born on May 13, 1969. He grew up in Southern California, near Disneyland. As a kid, he was quiet and spent a lot of time in his room. He loved books, games, martial arts movies, and toys. He also visited Disneyland often.
Carroll started playing guitar when he was 12 years old. He learned from an older man who lived nearby. He became serious about playing a year later. This was after he moved to Claremont. His guitar skills got better with lessons from local music teachers. Some of his early teachers included Paul Gilbert and Joey Tafolla.
The idea for the Buckethead character came to him after watching the 1988 horror film Halloween 4. He was inspired by the movie. Right after seeing it, he bought a white mask, like the one Michael Myers wears. The bucket idea came later that night while he was eating chicken.
I was eating it, and I put the mask on and then the bucket on my head. I went to the mirror. I just said, 'Buckethead. That's Buckethead right there.' It was just one of those things. After that, I wanted to be that thing all the time.
Music Career Highlights
1988–1994: Early Music and Praxis Band
In 1988, Brian Carroll entered a song called "Brazos" into a Guitar Player magazine contest. He was a runner-up. The magazine editors said he was an "astonishingly skilled guitarist." They called him "a real talent to watch, also known as 'Buckethead'."
The magazine's editor, Jas Obrecht, became friends with Buckethead. In 1991, Buckethead moved into Obrecht's basement. His song "Brazos" was later released on a demo tape.
In 1992, Buckethead released his first album, Bucketheadland. It was released in Japan. Even though it was expensive, it got good reviews. Around this time, he met bassist and producer Bill Laswell. Buckethead soon became one of Laswell's main guitar players.
In 1992, Buckethead, Bill Laswell, and other musicians formed a supergroup called Praxis. Their first album, Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), was very popular. Buckethead played on almost all of Praxis's albums.
In 1993, Buckethead tried out for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band chose other guitarists instead. After some issues, Buckethead released his 1994 album Dreamatorium under the name Death Cube K.
Death Cube K is a separate entity that looks like a photographic negative version of Buckethead with a black chrome mask, like Darth Vader. This apparition haunts Buckethead and appears in his nightmares.
Buckethead released another album in 1994, Giant Robot. It featured guest artists like Iggy Pop. The album's name came from the Japanese TV series Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, which Buckethead loves.
1995–1999: Collaborations and Movie Music
In 1995, Buckethead worked with several artists. He also contributed to movie soundtracks. These included Johnny Mnemonic and Mortal Kombat.
In 1996, Buckethead released his solo album The Day of the Robot. He also released another album with Brain and Pete Scaturro. These albums were made in small numbers and are now rare.
Buckethead started working on an album called Buckethead Plays Disney in 1997. This album is very important to him. He has not released it yet because he wants it to be perfect. He also continued to work on movie soundtracks. These included Beverly Hills Ninja and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
In 1998, Buckethead released Colma. This album was dedicated to his mother.
In 1999, Buckethead released his fifth album, Monsters and Robots. He worked with Les Claypool from the band Primus on this album. It is his best-selling album. It includes the song "The Ballad of Buckethead", which was his first music video.
That year, Buckethead started three new projects. One was the band Cornbugs. He also started Cobra Strike. Another project was with actor Viggo Mortensen. They released several albums together.
2000–2004: Guns N' Roses and More Projects
Buckethead became more famous as the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses from 2000 to 2004. He recorded the album Chinese Democracy with them. He also performed live in 2001 and 2002. His guitar solo on "There Was a Time" was highly praised.
Even while in Guns N' Roses, Buckethead released his sixth solo album, Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse, in 2001. He also released an EP called KFC Skin Piles. He released albums with his band Cornbugs and as 'Death Cube K'.
He joined two new projects during this time. One was the progressive rock band Thanatopsis. The other was with Bill Laswell and Japanese producer Shin Terai.
In 2002, Buckethead released three solo albums. These included Funnel Weaver, Bermuda Triangle, and Electric Tears. Electric Tears was a calming album, similar to Colma.
When Bill Laswell could not play with Praxis, Les Claypool formed a new supergroup. It was called Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains. This group was very successful and played more live shows.
In 2003, Buckethead released Bucketheadland 2, a sequel to his first album. He also released Pandemoniumfromamerica with actor Viggo Mortensen.
In March 2004, Buckethead left Guns N' Roses. His manager said it was because the band could not finish an album or tour. Since then, his fan base has grown. He often performs at festivals and clubs.
In 2004, he released three new solo albums. These included Island of Lost Minds, Population Override, and The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell. The last one was his heaviest album yet. It had a music video for "Spokes for the Wheel of Torment". This video was based on famous paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. Buckethead also recorded albums with Cornbugs, Viggo Mortensen, and Shin Terai. The band C2B3 also released their only album, The Big Eyeball in the Sky.
Ozzy Osbourne once said he offered Buckethead a spot in his band. But he changed his mind after meeting Buckethead. Ozzy realized Buckethead would not take off his costume.
2005–2006: Buckethead & Friends
In 2005, Buckethead released Enter the Chicken. This album featured other artists like Serj Tankian. It had more traditional song structures but still showed off Buckethead's guitar skills. "We Are One" was released as a single. "Three Fingers" was used in the movie Saw II. "Nottingham Lace" became one of his most popular songs. Buckethead also released two more solo albums in 2005: Kaleidoscalp and Inbred Mountain.
In 2006, the video game Guitar Hero II came out. It featured Buckethead's song "Jordan" as a bonus track. This version of "Jordan" was a special studio recording made for the game.
That same year, Buckethead released two DVDs. They were called Young Buckethead Vol. 1 and Young Buckethead Vol. 2. They showed rare videos from 1990 and 1991. He also released the albums The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock and Crime Slunk Scene. The song "Soothsayer (Dedicated to Aunt Suzie)" from Crime Slunk Scene is very popular. It is often played live.
2007–2010: Solo Work and Michael Jackson Tribute
In 2007, Buckethead released a lot of new music. In February, he released a box set called In Search of The. It had 13 albums and over nine hours of music. A solo album, Pepper's Ghost, came out in March. He also released Acoustic Shards, which had acoustic guitar music. He reissued his old demo tape, Bucketheadland Blueprints. In October, he released Decoding the Tomb of Bansheebot and Cyborg Slunks. Buckethead wrote three songs for his Aunt Suzie in 2006-07.
As Death Cube K, Buckethead released two albums in 2007. One was a limited edition album called DCK. The other was a 5-CD box set called Monolith.
Buckethead also worked with many other artists in 2007. He released Chicken Noodles II with Travis Dickerson. He also released a live album with Praxis. He worked with Shin Terai and Bryan Mantia.
That year, Buckethead joined a band called Science Faxtion. It included bassist Bootsy Collins. Their first album, Living on Another Frequency, was released in November 2008.
On January 1, 2008, Praxis released Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness). Buckethead released From the Coop, which had his early demo recordings. He also released the album Albino Slug. He appeared on The Dragons of Eden with Dickerson and Mantia. He also released Bolt on Neck with That 1 Guy as the Frankenstein Brothers. They toured together.
Buckethead appeared in the documentary American Music: Off the Record. Serj Tankian's label reissued Enter the Chicken with an extra song. Buckethead also worked with actor Viggo Mortensen and filmmaker Alix Lambert.
Buckethead joined Bootsy Collins to encourage voting for the 2008 United States presidential election. He also joined Collins on the album Fallen Soldiers Memorial. This album helped the National Fallen Heroes Foundation.
More than four years after he left, the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy was released. Buckethead played on almost all the songs. He helped write "Shackler's Revenge," "Scraped," and "Sorry." The album has eleven of Buckethead's guitar solos.
In December 2008, Buckethead released two new songs for basketball player LeBron James's birthday. These songs were later on the album Slaughterhouse on the Prairie. In 2009, he released A Real Diamond in the Rough and Forensic Follies. He also released The Homing Beacon. This song was a tribute to Michael Jackson, who influenced him. The song was later on his 2012 album Electric Sea.
In February 2010, Buckethead released Shadows Between the Sky. Later that month, Gibson released the Buckethead Signature Les Paul guitar.
In April 2010, Buckethead's website said he was getting "animatronic parts replaced." This was a fun way to say he was recovering from an injury. Bootsy Collins also gave updates on his condition.
After recovering, Buckethead, Brain, and Melissa Reese released a series of 5-CD box sets. The first was Best Regards. In August 2010, Buckethead announced his 28th album, Spinal Clock. It showed his banjo skills. In October, he released two albums with Brain. He also released a new solo album, Captain EO's Voyage. In May 2010, Buckethead started releasing albums as part of the "Buckethead Pikes" series. These albums were like comic books and shorter than his previous works.
2011–2015: Focus on Solo Pikes
Buckethead stopped touring live in December 2012. During this time, he released many solo albums. He released a record 118 albums in 2015. This was about one album every three days. The cover of Pike 13 shows a photo of Buckethead without his mask. It is a picture of him as a teenager with his father.
| Year |
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| 2010 |
4
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| 2011 |
4
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| 2012 |
6
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| 2013 |
31
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| 2014 |
60
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| 2015 |
118
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| 2016 |
24
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| 2017 |
30
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| 2018 |
2
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| 2019 |
0
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| 2020 |
10
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| 2021 |
9
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| 2022 |
26
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| 2023 |
119
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| 2024 |
42
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In 2014, Buckethead released 60 albums. This was about one album every six days. Pike 65, called Hold Me Forever (In memory of my mom Nancy York Carroll), honored his mother.
In 2015, his release speed increased even more. Pike 150, Heaven is your Home (For my Father, Thomas Manley Carroll), was released for free on Father's Day. It was dedicated to his father.
In October 2015, Buckethead started The Silver Shamrock Series. This was a Halloween-themed series. He released one dark ambient album each day. Each album counted down to Halloween. The series ended with Pike 206, Happy Halloween: Silver Shamrock.
2016–Present: Continued Pikes and Touring
In 2016, Buckethead released fewer albums, with 24 in total. Pike 226, "Happy Birthday MJ 23", was released for basketball player Michael Jordan's 53rd birthday. 2016 also marked Buckethead's return to touring after four years.
In 2017, he released 30 albums. He also started reissuing some of his older albums on vinyl. This was the first time in over ten years his albums were available in a physical format other than CD. Some reissues included signed copies or posters. Some albums, like Albino Slug, were changed with new recordings and different covers.
A new album, "Bucketheadland 5-13 10-31", was announced for Halloween 2017. It was his first album since 2012 that was not part of the Pike series. Bootsy Collins also said he was working with Buckethead again.
In August 2017, Buckethead announced his fall US tour. He played with a live band. This included Bryan "Brain" Mantia on drums and Dan Monti on bass. This was different from his usual solo shows. His first live album, "Live from Bucketheadland", was released in January 2018. Buckethead continued touring in 2018 and 2019, returning to solo shows.
Influences
Buckethead gets ideas from many different musicians. These include Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and Paul Gilbert. He also gets ideas from the many artists he has worked with.
Besides music, Buckethead is inspired by many other things. He has written songs dedicated to basketball players like Michael Jordan (songs "Jordan" and "Jump Man"). He also has songs for LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Other inspirations include martial artist Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee influenced Buckethead's use of nunchaku on stage. Author H. P. Lovecraft and many science fiction and horror TV shows and movies also inspire him. These include Little House on the Prairie and Giant Robot. Disney and Disneyland are also big influences on Buckethead's career. He is also inspired by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. The The Texas Chain Saw Massacre movies are also a big inspiration.
Equipment
Guitars
Effects
Amplifiers
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Bands and Projects
- Solo career (1987–present)
- with Class-X (1987–1988)
- with Deli Creeps (1990–2007)
- with Praxis (1992–2011, 2022)
- as Death Cube K (1994–1999, 2007–2009, 2022–present)
- with Cornbugs (1995–2007)
- with Brain (1997–2013)
- with Viggo Mortensen (1999, 2003–2005, 2008–2013)
- with Guns N' Roses (2000–2004)
- with Thanatopsis (2001–2006, 2016)
- with Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (2002–2004)
- with Travis Dickerson (2004–2010)
- as The Frankenstein Brothers (with That 1 Guy) (2006–2012)
- with Science Faxtion (2007–2008)
- with Brewer and Brain (2017)
Discography
Buckethead has released 31 solo studio albums. He has also released over 650 albums in the "Pike Series."
- Solo studio albums
- Bucketheadland (1992)
- Giant Robot (1994)
- The Day of the Robot (1996)
- Colma (1998)
- Monsters and Robots (1999)
- Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse (2001)
- Funnel Weaver (2002)
- Bermuda Triangle (2002)
- Electric Tears (2002)
- Bucketheadland 2 (2003)
- Island of Lost Minds (2004)
- Population Override (2004)
- The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell (2004)
- Enter the Chicken (2005)
- Kaleidoscalp (2005)
- Inbred Mountain (2005)
- The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock (2006)
- Crime Slunk Scene (2006)
- Pepper's Ghost (2007)
- Decoding the Tomb of Bansheebot (2007)
- Cyborg Slunks (2007)
- Albino Slug (2008)
- Slaughterhouse on the Prairie (2009)
- A Real Diamond in the Rough (2009)
- Forensic Follies (2009)
- Needle in a Slunk Stack (2009)
- Shadows Between the Sky (2010)
- Spinal Clock (2010)
- Captain EO's Voyage (2010)
- Electric Sea (2012)
- Bucketheadland 5-13 10-31 (2017)
- Pike Series
Buckethead Pikes are mini-albums. Over 650 have been released since 2011. They usually last about 30 minutes.
See also
In Spanish: Buckethead para niños
- List of ambient music artists
- Lord Buckethead
