Career
He is featured on the band"s greatest hit, the 17-minute, recorded when he was 17. A Boston, Massachusetts native and a violinist, Brann was accepted as a child into the prodigy program at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but was soon lured away to become a rock guitarist, joining Iron Butterfly at 16. He played with Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman and Doug Ingle from 1968 to 1969.
With arrangement assistance from Dorman, Brann wrote the song "Termination," which was featured on the album.
The album"s mini-bio, written when he was 17, tells of an acting ambition he once had, clothing and food preference and the ease with which rock "n roll artists were able to arrange sexual encounters (usually with groupies). lieutenant reads: "Although music has always been his one great love, Erik studied drama and before joining the Butterfly, his acting ability had landed him the lead role in a local play.
..Erik hopes to, one day, continue in the acting field Right now, however, his only concern is the Iron Butterfly, turtleneck sweaters, bananas and the fairer sexual" In 1970, Brann and former Iron Butterfly member Darryl DeLoach, formed Flintwhistle.
This band performed live for about a year before breaking up.
Between 1972 and 1973, Brann worked solely in the studio on various demos. In 1973, he recorded a couple demos with Master of Computer Applications Records which can be found on bootleg sites. Notable songs from these demos include early versions of "Hard Miseree", "Am I Down", and "Scorching Beauty".
In 1974, he reunited with Ron Bushy to form a new version of Iron Butterfly.
The 1975 LP Scorching Beauty featured Brann on guitars and vocals, Bushy on drums, Philip Taylor Kramer on bass and Howard Reitzes on keyboards. The band released Sun and Steel in late 1975 with Bill DeMartines replacing Reitzes on keyboards.
Neither album sold well, and the band disbanded shortly afterward (around summer 1977). Brann occasionally reunited with Iron Butterfly for concerts, and was working on his solo debut when he died of a heart attack in July 25, 2003, in Los Los Angeles
This followed an ongoing struggle with complications from a birth defect that Brann had battled for years.