Bryan Harvey (c. 1956 - January 1, 2006) was an American musician noted for his fronting role in House of Freaks. He was murdered with his wife Kathryn and his two daughters Stella (nine) and Ruby (four) on January 1, 2006. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

House of Freaks was a two-man band composed of singer/guitarist Bryan Harvey and percussionist Johnny Hott, who had a penchant for banging on anything he could drag into the studio that made the noise he wanted. They were signed to Rhino records for their first three albums, but had trouble finding a permanent home towards the end of the band's existence, bouncing around from indie to indie. They have played with other groups on occasion, most notably on a couple of tracks with the Richmond/Chapel Hill band Waxing Poetics (whose first album was produced by REM's Mike Mills) and with the indie supergroup/side project Gutterball. Their indebtedness to the blues was evident from their first album, but they later moved more and more towards the stripped down style of rockabilly bands like the Chickasaw Mudpuppies and the Flat Duo Jets. However, they were closer in spirit to artists like Tom Waits or Lyle Lovett, exploring in particular the blessing/curse of family and community and their effects on the individual.

They called it quits in 1995. Both members were involved with the making of the most recent Gutterball outing, but the rumors say that Hott has left that group as well and been replaced by the drummer for the dB's. Bryan Harvey completed a solo album in early 1997, which remains unreleased. Gutterball is still considered to be an open project by the people involved; however, no firm plans have been made about recording new material. Steve Wynn, the singer and co-songwriter for Gutterball (and ex-frontman for Dream Syndicate), has released a solo album since the last Gutterball effort.

External links

• Rolling Stone: "House of Freaks Singer Murdered"

info found at: The Invisible Jewel House of Freaks Page and at Rhino Records