Brad Warner

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Brad Warner

Information
Born: March 5, 1964 (1964-03-05) (age 44)
Place of birth: Akron, Ohio
Nationality: American
School(s): Soto Zen
Title(s): Priest
Education: Kent State University
Occupation: Author
Blogger
Documentarian
Musician
Zen teacher
Teacher(s): Gudo Wafu Nishijima
Website
Website: Home Page

Portal:Buddhism

Brad Warner (b. March 5, 1964) is a Soto Zen priest, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist. Currently living in Japan, he was ordained by his teacher Gudo Wafu Nishijima. Throughout his musical career he has played primarily with two bands, 0DFx (or Zero Defex) and Dimentia 13. In addition to working in various roles in Japanese monster movies, Warner also blogs for the soft porn website SuicideGirls. In 2007 he directed a documentary film on the punk rock scene in Cleveland and Akron in the 1980s, titled Cleveland’s Screaming. Also in 2007, Gudo Wafu Nishijima named Warner the leader of Dogen Sangha International.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Brad Warner was born in Akron, Ohio in 1964 and attended Kent State University. As a teenager Warner got into the music of the 1960s and hardcore punk rock, and a friend of his took him to a show by Zero Defex. He auditioned for and joined the band after finding out they needed a bass guitarist. He was initially interested in the various ideologies of the punk rock movement, but soon began to sense that punk rockers on the whole did not take their own beliefs very seriously. He found hypocrisy in the tendency of punks to criticize and question society at large, but not themselves. When he began practicing Zen Buddhism under his first teacher Tim McCarthy, Warner found that the level of inquiry in the tradition went much deeper than that of punk rock. He saw a relationship, or bridge, between punk and Zen for him.[1]

After the financial failure of his Dimentia 13 albums, Warner got a job in Japan with the JET Programme, and then later in 1994 with Tsuburaya Productions working on cheap Japanese monster movies. A fan of such films in his youth, Warner plays the roles of various foreigners in their films. While in Japan he met Gudo Wafu Nishijima, who after years of training under him ordained him as a priest. For a period of time in his early training he was unsure exactly why he kept practicing zazen, but knew he didn't feel right when he did not. Today he also blogs for SuicideGirls, the online soft porn site. In 2007 he directed the documentary film Cleveland’s Screaming, which depicts the punk rock scene in Akron and Cleveland in the 1980s (it includes interviews). Also in 2007, Gudo Wafu Nishijima named Warner the leader of Dogen Sangha International.[2][1][2] [3]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Discography

[edit] Compilations

  • (1983) The New Hope. New Hope Records. 
  • (1983) P.E.A.C.E./War (double LP). RRadical Records. 
  • (1986) Midnight X-Mess #2 LP. Midnight Records. 
  • (1987) Midnight X-Mess #3 LP. Midnight Records. 

[edit] Dimentia 13

[edit] Guest appearances

[edit] 0DFx

  • (2007) War Hero. Get Revenge Records.  (1983 debut reissue)
  • (2007) drop the A-bomb. Get Revenge Records.  (1982 demo reissue)
  • (2007) Discography. Get Revenge Records.  (1982 demo and 1983 debut, 2 CD)

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Tapestry
  2. ^ Here and Now

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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