Be Brave Bold Robot (often abbreviated BBBR) is a Sacramento-area indie/folk-rock project led by frontman and songwriter Dean Haakenson, known for an open, ever-rotating cast of musicians and one of the most recognizable band names in the local scene.[1][2] By 2012 it was described as "a staple in the folk scene" with roughly eight years of history, placing its origins around 2004.[1] The band's self-titled debut was released April 20, 2007,[3] and new material as recently as December 2025 confirms the project remains active.[4]
At a glance
- Led by frontman/songwriter Dean Haakenson; based out of West Sacramento.[1]
- "Sacramento mainstay indie folk-rock act"; a "local indie/folk/rock outfit."[5][2]
- Famous for ~23 rotating "Forever Members"; the rule to become one was to play four shows.[1]
- Reckoned to be ~8 years old in 2012 and ~13 ("coming up on their teen years") in 2017.[1][5]
- The Fox and Goose pub is the band's signature CD-release venue.[2][6][5]
Origin and local status
Be Brave Bold Robot is unambiguously a local (Greater Sacramento) act. Submerge repeatedly calls it a "local" band and a "Sacramento mainstay," and frontman Dean Haakenson lives in and practices in West Sacramento; the band recorded with local engineers and released through local venues.[1][2][5] Their album Press E to Continue opens with "Sacramento," described as "a folk-y ode to their hometown."[2] (Confidence: high.)
The name predates the band itself. By Haakenson's account, before it was a band it was his 'zine, and before that a graffiti tag by a girl in Arcata, California, who claimed she saw it done by a San Francisco artist; some speculate it derives from Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. Haakenson says the true source eludes him and once offered $100 for a documented origin.[1]
Lineup and "Forever Members"
The band is built around a deliberately loose, rotating membership. Submerge reported roughly 23 former players whom Haakenson fondly dubs "Forever Members," with a simple criterion for joining: play four shows — which "may take four consecutive shows, or it could take eight years."[1] Haakenson's hands-off, low-pressure approach is by design, letting friends with their own careers come and go.[1]
Members and contributors documented in the sources include:
- Dean Haakenson — frontman, songwriter, bandleader (and the project's driving organizer).[1][2][5]
- Michael Ruiz — drummer (2012).[1]
- Matty Gerken — bassist (2012); he mastered the first record after learning the songs while mixing, then stepped in when former bassist Tommy Minnick left.[1] He is also credited as co-producer of the self-titled debut alongside Dean Haakenson.[7]
- Catie Turner — viola (joined after meeting Haakenson at a show; had not played in a band since leaving San Francisco).[1]
- Jacob Gleason — saxophone (joined after admiring the self-titled record).[1]
- Rachel Lomax — vocals/keys/guitar; a former BBBR member who later co-founded West Sacramento band Salt Wizard (2014).[8]
- "Chuck" — a Sac State student from Iowa brought in for a single show to satisfy a requirement that the band include one Sac State student.[1]
- Willie Ramsey — an honorary member who created the artwork for Under a Thin Veil of Madness after the band met him during recording sessions.[1]
- Andrew Morin (Flatlander) — credited on percussion for the self-titled debut under the billing "Mad Chops, a Percussion Production"; Morin is also known as Flatlander of Death Grips.[7]
The artwork of Kyle Larsen has hung in Haakenson's home, and local writer Josh Fernandez is cited as an inadvertent lyrical "muse."[1]
Discography (as documented)
- Be Brave Bold Robot (self-titled, released April 20, 2007)[3] — the band's first record. According to the album's Bandcamp page, it was produced by Matthew Gerken and Dean Haakenson and mastered by Scott Reams,[7] with percussion by Andrew Morin (Flatlander of Death Grips), billed as "Mad Chops, a Percussion Production."[7] The album is described as "21st century existential folk rock" combining "angst, love, despair, hope, irony, humor and confusion" through "lyrically lush" original songwriting.[9]
- Take a Deep Breath (2010).[1]
- Under a Thin Veil of Madness (2012) — its title partially lifted from Josh Fernandez's 2008 review, which referred to Haakenson as "under a thin sheet of madness." Recording sessions began at Expression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, where the band recorded free in exchange for being a class's "guinea pigs."[1]
- Press E to Continue (2015) — an "eclectic, weird new album" funded via Kickstarter (its title devised by the campaign's top donor). It opens with "Sacramento," includes the hip-hop collaboration "Grown Ass Man" with local rapper Mr. Hooper, and an 8-minute-plus closer, "Sonerda."[2]
- Short Raps Project (2016) — a compilation released July 1, 2016.[6]
- But to Hate God Do Get a Hot Tub (2017) — a concept album tracing the human experience chronologically from teenager through middle age; recorded with local engineer Patrick Hills at Earthtone Recording Company. Two tracks, "Better Late" and "Hiking," were leftover Kickstarter commission songs from Press E to Continue.[5]
- Life is other people (April 20, 2021)[4] — includes the track "Dwarf Star by Groovincible featuring Dean Haakenson," indicating a collaboration with the artist Groovincible.[10]
- WORTH IT (December 12, 2025)[4] — confirms continued activity through at least late 2025.
Live history and venue relationships
The Fox and Goose British pub (1001 R Street, Sacramento) is BBBR's signature room, hosting a recurring series of CD-release shows. Haakenson described "a particular bond" with the place; per the venue's booking staff, the band's 2013 release night was the best the pub had had in a couple of years. Release shows there include Press E to Continue (Jan. 23, 2015), Short Raps Project (July 1, 2016), and But to Hate God Do Get a Hot Tub (Jan. 20, 2017).[2][6][5]
Other documented appearances:
- Subject of an early Live in the City of Trees music-video session (2011), filmed by Wes Davis at a "secret spot in Old Sac."[11]
- Released Under a Thin Veil of Madness at Beatnik Studios on Oct. 26, 2012, alongside Appetite, Cold Eskimo and Buzzmutt.[1]
- Booked on the 2015 Concerts in the Park lineup (May 15, at Cesar Chavez Plaza).[12]
- Member Dean Haakenson competed (and broke a drumstick) in the first Non-Drummer Drum-Off at Westfield Downtown Plaza Mall on Dec. 4, 2011.[13]
- Performed at The Starlet Room (2708 J Street, Sacramento) on May 28, 2022, with support from Güero; tickets were $12 advance / $15 day-of, all ages.[14]
Supporting/collaborating acts noted at BBBR shows include CFR, Chili Sauce, Bellygunner, and Tribe of Levi.[2][6][5]
The Forever Members (2026 update)
Two decades in, Be Brave Bold Robot frames itself as a 20-year project (2005–present) built on the "Forever Member" rule: play four shows, consecutive or spread across years, and you are in for good. Roughly 23 musicians have qualified. The current core is Dean Haakenson (guitar, vocals, songwriter), J. Matthew "Matty" Gerken (bass, harmony vocals; also of the math-rock band Nice Monster), Mike Ruiz (drums), Catie Turner (viola), and Jeremy Pagan (electric guitar), with Jacob Gleason (saxophone) and Carly Duhain (harmony vocals) recurring, and Morgan Matz appearing on the 2025 record.
The membership stories capture the open-door ethos. Turner joined after a post-show conversation in which Haakenson invited her to record before ever hearing her play; she has called it "unlike any experience I've ever had with an organized band." Gleason earned his spot by persistence: "I bugged Dean enough that he finally started letting me play with him." Gerken went from a Fox & Goose after-party to mastering the debut, then replaced original bassist Tommy Minnick. Submerge summarized the policy in 2012: "If mad scientist Dean Haakenson hears you can play an instrument and likes you as a person, you can write your way into his project… forever." The band's own gloss: "no government jobs are at risk, no PTA meetings are missed, no one's on heroin to deal with the pressure of stardom." Its motto is E.Y.U.P. — Embrace Your Unique Programming.
Sound and writing
The catalog runs from lyric-dense indie folk-rock into spoken-word storytelling, three-part harmony, and viola-forward arrangements, with detours into acoustic hip-hop. One local editor described Haakenson's writing as "Kurt Vonnegut stories set to music," and Gabe Nelson, bassist of Cake, called him "the most creative lyricist in town, perhaps in California, perhaps in the English speaking world." A track from the 2016 Short Raps Project later surfaced on the comedy podcast Comedy Bang Bang.
Recent discography and press
The band's numbered studio albums run through WORTH IT (December 12, 2025), a 14-track 20th-anniversary record that includes "Welcome to 40," the Occupy-echoing "We Are the 99 Percent!," and a version of "Sacramento" that drew coverage from the Sacramento Bee in February 2026. The wider catalog also holds the live archive Be Brave Old Fun Stuff Live (2014), the free pandemic-era covers set BBBR Covers by Others (2020), and a Greatest Hits! compilation (2021) released alongside Life is Other People the same year.
Community and causes
BBBR's civic footprint has grown clearer over time. In 2015 Haakenson organized and played a benefit at the Starlight Lounge for Sacramento Steps Forward, a nonprofit working to end homelessness. A 2020 pandemic-era show at Sacramento Rehearsal Studios doubled as a benefit for warm clothes and blankets for unhoused youth. The band is a regular at Chalk It Up, the free Labor Day arts benefit at Fremont Park, appeared at a Solving Sacramento "Hangout Gigs" session at Capital Stage, and works Porchfest and Concerts in the Park. Its Instagram bio carries a line of everyday micro-activism: "Walk and Bicycle when you can, limit plastics use."
The extended family
The Short Raps Project (2016) pulled in a wide cast of Sacramento MCs and collaborators, among them Eric Bourne (beats), Zack Sapunor, aL Voudou, Carolyn Reuman, Mr. Hooper, and singer-songwriter Justin Farren, who elsewhere engineered Take a Deep Breath and mastered WORTH IT. Recording credits across the catalog also include Scott Reams (mastering, 2007), Scott Ballard (mastering, Under a Thin Veil), and Patrick Hills of Earthtone Recording Company (But to Hate God Do Get a Hot Tub). Visual artists Willie Ramsey and Kyle Larsen are counted as honorary members. Related acts in the orbit include Nice Monster (Gerken), Salt Wizard and Light the Beacon Fires (former member Rachel Lomax), and, most famously, Death Grips, whose Andy "Flatlander" Morin drummed on the early self-titled release.