the Band
ex·ploit
noun: exploit; plural noun: exploits
/ˈekˌsploit/
a bold or daring feat especially: a notable, memorable, or heroic act
About midnight the gang returned, with various articles of plunder, and talked over their exploits …— Sir Walter Scott
Brina Bujkovsky - Lead Vocals
Brina has been a singer her whole life. She started playing guitar and singing for friends and family in high school and continued throughout her college days at San Diego State University where she graduated with a Fine Arts Degree.
Brina sang for several bands in the San Diego area throughout the nineties including King Mother and Dang. She also wrote and performed her own original tracks on 91X and headlined at both Java Joe's in Ocean Beach and The Inner Change in Pacific Beach.
She's always been influenced by the female singer-songwriters of the 1990's such as Jewel, Tory Amos, 10,000 Maniacs, Edie Brickell and Fiona Apple. She fell in love with music listening to Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Depeche Mode, Yaz and The The. Her favorite contemporary artists at the moment are Vance Joy and Haim.
A few favorite albums? Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins; Out of Range by Ani DiFranco; Soul Mining by The The; 0898 Beautiful South by The Beautiful South; Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLaughlin.
Gus Bujkovsky - Guitars
Gus's love of music started very specifically in 1979 - on his Dad's classical guitar but it wasn't until his freshman year of college when his roommate in the dorms at Colorado State showed him how to play Ten Years After's "I'd Love to Change the World" opening riff that he became hooked. He had been bitten by the bug.
Gus is an accomplished musician who plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. He has played in several San Diego bands over the years including Empty Bucket, Citrus, No Left Ben and most recently, Tom's Garage Band.
As for musical influences, Gus lists: Terry Hall (The Specials), Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead) and Pete Townsend (The Who) to name a few. His top three bands/acts to this day are Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Madness and David Bowie. His all time favorite album is Quadrophenia by The Who.
Shiloh Strawbridge - Drums + Backing Vocals
Shiloh’s life-long love of music started with having a family that centered around playing music - she started guitar lessons at five years old, violin at six , & drums at age ten. She has enjoyed playing in rock bands, local symphony orchestras, drum lines, folk duos, percussion ensembles, and jam bands, and is stoked to be an Exploit, as well as her folk duo and family band concurrently.
Hailing from Los Alamos, New Mexico, home of the atomic bomb, and bomb chile, Shiloh came to San Diego for college and fell in love - with the place and with a San Diego native. She lists as her favorite San Diego venues: The Belly Up, Open Air Theater, and Aztec Brewery in Vista bc the folks who run it and who play there are lovely people, and musicians themselves.
Her musical influences are : Danny Carey, John Bonham, Dave Grohl, Karen Carpenter, Mike “Puffy” Bordin, and Tori Amos. A few favorite bands in no order - Aurora, Tool, Faith No More, Metallica, The Beatles, Jane’s Addiction, Ani DiFranco, and Modest Mouse.
A few favorite albums include: Metallica: …And Justice For All; Led Zeppelin IV; Faith No More: The Real Thing; Tool: AEnima; Liz Phair: whitechocolatespaceegg; Modest Mouse: The Moon and Antarctica; Aurora: All My Demons Greet Me as a Friend.
Kellie Hallum - Bass
Kellie Hallam is a bass player hailing from Long Beach, California. With a musical journey that started at a young age with her mother’s piano and guitar, Kellie has become an accomplished musician with an impressive resume. Kellie spent some time living in Northern California before moving to New York City, where she spent over a decade honing her craft and playing some of the most iconic venues in the city, including CBGB, Arlene’s Grocery, Bowery Electric, and House of Blues.
Kellie’s musical influences are diverse, ranging from the Beatles and Prince to Sublime, Nick Drake, and the Foo Fighters. Other favorite bands include Fleetwood Mac, the B-52’s, the 1975, Bloc Party, the Strokes, the Clash, and BTS.
Kellie joined her first band Rain Check in college in the Sacramento area. Rain Check was a punk band in the style of NOFX. Kellie then moved on to join a blues rock band in Davis, CA called the Jacklegs.
For 14 years, Kellie was the bassist for the NYC-based indie pop rock band, the Flying Points. The band’s song, “The Blame,” was featured in the soundtrack for “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. Other original songs “Sex Toys” and “The Process” received local radio play in NYC.
Kellie is excited to play alt rock songs she loves and celebrate women in rock with the eXploits!
