Alex McManus

For the Monty Python sketch, see Bruces sketch.

Alex McManus is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska currently based in Vancouver, BC. He has played with such bands as Acorns, Empire State, Lambchop, Vic Chesnutt, and Bright Eyes. He is also in his own band called The Bruces.

Selected discography

Albums as The Bruces

Year Album Details
1993 Family Day
  • Format: Cassette (Sing, Eunuchs!)
  • Format: CD (2002 · Little Army)
  • Format: Digital (Chunklet)
  • Format: LP, ltd edition of 300 (2007 · Grotto Records)
2002 Hialeah Pink
  • Format: LP (1995 · Sing, Eunuchs!/Theme Park)
  • Format: CD (2002 · Little Army)
  • Format: Digital (2002 · Chunklet)
2002 The War of the Bruces
2004 The Shining Path
2018 Thieves in the Wick--Songs of Simon Joyner
  • Format: LP, ltd edition of 300 (Unread Records/Kerchow Records/Jackson Street Booksellers)

Singles as The Bruces

Year Single Details
2000 "102" / "Oil and Vinegar"
  • Format: 7-inch (Sommerveg)
2018 "I Make Marks" / "Invisible Ceiling"
  • Format: Lathe-cut 7-inch (Unread Records)

Compilation Appearances as The Bruces

Year Song Album Details
1994 "Killer" You and What Army?
  • Format: Cassette (Sing, Eunuchs!)
1995 "Beginning to See the Light Fade" Our Salvation Is in Hand
  • Format: CD (Theme Park)
1996 "Sharpening Stone" Songs from a Room
  • Format: 7-inch (Sing, Eunuchs!)
1996 "Upbeat" Carry On Ooij--A Brinkman Waaghals Compilation
  • Format: CD (Brinkman)
2003 "There" As Yet No Title - Skewed Songwriter
  • Format: Cassette (Unread Records)

With Acorns

Year Release Details
1989 Acorns
  • Format: LP/Cassette (Post-Ambient Motion)
1991 Plainsongs
  • Format: Cassette (self-released)

With Frontier Trust

Year Release Details Credits
1992 The Highway Miles EP
  • Format: 7-inch (One Hour Records)
 Bass, vocals

With Simon Joyner

Year Release Details Credits
1994 The Cowardly Traveller Pays His Toll
  • Format: LP (Sing, Eunuchs!)
  • Format: LP (2008 · Team Love)
 Violin
1995 Heaven's Gate
  • Format: LP (Sing, Eunuchs!)
  • Format: CD (1996 · Brinkman)
 Violin
1997 Songs for the New Year Guest artist, guitar, violin
1998 Yesterday, Tomorrow and in Between
  • Format: 2LP, CD (Sing, Eunuchs!)
 Guest artist
2003 "Here Come the Balloons" / "They Say Man Cannot Fly"
  • Format: 7-inch (Tongue Master)
 Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, vocals
2004 Lost with the Lights On
2006 Beautiful Losers: Singles and Compilation Tracks 1994-1999 Concertina, mastering, sequencing, violin, whistle (human)
2006 Skeleton Blues Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel
2009 Out into the Snow Musician
2017 Step into the Earthquake Main personnel

With Vic Chesnutt

Year Release Details Credits
1995 Is the Actor Happy? Concertina, guitar, piano
1996 About to Choke Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
1998 The Salesman and Bernadette (with Lambchop) Atmosphere, euphonium, electric guitar, backing vocals, whistle (human)

With Lambchop

Year Release Details
1996 Thriller Performer
1996 "Cigarettiquette" / "Mr. Crabby"
1997 "Whitey" / "Playboy the Shit"
1998 What Another Man Spills
1998 "Your Fucking Sunny Day"
1998 "Give Me our Love (Love Song)"
2000 Nixon Electric guitar
2000 The Queens Royal Trimma Guitar
2000 "Up with People" / "Miss Prissy" Electric guitar, group member
2001 Tools in the Dryer
2002 Is a Woman Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
2002 Treasure Chest of the Enemy
  • Format: CD (self-released)
  • Tour-only release
 Guitar
2002 Pet Sounds Sucks
  • Format: CD (self-released)
  • Tour-only release
 Guitar
2004 Aw Cmon
  • Format: LP, CD (Merge, City Slang)
  • Also released as 2LP, 2CD with No You Cmon
Guitar, piano (thumb), group member
2004 No You Cmon
  • Format: LP, CD (Merge, City Slang)
  • Also released as 2LP, 2CD with Aw Cmon
Guitar, piano (thumb), group member
2004 L'Aurore (Sunrise)
  • Format: DVD (Carlotta Films)
2004 Lambchop + The DAFO String Quartet: Boo Fucking Who?
  • Format: CD (self-released)
  • Tour-only release
 Guitar
2006 Decline of Country and Western Civilization, Pt. 2 Group member
2006 Damaged Guitars
2007 No Such Silence (Live at the AB in Brussels) Guitar
2008 Oh (ohio) Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
2009 Live at XX Merge Performer

With Empire State

Year Release Details Credits
1999 Empire State Autoharp, bells, cello, chimes, horn, marxophone, trombone
2000 Why Climb the Highest Mountain EP
2001 Eternal Combustion Multi-instrumentalist

With Bright Eyes

Year Release Details Credits
2004 Lua EP Composer, guitar, vocals
2005 I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning Guitar
2005 Motion Sickness: Live Recordings Group member, performer

Other Appearances

Year Artist Release Details Credits
1999 Olivia Tremor Control at NPR Studios Trombone, percussion
2000 The Deist's Pouch "Everybody Has a Pouch" / "Backsliding Deist's Prayer" Acoustic guitar, recorder, backing vocals
2001 Summer Hymns A Celebratory Arm Gesture Trombone
2002 Azure Ray Burn and Shiver Euphonium, trombone
2004 A Tomato a Day (Brian Poloncic) The Moon Is Green
  • Format: CD (Public Eyesore)
 Engineer
2004 Tilly and the Wall Wild Like Children Assistant engineer
2004 Ed Gray Fresh Coat on the Powder Keg
  • Format: 7-inch (Unread)
 Engineer
2006 Ed Gray The Late Gray Ed Great
  • Format: LP (Hot Potato Records)
 Electric guitar, violin, engineer
2007 Charlie Louvin Charlie Louvin Featured artist, vocals, background vocals on "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea"
2007 Outlaw Con Bandana The Triple Escape
  • Format: Lathe-cut LP
 Engineer, musician
2008 Crooked Fingers Forfeit/Fortune
  • Format: LP, CD (Red Pig & Foreign Leisure)
 Assistant Engineer
2009 Miracles of God O What a Wonderful Day
  • Format: LP, CD (Public School Records)
 Engineer
2010 William Tyler Behold the Sprit Brass, electronics, tapes, violin
2010 Bill Hoover Here We Go
  • Format: Lathe-cut LP
 Engineer