Mane Character: Braden Boardman of I AM THE INTIMIDATOR
I can’t name a guitarist that shreds harder than Braden Boardman. It’s shocking, actually. The amount of energy and attitude that comes out of his fingers as he intricately hits each string is unfathomable. How? I think every time I see him play. He’s also a genuinely nice person–I was first introduced to him on a smoke-covered stage, when he played in a now-defunct band called Taarna. I was reintroduced to Braden at Dante’s, watching him blast us with his skills while playing alongside Jerry A and the Neogirls. “Cmon dude,” I said to myself as I rolled my eyes…in a good way!
He continues on his shredding streak with I AM THE INTIMIDATOR, a self-described “fantasy based reimagining detailing the final day of Dale Earnhardt’s life.” It sounds intense, but it’s well worth checking out. But getting into the nitty-gritty, watching Braden go to town on his guitar while his red, curly tresses caress his shoulders was likely the main cause of my jealousy. Again, how?! You play like this plus you get enviable hair? It really isn’t fair.
On a break from shredding his guitar to oblivion, he answered a few questions from me about how he gets hair so consistently perfect. Braden credits washing his hair every day during a shower as one of the most important steps. He credits his wife, Jeni, for providing all the products he needs in order to make his hair shine. While he wasn’t able to tell me the names of the products, I reached out to Jeni, and she told me he uses R+Co shampoo and conditioner. Before Jeni, Braden mentioned that he wasn’t allowed to grow his hair long and that he used to use a bar of soap to cleanse his hair. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that this red-headed shredder can credit himself for his music skills, but his curly tresses can be credited to his wife, Jeni. Thanks Jeni!
Mane Character is a monthly series by Bree Henry which highlights musicians’ haircare choices.
