Umm, sorry but he wasn't a hired guy at all. He has been working with Ryan and Amir ever since they recorded the Orgy album Punk Statik Paranoia in 2003 (!) and they have been close friends ever since. First he was only taking over engineer duties (also for Orgy) but then Amir and Ryan introduced him to their new project Julien-K, and they started to work on it together. From the start, Brando brought a lot of ideas into Julien-K and at some point they decided to make him an official member of the band, also because they thought he'd really fit. Believe me - he can really put up with Ryan's jokes and Ryan's overall behavior. It's not semi-friendly mockery - it's just joking around and Brando can actually be really funny as well! And Ryan calling him a "kid" doesn't mean that he didn't take Brando for serious. They REALLY respect him and look up to him for his numerous talents and the countless hours of work that he always put into Julien-K! So yeah, I'm convinced they are still on good terms! They might not see each other that often anymore but they will remain friends!