Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
(BRMC for short) is an American alternative rock band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles. BRMC is known for its brand of garage rock, blues, folk revival, neo-psychedelia, and often religiously inspired lyrics, and its influences are groups and musicians such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, The Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain [1].
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BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB TICKETS
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History
Formation and early years: 1998–2003
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club formed in
1998, taking its name from
Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in the 1953 film
The Wild One
. The band was originally called The Elements, but after discovering that another band had the same name, it changed the name to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Their second album
Take Them On, On Your Own
has several songs such as "Generation" and "US Government" that are critical of the United States government.
The band's first two records were indebted to classic hard rock influenced by
Led Zeppelin and also encompassed slower paced
psychedelic rock,
space rock and
Noise Pop influences from bands such as
The Verve,
Loop,
Sonic Youth,
Dinosaur Jr and
The Jesus And Mary Chain. Recently, with their fourth record
Baby 81
, they developed a more concrete sound and style; encompassing
blues,
folk, and
rock, while remaining angst-ridden in theme.
The vocals are shared between Robert Levon Been (Bass) and Peter Hayes (guitar). Been and Hayes met at high school in the San Francisco Bay Area city of
Lafayette and quickly formed a band, Hayes having recently left
The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Looking for a drummer, they met Nick Jago, from
Devon,
England, who had moved to California to be with his parents after spending some time at Winchester School of Art, where he was studying fine art. Been used the pseudonym 'Robert Turner' on the first two records, in an attempt to not be linked to his famous father (Michael Been of
The Call.) He later dropped this identity when promoting
Howl
.
Middle era: 2004–2006
thumb, the venue where Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'broke the floor'
In 2003, a concert in
Leeds,
West Yorkshire,
UK had to be cancelled half way through the set, after
Leeds City Council officials suspected the 150 year old floor of
Leeds Town Hall might collapse.
[2] This led to the band sometimes being referred to as 'the band who broke the floor'.
[3]
After conflict with the label, the band was dropped by
Virgin Records in 2004.
Nick Jago became estranged from the band in 2005, reportedly due to drug problems that became publicly apparent when he remained on stage for a full nine minutes, completely silent, while accepting a 2003
NME
Award. A year later at the 2004 V Festival, Jago walked out when asked to sign an inflatable penis. Things came to a head in Scotland, when after a tense gig Jago and Hayes came to blows and before long, Jago quit
[4]. As such, Jago did not take part in the
Howl
sessions. Instead, he went through various rehab attempts, eventually rejoining the band in time to record one track on
Howl
, the ballad "Promise". Some fans believe the lack of Jago's presence, and the encompassing drug problems the band had faced, lead partly to
Howl's
stripped-down folk style, a departure from the traditional B.R.M.C. sound.
In 2005 the band signed to Echo in the UK, and RCA in the U.S. Their third album
Howl
was released to widespread critical acclaim. Several of the songs on
Howl
are said to have been written long before the idea of BRMC was conceived. Jago returned after most of the album was recorded but plays on track 7, "Promise". On tour for this album the band also employed a temporary fourth member, guitarist
Spike Keating, on stage during performances.
Possible influences of the band include the beat poet generation, notably of the Denver scene, and particularly in
Allen Ginsberg. This is evident in the title of their third album:
Howl
is the name of Ginsberg's most celebrated work.
Recent years: 2007–present
The band's fourth album,
Baby 81
, was released on
April 30,
2007 in the UK and Europe and
May 1,
2007 in the U.S.. The band has posted several songs of
Baby 81
album on their
MySpace page.
On
June 6,
2007, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performed in a concert that was streamed live via .
In June 2008 Nick once again left B.R.M.C.'s touring line-up, being replaced by
The Raveonettes' touring drummer Leah.
[5] Nick stated he "took it as I am fired again and to be honest with you I respect their decision."
. However, Peter and Robert issued a statement reading: "Nick won't be joining us for the upcoming European tour, but it's not true that he is fired. We just feel Nick needs time to sort out exactly what he wants right now. His heart and all his energy and attention is on his own solo project and he needs to see that through."
On October 27, 2008, the band announced via a
Myspace bulletin that they were to release their newest album independent of any record company. The album, which would be their fifth studio record, would also be their first release through their own "Abstract Dragon" label.
The album, titled,
The Effects of 333
is completely instrumental and is available as a digital download only through their official music store since 3:33 am Pacific Time on November 1.
On March 3, 2009, B.R.M.C. announced that they are recording their 6th studio album, and their tentative plan is to release the album later this year with tour dates to follow. Besides, they have recently completed their first ever live DVD, with audio mixed by Peter Hayes, recorded in Glasgow, Berlin and Dublin during the Baby 81 world tour. The DVD will see a release later this spring and more information on the release will be coming soon.
Members
- Peter Hayes – vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer (1998–present)
- Robert Levon Been – vocals, bass, guitar, piano (1998–present)
- Leah Shapiro – drums, percussion (2008–present)
Former members
- Nick Jago - drums, percussion (1998–2004, 2005–2008)
- Peter Salisbury - drums, percussion (2004)
Discography
- B.R.M.C.
(2001)
- Take Them On, On Your Own
(2003)
- Howl
(2005)
- Baby 81
(2007)
- The Effects of 333
(2008)
References
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
- http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/1583/
- http://www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com/tourarchive/2004/02/14/?s=402
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Prep New LP
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's drummer leaves band