Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Background information
Origin United States San Francisco, California, USA
Genre(s) Indie rock
Garage rock
Years active 1998–present
Label(s) Virgin Records, Echo Records, RCA
Website Official website
Members
Peter Hayes
Robert Levon Been
Nick Jago

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC for short) are an American rock and roll band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles. The band is comprised of Peter Hayes (guitar, bass, vocals); Robert Levon Been (guitar, bass, vocals) and Nick Jago (drums/percussion).

Contents

[edit] History

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club formed in 1998, taking their name from Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in the 1953 film The Wild One.

On their first two records they played hard-driving punkish rock influenced by Iggy Pop And The Stooges, The Ramones, The Doors, Sex Pistols, and 1980s British acts like Spacemen 3 and especially The Jesus & Mary Chain. Their style also encompassed slower paced psychedelic dreamy grooves influenced by shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain and Ride. Recently, with their third record Howl, they developed a new sound somewhere between blues, folk, gospel and rock, but still with their old melancholy.

The vocals are shared between Robert Levon Been (Bass) and Peter Hayes (guitar). Been and Hayes met at high-school in San Francisco and quickly formed a band, writing music and playing together. Looking for a drummer, they met Nick Jago, who hailed from Cornwall in 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.

The band were originally under the name 'The Elements' but after discovering that another band had the same name, they swiftly changed to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Caught up in the hype of the music-press fuelled 'New Rock Revolution' which included The Strokes and Kings of Leon in 2001 to 2003, the band quickly separated themselves from the others in both sound and image. Their second album Take Them On, On Your Own has several songs such as "Generation" and "US Government" that make attacks on the United States and in particular George Bush that were echoed by Green Day the next year.

After conflict with the label, the band were dropped by Virgin Records in 2004, with Nick Jago leaving the band at the end of their summer tour of the same year due to 'internal conflict' (later revealed to be a drink and drug addiction problem). After Jago's departure, Hayes and Been posted on their official website that the doors are open for him to come back if he has solved his problems. Hayes and Been then regrouped and recorded their third album.

In 2005 the band signed to Echo in the UK, and RCA in the US, with Jago also returning. Their third album Howl was recently released to widespread critical acclaim. Several of the songs on Howl are said to have been written long before the idea of the BRMC was concepted. Jago returned after most of the album was recorded but plays on track 7, "Promise".

They have confirmed that they have begun recording their new "Yet-To-Be-Titled" 4th album, which should be released in early 2007. Possible influences of the band include the "beat" poet generation, particularly Allen Ginsberg. This is evident in the title of their latest album, "Howl", which is the namesake of Ginsberg's most celebrated work. Tracks slated to appear on the album, which is expected next spring, include "666 Conducer", "Berlin", "The Show", "Cold Wind", "Weapon of Choice", "Killin' the Light", "Am I Only" and "All You Do is Talk", a track that is built using 12 different guitar parts.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

B.R.M.C.
(April 3, 2001)
UK #25
Take Them On, On Your Own
(August 25, 2003)
US #47, UK #3
Howl
(August 22, 2005)
US #90, UK #14, #33 AUS
"Untitled"
(Early 2007)

[edit] Singles

  • "Red Eyes and Tears" (February 2001)
  • "Rifles" (March 2001)
  • "Screaming Gun" EP (October 2001)
  • "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll (punk song)" (October 2001)
  • "Love Burns" (January 2002) UK #37
  • "Spread Your Love" (May 2002) UK #27
  • "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll (punk song)" (September 2002) UK #46
  • "Stop" (August 2003) UK #19
  • "We're All in Love" (November 2003) UK #45
  • "Ain't No Easy Way" (August 2005) UK #21
  • "Weight of the World" (October 2005)

[edit] External links

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Peter Hayes | Robert Levon Been | Nick Jago
Discography
Studio albums: BRMC | Take Them On, On Your Own | Howl
Singles: Red Eyes and Tears | Rifles | Screaming Gun | Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll (punk song) | Love Burns | Spread Your Love | Stop | We're All in Love | Ain't No Easy Way | Weight of the World
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