The Black Box Revelation
Black Box Revelation | |
---|---|
BBR in 2008 as support act for dEUS | |
Background information | |
Origin | Dilbeek, Flemish Brabant, Belgium |
Genres | Garage Rock, Blues rock |
Years active | 2005-present |
Labels | T for Tunes - PIAS - Merovingian Music |
Website | Official Site |
Members |
Jan Paternoster Dries Van Dijck |
Black Box Revelation, previously named "The Black Box Revelation" and also known as the BBR, is a Belgian garage rock band. It was formed in 2005 by vocalist and guitarist Jan Paternoster and drummer Dries Van Dijck. The band achieved great reviews with their debut "Set Your Head On Fire" and second album "Silver Threats". In 2011, the band released their third album "My Perception", including two hit singles 'Rattle My Heart' and 'My Perception'.[1]
Career
Formation
Jan Paternoster and Dries Van Dijck, two friends from Dilbeek, started playing together (with Jan's brother Tim Paternoster as vocalist and Christoph Marquez on second guitar) as “The Mighty Generators”, at the respective ages of 12 and 14 years old. It was during this period that the two of them started jamming together as well. These jam sessions would lay the foundation to their new group: Black Box Revelation.
In 2006 they arrived second, The Hickey Underworld took the first spot, in Belgium’s influential Humo's Rock Rally contest.[2][3] The Mighty Generators made it to the quarter-finals.
The New York Times wrote: "Every so often they strip the music down to something slow and bluesy. But the Black Box Revelation isn't purely retro. They are just as happy with a drum-machine beat and a heap of overdubbed percussion, as long as the music makes its happy, trashy crash."[4]
Combining Beatles-meets-Kinks British invasion pop with haunting melodies, pounding blues, thick ambience and driving beats, Black Box Revelation plot their foreign invasion. In Europe they toured with dEUS, Ghinzu, General Fiasco, The Raveonettes, Eagles Of Death Metal, Iggy Pop and others. They played multiple times at festivals such as Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Pinkpop, Sziget Festival and Rock en Seine.
In June 2008, the Black Box Revelation started their first tour in the United States. They performed gigs in San Diego, West Hollywood and New York City.
Since then they played a couple of times at SXSW and they toured through the United States in June 2011 with the Meat Puppets, played at Bonnaroo Music Festival, on tour with The Morning After Girls (Sept 19 - Oct 18, 2011) and on tour with Meat Puppets from November 6 to November 13, 2011.
Introducing: The Blackbox Revelation
In 2007 the duo released their debut EP. The EP was supported by a videoclip for “Kill For Peace (And Peace Will Die)”. The Belgian press was unanimously enthusiastic and this resulted in lots of club-gigs. During the summer of 2007 the band played at the big open-air festivals Dour and Pukkelpop.
Set Your Head On Fire
The Black Box Revelation started recording their album “Set Your Head On Fire” mid-2007. The album was produced by Triggerfinger drummer Mario Goossens, mixed in Los Angeles by Greg Gordon (who had previously worked with Wolfmother, Jet and Soulwax), and mastered in New York by Fred Kevorkian (Iggy Pop, U2, The White Stripes). Over 30,000 copies were downloaded in Belgium alone.[5]
Their single “I Think I Like You” rapidly rose to the top of the radio charts. Peter Afterman and the Major League Baseball club Pittsburgh Pirates later bought the rights to "I Think I Like You".
"A rock party that seems unwilling to end. Like the 60s garage bands they were influenced by, Black Box Revelation know that sometimes rock is most effective when it is simple. With this philosophy in mind, the band keeps their riffs repeating and their lyrics from being over analytical. Black Box Revelation's debut seem strategically constructed while still retaining a reckless and raw sound." quote: Plug in Music.
Silver Threats
In Feb 2010 they released their second album "Silver Threats", with the singles "High on a Wire", "Sleep While Moving", "Do I Know You" and "Love Licks". This album was also produced by Triggerfinger drummer Mario Goossens, mixed in Los Angeles by Greg Gordon (who had previously worked with, and mastered in New York by Fred Kevorkian.
Contact Music wrote, "There's scuzzy, full throttle blues romps sitting comfortably next to more quiet moments. Silver Threats is an album that sits just on the edge of chaos, providing a brilliant musical thrill ride, almost from start to finish."
"Silver Threats" ranked in February 2010 on #1 in the Flemish album charts Ultratop 50.[6] In January 2011 The Black Box Revelation won two Music Industry Awards in Flanders, for best Live Act and best Rock/Alternative music.[7]
My Perception
The single Lust or Love was released on 14 February 2011, whilst the band was working on their third album with Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age) in Hollywood, LA.
Black Box Revelation released a new single on June 1, 2011 called, "Rattle My Heart". It's the lead single from their 3rd album, My Perception, which was released worldwide on September 30, 2011. They released 'My Perception' as follow up single.
Black Box Revelation is receiving support from its newly found American label Merovee Records, partially owned by talk show star David Letterman.[8]
The band toured several months in the United States to promote their third album and played as opening act for different major acts such as Jane's Addiction and Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye. HardrockHaven's stated about the band: "the black box revelation got the crowd on their feet and dancing with their growling, bluesy riffs and intense drums. Watching this duo play brings to mind, The White Stripes, The Black Keys and Middle Class Rut. Each song was a different adventure of sounds that took the listener into a world surrounded by nothing but tearing guitar and deep percussion, you could do nothing but listen and be impressed. This is a band whose star will continue to rise and the climb will be fun to watch".[9]
In popular culture
- On August 23, 2009, the song "Cold Cold Hands" is tuned on FX in the episode 7 of the 6th season of Entourage.
- On October 4, 2011, the song "I Think I Like You" is tuned on FX in the episode 5 of the 4th season of Sons Of Anarchy, Brick
- On October 25, 2011, the song "Where Has All This Mess Begun" is tuned on FX in the episode 8 of the 4th season of Sons Of Anarchy, Family Recipe [10]
- On June 12, 2012, the Black Box Revelation played their song "High on a Wire" in the Late Show with David Letterman.[11]
- "High On A Wire" played during an episode of MTV's Teen Wolf (2x02 Chaos Rising)
Discography
Albums
- Introducing: The Blackbox Revelation (EP) (2007)
- Kill For Peace (and peace will die)
- Fighting With The Truth
- Mirror Of Imagination
- Start Where I Begun (live versie)
- Set Your Head On Fire (2007, T for Tunes, PIAS)
- I think I like you
- Love In Your Head
- Gravity Blues
- Never Alone / Always Together
- Stand Your Ground
- Love, Love Is On My Mind
- Set Your Head On Fire
- Dollars Are Sweet, They Say
- Beatbox Revelation pt.1
- Cold Cold Hands
- We Never Wondered Why
- I Don't Want It
- Misery Box
- Silver Threats (2010, T for Tunes, PIAS)
- High On A Wire
- Where Has All This Mess Begun
- Run Wild
- 5 O'Clock Turn Back The Time
- You Better Get In Touch With The Devil
- Do I Know You
- Sleep While Moving
- Our Town Has Changed For Years Now
- Love Licks
- You Got Me On My Knees
- Here Comes The Kick
- My Perception (2011, T for Tunes, PIAS, Merovee)
- Madhouse
- My Perception
- Rattle My Heart
- Bitter
- Skin
- White Unicorns
- Shadowman
- New Sun
- Sealed With Thorns
- 2 Young Boys
- Lonely Hearts
- Shiver Of Joy EP (2011, Merovee)
- Highway Cruiser (2015)
- Stop Breathing
- Riverside
- War Horse
- Highway Cruiser
- Pounding Heart
- Live Forever
- I Knew All Along
- Gloria (feat. The Gospel Queens)
- Walk Another Line
- I Can't Find it
- Pounding Heart (Electric Version)
Singles
- I Think I Like You
- Gravity Blues
- Set Your Head On Fire
- Never Alone / Always Together
- Love love is on my mind
- High On a Wire
- Do I Know You
- Sleep While Moving
- Love Licks
- Lust or Love
- Rattle My Heart
- My Perception
- Bitter
- Skin
- Sweet as Cinnamon
- Gloria (feat. The Gospel Queens)
Live extra songs
- Medication
Equipment
Jan Paternoster is known to play a Gibson CS-356 hollow-body electric guitar as well as a James Trussart Deluxe SteelCaster (a Fender Thinline Telecaster-style guitar with a hollow metal body) with an SH pickup configuration. He has also been seen using a Hofner electric guitar. He uses a Vox AC30 and Blackstar Amplification.
In 2011 on the US tour he played an early 60's Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Flying V with Blackstar Amps.
References
- ↑ De Standaard, Beluister My Perception, het nieuwe album van Black Box Revelation, 30 september 2011
- ↑ (in Dutch) "The Hickey Underworld wint de Rock Rally", De Standaard, 27 March 2006
- ↑ (in Dutch) "The Hickey Underworld wint de Rock Rally", 27 March 2006
- ↑ Merovee Records, Press Praise FOR Black Box Revelation
- ↑ De Standaard, Stop de diefstal van muziek, 30 September 2009
- ↑ Ultratop 50, Silver Threats Nr.1 in album list, February 13th, 2010
- ↑ "Twee MIA's voor The Black Box Revelation, Goose en Stromae". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 7 January 2011.
- ↑ Flanders Today, The Black Box Revelation raises the stakes with third album, October 11, 2011
- ↑ Jane’s Addiction with Black Box Revelation, February 29, 2012 at Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, NY, March 6, 2012
- ↑ http://www.tvfanatic.com/music/shows/sons-of-anarchy/
- ↑ Black Box Revelation bij David Letterman, Knack, June 12, 2012