Los Angeles has been the promised land for many musicians throughout the ages. It seems no matter who you are, if your band builds a following on the West Coast club circuit, people talk and record labels take notice. In the case of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, lots of labels came calling. But in the end Virgin Records was the only company willing to give Black Rebel the creative freedom it desired. This freedom is quite evident on the band's self-titled debut album, which displays Black Rebel's total control of the recording and producing process conducted in its home studio.
Black Rebel's unique sound has been labeled everything from psychedelic to space rock to American imitation British rock. But don't ask the trio how to label it; 'that's everyone else's job.' No matter how its music is classified, Black Rebel has an unparalled sound and energy that has caught the attention of several, including Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Johnny Marr of the Smiths. With this support behind it, Black Rebel has been touring nationwide and will make its way to Union South tonight.
The Daily Cardinal recently had the opportunity to chat with guitarist, bassist and vocalist Robert Turner about the new album, touring and coming of age.
Can you tell me what it was like for you growing up in California, and how you started the band?
Wow, that's a long story. Me and Peter [Hayes-bass, guitar, vocals] went to high school together and both of us wanted to make music with someone else, other than just creating it in a vacuum. That was really the urge and then we went a couple of years without finding anyone else we could get along with. Then we met Nick [Jago'drummer] in San Francisco, we practiced one day and after three hours we knew that was the sound. Then we went to play in the city, and we all moved to L.A. recently. We all just had the determination (to get the band off the ground) and San Francisco couldn't really get things going, so we moved to L.A. hoping something better would happen. I'm glad it did because otherwise we wouldn't have the band anymore. It's pretty clean cut like that.
You guys are still pretty young (in your early 20s). Have you been in other bands?
Nothing really to speak of. Only for a couple months at a time. We all just had it in our minds to do something more serious, do our own thing.
Do you feel that your music will develop or change direction as you age?
You can't change the whole thing. Different sounds, different ideas we keep in the same range. I kind of avoid changing direction because there's certain bands which I really respect that drift a little too far into getting off on musical experimentation. You kind of lose it when you do that because you're not really doing what you're born to do. That sounds epic I guess, but everyone's built to do something, something they do the best. So we try not to steer too far from that because if we did, we'd be kidding ourselves.
A lot of record labels were seeking you guys out in the beginning. Do you have a theory as to why all those companies wanted to sign you?
I hope it was because we were a good band. Beyond that I'd imagine there would be a whole bunch of bullshit. You know, hype somebody hears from somebody else. In L.A. that's the truth. Nobody really knows what's good until they ask somebody else. A lot of instantaneous buzz and attention gets going from that. We just kept our heads down and kept doing music.
Why did you end up with Virgin Records?
Every other company passed on what we were asking for, and we needed it to be a certain way because we only knew how to make albums a certain way. It was all or nothing in that sense because we knew we weren't going to compromise on that.
You record in your home, right?
We have a 16-track that we record everything on except for drums. We like the expendable time factor. When you're at home you don't have to worry about time and money and deadlines. We can let things unfold naturally.
The sound on the album is pretty unique. Do you use a lot of effects?
We use a lot of overdubs and reverb tricks. But I think what's unique is the board [16-track]. It makes us sound unlike any other band, which is pretty hard. I won't even name the board because then someone else will get it [laughs]. We started recording on what we had at home, and the limitations of that are the best thing that could've happened to us because it became our character.
Reviews of your album have labeled your music as psychedelic, blues and space rock. How would you label it?
I have a really hard time doing that myself. We let other people do that for us, which creates a lot of confusion, but it's better that way.
Would you say you are heavily influenced by British bands?
Definitely, but not more than anyone else. We came up with Nirvana and Pixies, and all those bands were influenced by British bands. So, it all goes around in a big circle. We don't really listen to other things and try to sound like them'that's all I can really say.
Tony Berg of Virgin was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, 'BRMC's ferociously uncompromised point of view is going to resonate with a large audience of intelligent, introspective kids who feel estranged or disenfranchised.' What do you think of that statement?
I don't even understand half the words in that sentence [laughs]. He really loves music, I wish everyone loved music that much.
Have you been to Madison before?
Yeah, we played on campus. We've been touring relentlessly since November of 2000, almost a show a day. We played Indianapolis last night, on a Monday night, and it was packed. That on its own is unexpected. We've worked hard for it so I guess the time has come, but it hits you just the same.
What can we expect from your live show in Madison?
I just hope it sounds good. We lay all the tricks out on the table. If people walk away from us with smiles on their faces, I'll be happy.
