FINALLY GREAT NEWS FOR ME !!!

We’re excited to announce we’ll be heading to Ireland in December.
We will be playing The Academy in Dublin on Dec. 13th and Mandela in Belfast on Dec. 14th.

Tickets go on sale May 28th through Ticketmaster.

We are pleased to announce we will be playing Pyramid in Portsmouth on December 2nd.
Tickets are on sale now through See Tickets and Ticketmaster.

We are pleased to announce a full headline tour of New Zealand and Australia to accompany our appearance at Splendour in the Grass.

• Jul 23, 2010 – Auckland (NZ) – Powerstation
• Jul 24, 2010 – Wellington (NZ) – San Fran
• Jul 25, 2010 – Christchurch (NZ) – Al’s Bar
• Jul 27, 2010 – Adelaide (AU) – Fowlers
• Jul 28, 2010 – Melbourne (AU) – Billboard
• Jul 30, 2010 – Byron Bay (AU) – Splendour In The Grass (SOLD OUT)
• Aug 1, 2010 – Sydney (AU) – Metro
• Aug 3, 2010 – Perth (AU) – Metro Freemantle

Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 13th. Details to follow.

We have added two new items to our store.
We are now offering an iPhone case and candle, both in the popular Sugar Skull design.
They are $24.99 each, and available through our online store.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Academy, Leeds

Dave Simpson

As musical trends come and go, the continued survival of BRMC is a curveball. The San Franciscan band haven't had a hit for years and hardly generate media interest, yet are playing larger venues than ever and continue to attract younger fans. Delivering a two-hour set for just over £15 in these cash-hungry times seems almost revolutionary socialism, and a sense that BRMC are outsiders is crucial to their appeal to audiences who share the band's love of everything black. If you want to don a leather jacket, turn the collar up and sneer at the world, this is your music.

Their show hasn't changed much since they emerged at the start of the decade: everything is still black, bathed in dry ice or dazzled by strobes. Their detractors claim their music similarly changes less than the colour of their underpants, and while it's hard to review them without using the words "Jesus and Mary Chain", their sound has developed to make everything from bruised acoustic blues to T Rex's joyous glam-stomp sound black and brooding.

Some of the "rebellion" implied by their name is almost comically minor: Robert Been's schoolboy flouting of the smoking ban while the bouffant-haired Peter Hayes glares malevolently at, er, the lighting technician. And yet, it's hard to deny the insurrectionist buzz of their best tunes. Whether they have enough of them to fill such a long set is debatable. Still, Spread Your Love gets everybody singing and Weapon of Choice sounds glorious. "Let's go fucking mental", chants Hayes before a riotous-sounding Whatever Happened to My Rock'n'Roll, and on cue mayhem erupts in front of the stage.

At Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton (0870 320 7000), tonight.

April 28, 2010...2:04 pm

letsgetcynical.wordpress.com

Someone Still Loves You, BRMC.

 


While critical response to their career so far has ranged from glowing praise to sneering cynicism, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have always seemed to maintain a loyal, fervent fanbase – although you’d have struggled to believe that at the beginning of Monday night’s show at Leeds Academy.

Granted, starting out with ‘War Machine’ seemed like an odd move to me, given that it’s one of the more turgid tracks from latest album Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. But the dirty rock choruses of follow-up ‘Mama Taught Me Better’ should surely have got some bodies moving – instead, the crowd continue to stand impassively as the band rock out. Despite the rapturous applause afterwards, it just feels wrong. ‘Red Eyes And Tears’ gets a few cheers, but material from the band’s newest album elicits little response – even the title track doesn’t get the crowd going. ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’ almost threatens to start the party,  but it’s not until the one-two punch of ‘Berlin’ and ‘Weapon Of Choice’ that people finally start to get into it. Of course, with the crowd suitably fired up, Robert Been responds to their chants of “let’s go fucking mental” by sitting down at a piano and playing ‘Long Way Down’. It’s almost as if they don’t *want* the crowd to go crazy for them at times – see also the earlier decision to play ‘Shade Of Blue’, arguably an obscure selection from Take Them On, On Your Own. Nevertheless, after a jaw-dropping rendition of ‘Awake’ that fills the room with glorious noise, they finally give the crowd what they want – Been attempts to affect an English accent as he chants “let’s go fucking mental” back at the crowd, but he can’t help cracking up in the process. What’s next is predictable but thrilling regardless of that – ‘Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘N’ Roll’ sees the crowd drop any pretence of reserve and duly go “fucking mental”.

The band obviously feel like digging out a real rarity after that, as Been start’s their encore with a solo acoustic rendition of ‘Mercy’ from the Howl Sessions EP. Unfortunately, the beautiful song is marred by incessant chatter from the audience – “This is shit,” I hear one philistine next to me exclaim before wandering off to the bar. He’ll get what he wants soon enough, however, as the band slowly build the ante back up before unleashing ‘Six Barrel Shotgun’ and ‘Spread Your Love’ in quick succession – and the latter sees the biggest response from the crowd that we’ve seen all night.

Indeed, ‘Spread Your Love’ seems like such a natural way to end the set that the band’s second encore can’t help but feel slightly incongruous, despite the crowd’s cheers for more. But hey, who am I kidding, I’m not going to say no to more BRMC -especially as it means that they finally play ‘Stop’, a personal favourite of mine. They then finish off the night with ‘Shadow’s Keeper’ – which first surprises me because it’s not an obvious choice, and then surprises me again by being really damn good live. Of course, the band have to end on their own terms, and that wilful obscurity comes out to play again as the wind the song down, segueing seamlessly into ‘Open Invitation’ – yes, the bonus track from Howl, which ends the show on an unexpectedly pretty note.

In the end, I suppose, it didn’t matter that the crowd only went crazy for the more straight-up rock tracks. Songs like ‘Awake’, ‘Mercy’, Shadow’s Keeper’ and ‘Long Way Down’ show that the band have more strings to their bow – and really, wouldn’t we be bored of them by now if they’d just put out an album of 10 ‘Spread Your Love’s every couple of years? I think we would.


Setlist, 26th April 2010, Leeds Academy:
War Machine
Mama Taught Me Better
Red Eyes And Tears
Bad Blood
Beat The Devil’s Tattoo
Shade Of Blue
Ain’t No Easy Way
Aya
Berlin
Weapon Of Choice
Long Way Down
Awake
Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘N’ Roll (Punk Song)
///
Mercy
River Styx
Shuffle Your Feet
Conscience Killer
Six Barrel Shotgun
Spread Your Love
///
Stop
Shadow’s Keeper
Open Invitation

Freitag, 7. Mai 2010

Konzert: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC)
Berlin, Astra, 04.05.2010
Vorband: Zaza

Wer mal richtig rocken will, geht auf ein BRMC Konzert. So eins der Sorte, wo man mit durchgeschwitzem T-Shirt nach Hause geht.
Sexy Rock n Roll vom allerfeinsten spielen diese Typen. Ein Youtube Kommentar war einmal „Sex please“, was nachvollziehbar ist, wenn man die Musik hört.

Los gings jedoch mit der überraschenden Tatsache, dass Online Tickets auch vorteilhaft sein können. Beim Anstehen vorm Club erreichten folgende Worte mein Ohr:
„Online Tickets bitte vorkommen.“
Wir haben unsere eigene Schlange bekommen, die leer war. Schön.

Drinnen dann der teuflische Merch-Stand, an dem Vorbeigehen immer schwer gemacht wird. Schöne scheiß Shirts hatten sie da, natürlich! Ich MUSSTE ja eins mitnehmen, man wird gezwungen. Ein nettes weißes Girlie Shirt mit V-Ausschnitt und „Beat the Devil’s Tattoo“.

Wollte gern vorne stehen und bin gleich zur Bühne. Entspannt zweite Reihe stand ich anfangs.
Bei Vorband Zaza aus New York regte sich nicht viel. Sie waren drei Leutchen, die Dame umzingelt von zwei dürren Typen.
Jennifer hielt den Bass in der Hand, Danny die Gitarre und Dru haute seitlich stehend auf die Drums. Beattechnisch war es super, das ging schon über ins Blut, nur fehlte mir irgendwas.

Schon beim Umbauen wurde es enger und mein entspannter Platz in der zweiten Reihe wurde zu einem zwischen erster und dritter Reihe gepressten Plätzchen. Im Astra war gut Stimmung und schon bevor BRMC die Bühne betraten, war das Geschrei so laut, dass die Ohren brummten.

Cool im Dunkeln kamen sie on stage und spielten erstmal „War Machine“ vom neuen Album „Beat The Devil’s Tattoo“. Album Nummer 5, möchte erwähnt werden. Die haben schon fleißig gearbeitet.
Seit 1998 gibt’s das Trio aus San Fransisco. Ist so eine schöne Geschichte, wenn aus Schulfreunden eine Band wird. Zu Peter und Robert, die beide singen und Gitarre und Bass spielen, gesellte sich Nick und nach anfänglichen Namensschwierigkeiten benannten sie sich nach einer Motorradgang aus einem 1953er Marlon Brando Film.

Komischerweise sah der Typ an den Drums ziemlich weiblich aus. Nach dem Konzert hab ich erst gelesen, dass Nick nicht mehr zur Band gehört. Drogenprobleme, Verlassen der Band, Zurückkehren, Drogenprobleme, Rausschmiss aus der Band – Kurzfassung.
Seit 2008 sitzt also eine kesse Dame an den Drums. Leah, die schon bei den Raveonettes auf Tour Schlagzeug gespielt hat. Also wenn die nicht cool war, aber ist ja kein Wunder bei dem schönen Namen.
Ich musste sie die ganze Zeit anstarren, weiß gar nicht warum. Öfters starrte sie sogar zurück, was aber wohl daran lag, dass sie die Gesichter der ersten Reihen einstudierte. Sie schaute wirklich ununterbrochen zu uns.
Frauen am Schlagzeug, was soll man dazu sagen – besser geht es nicht!

Und zu den beiden singenden Rocksäuen braucht man auch nichts mehr zu sagen. Das Wort Coolness steigt einfach mal in neue Ebenen auf. Wenn ins Mikro geschrien wird und der Schweiß von den Wimpern tropft.
Der Gig war mit 8 Songs vom neuen Album schon sehr auf dieses bezogen, aber sie spielten auch ein verdammt langes Set. Nicht zu verachten gab es 5 Songs vom ersten Album! Und das ist gerade das rockigste. Freude!

Ich bin aber auch gnadenloser Verfechter vom neuen Album und hüpfte bis an die Decke als der Titelsong kam.
Sie fingen mit coolen Nummern an und begaben sich nach und nach in Ausrast-Lieblingsebenen des Publikums.
Ain’t No Easy Way, Aya, Berlin und Weapon Of Choice hintereinander. Annabel Lee und Awake zum Ausruhen und dann Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll.
Danach war ich so dermaßen im A...ltersheim angemeldet.
Nach riesigem Applause kam Robert schnell wieder, setzte sich vorne an den Rand auf eine Box mit seiner Akustik Gitarre und fragte uns, was wir hören möchten. Verschiedene Songs flogen durch den Raum, doch der Wunsch „Mercy“ zu hören, setzte sich lautstark durch. Nach reichhaltigem Überlegen, meinte er nur niedlich „Ok“ und sang Mercy.
Nach diesem tränennahen Song begab man sich wieder auf die Reise back to the roots. Zwei noch eher ruhige Songs folgten und dann ging es ab.
Conscience Killer, 6 Barrel Shotgun, American X und Spread Your Love erledigten nun auch gewissenhaft den Rest der noch stehenden Zuschauer, bis alle glücklich auf dem Astra Boden lagen! Nein natürlich nicht, aber ich war so fertig, dass ich es gern getan hätte.

Wieder verschwand man hinter die Bühne.
Aber wir wollten mehr! Es war noch lauter als zuvor und man spürte irgendwie, dass sie uns mehr Gutes tun wollten.
Sie hatten sich wirklich ein mehr als perfektes Set zusammengebastelt. Wer erwartet schon 10 Songs als Zugabe?!
Da man vorher die Setlist nicht kennt und nun nach und nach immer mehr Songs gespielt werden, fühlt man sich gut, weil sie ja natürlich nur wegen uns, wegen des hammer Publikums so viele geile Sachen spielen, nicht wahr!
Das alles geplant ist, vergessen wir ganz schnell wieder, denn den Glauben, dass nur hier in Berlin passierte was passiert ist, möchten wir schließlich behalten.
Als letzte Zugabe gab es Stop, The Shadow’s Keeper und einen heiligen Song: Open Invitation! Ein Hidden Track der Platte Howl. Wieder wurden wir verzaubert und zwar durch Kunst für das Auge. Der komplette Saal war plötzlich in grüne Laserstrahlen gehüllt, die sich langsam bewegten. Und dann fingen sie im Duo an zu singen. Der Songtext mit Zeilen wie „We may never be here again“ schnürte einem richtig die Kehle zu, da diese Vorstellung, nach einem solchen Konzert, wohl die schmerzhafteste überhaupt ist. Nun war es vorbei, es gab noch einmal herzlichen Applause, aber niemand kämpfte um mehr Songs, denn der Abschluss war gewesen und er war, wie man es sich wünscht. Sie bedankten sich für ein außergewöhnliches Konzert und verließen die Bühne. Noch im Dunkeln kam „What A Wonderful World“ aus den Boxen und das Herz hüpfte noch mal auf und ab.
Ein wirklich wirklich großartiges Konzert! Coolness, Rock n Roll, Ausflippen und wunderschöne Momente. Ich will noch mal!

Setlist:
- War Machine
- Mama Taught Me Better
- Red Eyes
- Bad Blood
- Beat The Devil’s Tattoo (Video!)
- Love Burns
- Shade Of Blue
- Ain’t No Easy Way (Video!)
- Aya
- Berlin
- Weapon Of Choice
- Annabel Lee
- Awake
- Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll

- Mercy (Video!)
- River Styx
- Shuffle Your Feet (Video!)
- Conscience Killer
- Six Barrel Shotgun
- American X
- Spread Your Love

- Stop
- Shadow’s Keeper
- Open Invitation (Video!)

Jumping in at the deep end's always a little terrifying, even with arm bands on. Joining bands fifteen years into their career however could be construed to be a rather bold, brash and quite possibly destructive decision. They say look before you leap but regardless, it'd surely be best to leap to cower away forever and a day... You'd never know what'd be awaiting in the abyss below, if not. Denmark's sultry ex-Raveonettes tom-tom ravager Leah Shapiro took life, health and sanity in her hands when she joined San Fran's leather-bound blues impresarios Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a couple of years back, and now she's on telepathic terms with the dirty bass rumbles of Robert's grungey Gibsons. Allegedly... Blinded by phosphorescent lights in the basement of Milan's Magazzini Generali, Shapiro's on the H₂0 for the minute. But then she's had her high school hedonistic kicks, back when current bandmates were just, well, kicking off...

Dots: Presumably integrating yourself within an act that's been doing the rounds for such a prolonged period of time isn't quite as easy as slipping into a pair of overstretched Cheap Mondays...

Leah Shapiro: It's been a little chaotic; chaotic and crazy to delve into a project that's as established as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has become, with such a dedicated following. That lumps a heap of pressure on me, given that there's a hell of a lot of people out there for me to disappoint if I don't really do that great a job so it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride, the past two years. Especially as I haven't really had a moment's respite to have a think about anything... Normally when you join a band you're not having to get to grips with such an extensive discography as Robert and Peter's either, so I had to really isolate myself and just relive and breath every piece of work they've done over the past decade or so. Then we went to record the latest record Beat The Devil's Tattoo. And now we're on the road again.

Dashes: I suppose B.R.M.C. have a little bit of a history with drummer traumas, involving inflatable penis phobias and the like. Do you feel as though you'll be due the odd complication at some point?

LS: Initially, things were a bit tetchy, anxious and nervous at not quite knowing how things would turn out but we tried not to dwell on that too extensively for fear of over-analysing and getting wound up by potential difficulties. Basically we just tried our damnedest to ensure that everything didn't just turn to shit.

Dots: Despite not being on board, or riding with the 'Motorcycle Club as it were for the folk departure that was Howl, the latest LP seems to have returned the dirty rock'n'roll equilibration we've come to expect from the band. Is this your most comfortable niché, or just an "easy way out"?

LS: We're all influenced by a shed load of diverse culture so it's hard to shave away any excess and resort to one-dimensional branding. I think the stylistic expression of Howl certainly makes up a part of who we are, but as far as this record goes we had no preceding concept of what it'd sound like, or what we wanted it to represent, following with my addition to the songwriting process.

Dashes: Reverting to influence, the band's evidently been inspired not just by other artists within the realms of music, but also Marlon Brando's leather-clad biker boys and presumably, copious amounts of ethanol. One thing that rips through the spine of B.R.M.C. is Robert's pulverising, distorted bass lines and presumably you now have a fairly fundamental role in backing him up in the rhythm department...

LS: What with bass and drums being almost partners in crime, we were joking during rehearsals that we could practically read each others' minds, tell where the other was going. Unspoken communication, bordering on telepathy.

Dots: Evidently music's now swaying towards scenes, bands clumping together etc. Without sounding prejudiced, you mightn't expect B.R.M.C. to be entirely in keeping with such tendencies, what with your records forget smelling, but almost sounding like Budweiser, Bourbon whiskey and Marlboro Reds...

LS: We're mostly inspired by older, dusty music but we do listen to contemporary stuff too. We're more inspired by each other though, rather than attempting to slot in and adapt with other bands floating around at any one point in time. We do what we do, and it's heartwarming to see people over here in Italy queuing up outside on the steps four hours before doors even open.

Dashes: Your accent sounds American. You're not from San Francisco though, are you...

LS: No, I'm actually from Denmark. When the band started out, I was drunkenly stumbling about high school.

Dots: Listening to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club..?

LS: No, I'd never heard of them. I'm not from Copenhagen so American music didn't really reach my ears much... There was no music scene whatsoever. Then when I was playing in a band called Dead Combo, we opened for The Raveonettes at the Mercury Lounge in New York so got in contact with them. Sune was living over there, as was I and we bumped into each other on a flight over from Copenhagen. Then we got absolutely hammered together. It was fun until hangovers and jet lags kicked in. Then about a week or two before the start of a Black Rebel tour they were without a drummer, so I got roped in. And here we are.

Dashes: Stylistically quite isolated, musically at least, has it been quite a struggle for you, as a band, to stay relevant..? There comes a point, say in May in Milan for instance, where leather jackets become slightly impractical...

LS: Everything, musically, is moving ridiculously quickly these days and I think attention spans are getting forever shorter too. It's got to the stage where fads come and go so quickly my brain can't really even keep up with it any more!

Dots: I suppose were you to go to SXSW and be greeted by 200 new bands in the space of 20 hours, all clamouring for your attention, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club may not top many wish lists...

LS: There's so much going on, and now so many different avenues down which people can encounter new music, so it's really quite tricky to stay relevant, yeah. Fortunately, it's not my job to sift through tons and tons of new music to find out who's any good.

Dashes: Supposedly, I guess it is mine more or less... At least the live scene's been boosted by people robbing whatever music they fancy online...

LS: Nothing beats going to a truly special concert, as it offers you an entirely new perspective on music and is a really unique experience I feel. It's amazing to be drawn into this whole other world.

Dots: In your humble opinion, disregarding line up alterations and altercations, is the core of the band the same as it ever was?

LS: I'm probably not the best person to answer that question but people change and I think that essentially, we're all still the same people. The brotherhood between Peter and Robert, and the family environment generated by our crew makes us feel as though we're all in this together which, you know, is nice...

Dashes: Finally, without too intentionally coming across as slightly sexist towards both women and men, being the sole female presence amongst hordes of sweaty, leathered blokes both in terms of jacket and state of intoxication, have you found that slightly taxing at times?

LS: No, not really. They're not the crazy degenerates for which rock'n'roll can sometimes be renowned and quite honestly, women have every capability of being just as awful as any guy could be, whether that be a slob or a pig or what have you.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tour Europe alarmingly extensively, before playing Paris' Rock en Seine festival this August.

www.radioeins.de 

Splendour in the Grass is now sold out.
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets. We look forward to seeing you there.

‘Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘N’ Roll’

This is the question I keep asking myself and others over and over again. Where are the great bands, the dark bands, the bands that make you feel like you are their only fan, the bands that just don’t seem to give a fuck about… well anything really? They are so busy making art, creating, debating, annoying and destroying - even putting out a record almost kills them and playing live… Well that’s even harder work…



BRMC are one of ‘Those’ bands, every album has challenged the listener, every ounce of shame, pain, passion and glory has been bled from their pores, placed before the world to see and hear, to appraise and berate, to love, and yes, to hate…



I think with every album they have gotten better, every time the slab of vinyl gets a release it’s a sheer joy to drop the needle, and latest offering ‘Beat The Devil’s Tattoo’ has become one of my favorite records of the year so far, and tonight ladies and gentlemen we are about to find out if it’s cutting the mustard Live!
As always it’s great to see a band of this quality in my fave city… Liverpool. Once more up the sheer climb of the 02 stairs we go to be met by a sold-out crowd, sweaty, angsty and ready to rock, and the PA is pumping the tunes way out of control, the soundtrack to the ‘Rebel’ life is playing out, and boy does it sound good…

8:55pm Light’s out Liverpool… The band exit their intro feedback straight into their own and hit the ground running  with ‘War Machine’ from the latest album, the lighting is nothing short of sinister, the band are dressed in black leather and within one minute the sweat is dripping onto the floor…



The 02 is black, pitch lack, even the lights over the bar are out, and that’s great because the lights on the stage are most certainly ON… From the back of the venue the uplighting on the band and the sheer bloody bright white and deep red are on the fans and it’s quite a sickening experience, but in a good way. Combining the lights with a bass so deep it’s just plain evil, alongside clear yet demanding drums and sheer bloody beautiful guitar, this three piece are like a 21st century Cream! Three guys in tune, but looking like they are about to fall apart, feeling like they are ready to implode or explode…
Fortunatly it’s the latter not the former that happens as the band tear into their set that’s pepperered and paced, but blessed with just the right amount of new tracks mixed with all the faves from the grave, all delivered with their could-not-give-a-fuck attitude, stop and stare glare, true-blood feeling and melodic undertones…



The band are the bastard children of Vivienne Westwood and Lou Reed, they are the modern Underground with no Velvet, just wrapped in black. It’s apt that I’m seeing this in Liverpool, for tonight BRMC feel like the band the Beatles would have become had they never left Hamburg. Tonight they are real, they have attitude and you feel it, you breathe it, and you are either in or out, there is no middle ground with this band, it’s not even love or hate, it’s love AND hate…



I won’t bore you with a song by song review, see the set list because if you know BRMC you already feel the steel. If you don’t then you really need to invest in a record, make it the latest if you can, if not any of them will do, but next time they are around in your town, do yourself a massive favour, take a walk on the wild side and remind yourself ‘Whatever Happened To My Rock N’ Roll.‘ I exit as I came in, through the out door.

Jj: 2010

Ed: Last time I saw B.R.M.C. perform they were shrouded in darkness, so much so I could hardly see them to take pictures. Tonight the band came out of the shadows - physically, musically and emotionally - and I was stunned by it. The intensity, passion, introspection and musical darkness are still there, but I felt from this set that the band has entered a brighter new phase in its career. The set-list was pure genius, the acoustic segment was glorious, and I came away believing that I had just witnessed one of the world’s truly great bands - on record and live. The venue was uncomfortably crammed, but I learnt after the show that the guys forsook a larger Manchester venue (and pay-packet) because they were desperate to play in the British home of Rock ‘n’ Roll - Liverpool. And that folks says just about everything…

Set-List: War Machine, Mama Taught Me Better, Red Eyes And Tears, Bad Blood, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, Love Burns, Ain’t No Easy Way Out, Ava, Berlin, Weapon Of Choice, Take My Time/Rifles, Annabel, Awake, Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘n’ Roll (Punk song). ACOUSTIC: River Styx, Shuffle Your Feet, Conscience Killer, Six Barrel Shotgun, Spread Your Love. ENCORE: Stop, Shadow’s Keeper

 

Biography

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club formed in 1998, taking its name from Marlon Brando’s motorcycle gang in the 1953 film The Wild One. 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. The band was originally called The Elements, but after discovering that another band had the same name, they changed the name to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The vocals are shared between bassist Robert Levon Been and guitarist Peter Hayes.



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.[citation needed] 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.



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.

In 2003, a concert in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England 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. This led to the band sometimes being referred to as ‘the band who broke the floor’. Problems with drummer Nick Jago began surfacing publicly at the 2003 NME Awards, when Jago remained on stage for nine minutes, completely silent, while accepting an award.



At the 2004 V Festival, Hayes walked out when asked to sign an inflatable penis. After conflict with their record label, the band was dropped by Virgin Records in 2004. Jago’s conflicts came to a head in Scotland, when Jago and Hayes came to blows after a tense gig. Before long, Jago quit. As such, Jago did not take part in the sessions for the band’s third album, Howl. Instead, he went through various rehab attempts, eventually rejoining the band in time to record one track, the ballad “Promise.”



In 2005 the band signed to Echo in the UK, and RCA in the U.S. Howl was released to mostly favorable reviews. It had a stripped-down folk style, a departure from the earlier B.R.M.C. sound. Several of the songs on Howl are said to have been written long before the idea of B.R.M.C. was conceived. On tour for this album the band also employed a temporary fourth member, guitarist Spike Keating.



By 2007, Nick Jago had rejoined B.R.M.C. 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 from Baby 81 on their MySpace page. With Baby 81, they developed a more concrete sound and style: encompassing blues, folk, and rock, while remaining angst-ridden in theme.

On June 6, 2007, BRMC performed in a concert that was streamed live on the internet via MSN Music.
In June 2008, Jago once again left BRMC’s touring line-up, being replaced by The Raveonettes’ touring drummer Leah Shapiro. Jago stated he “took it as I am fired again and to be honest with you I respect their decision”. However, Hayes and Been 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 would release their newest album independently. The album would be their first release through their own Abstract Dragon label. The album, titled, The Effects Of 333 is completely instrumental and was made available as a digital download through their official music store on 3:33 A.M Pacific Time on November 1, 2008.

On November 10, 2009 BRMC released a live DVD through Vagrant Records. It was recorded in Glasgow, Berlin, and Dublin during the Baby 81 world tour.

A song by B.R.M.C., “Done All Wrong”, appeared on the soundtrack to the 2009 film New Moon.

BRMC’s sixth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo was released March 8, 2010 in the UK & Europe and March 9, 2010 in North America.

just found that site...have a look-great pictures...

==---- fuckyeah-brmc.tumblr.com ----==

Rome venue has changed!
The Piper Club has closed and the show will now be at Alpheus. All tickets will be honored.

We are pleased to announce we will be playing Hedon in Zwolle, NL on August 25th.
Tickets go on sale May 3rd through the venue’s web site