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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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"BRMC" redirects here. For the album, seeB.R.M.C. (album).

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performing at the Fillmore, San Francisco, in 2013
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performing atthe Fillmore,San Francisco, in 2013
Background information
OriginSan Francisco,California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1998–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websiteblackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club(sometimes abbreviated toBRMC) is an Americanrockband fromSan Francisco,California.The group originally consisted ofPeter Hayes(vocals, guitar, harmonica),Robert Levon Been(vocals, bass, guitar), andNick Jago(drums). Jago departed the band in 2008 and was replaced by Leah Shapiro.

They have released eight studio albums:B.R.M.C.(2001),Take Them On, On Your Own(2003),Howl(2005),Baby 81(2007),The Effects of 333(2008),Beat the Devil's Tattoo(2010),Specter at the Feast(2013) andWrong Creatures(2018), as well as several EPs, and live albums.

History[edit]

Formation and early years (1998–1999)[edit]

The band was formed in 1998, originally called The Elements. After discovering that another band had the same name, the members changed the name to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, afterMarlon Brando'smotorcycle clubin the 1953 filmThe Wild One.[1]

BassistRobert Levon Beenand guitaristPeter Hayesmet at high school in the San Francisco Bay Area city ofLafayetteand formed a band, Hayes having recently leftThe Brian Jonestown Massacre.Been has said in interviews that Hayes had a turbulent home life and would park and sleep in his car outside the Been household. After about a year of doing this, Been and his father Michael persuaded Hayes to live with them.[citation needed]Later, the pair started looking for a drummer. They met Nick Jago, fromDevon,England, who had moved to California to be with his parents after spending some time atWinchester School of Art,where he was studying fine art. The vocals are shared between Been and Peter Hayes.[citation needed]

B.R.M.C.andTake Them On, On Your Own(2000–2003)[edit]

The band's first two recordsB.R.M.C.(2001) andTake Them On, On Your Own(2003) were indebted to classichard rockinfluenced byLed Zeppelinand also encompassed slower-pacedpsychedelic rock,space rock,andnoise popinfluences from bands such asThe Verve,Loop,Sonic Youth,Dinosaur JrandThe Jesus and Mary Chain.[citation needed]Their second album (recorded with producerRik Simpson) 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 not to be linked to his father (Michael BeenofThe Call). He later dropped this identity when promotingHowl.The senior Been later toured with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club as part of their sound crew.

Leeds Town Hall,the venue where Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'broke the floor'

In 2003, a concert inLeeds,West Yorkshire,England, had to be cancelled halfway through the set, afterLeeds City Councilofficials suspected the 150-year-old floor ofLeeds Town Hallmight collapse.[2]This led to the band sometimes being referred to as 'the band who broke the floor'.[3]Problems with drummerNick Jagobegan surfacing publicly at the 2003NME Awards,when Jago remained on stage for nine minutes, completely silent, while accepting an award.

Howl(2004–2006)[edit]

After conflict with their record label, the band was dropped byVirgin Recordsin 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.[citation needed]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.Howlwas released to mostly favorable reviews.Howlhad a stripped-down folk style, a departure from the earlier B.R.M.C. sound. Several of the songs onHowlare said to have been written long before the idea of B.R.M.C. was conceived.[citation needed]On tour for this album the band also employed a temporary fourth member, guitarist Spike Keating.

Baby 81andThe Effects of 333(2007–2009)[edit]

By 2007, Nick Jago had rejoined BRMC. 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.

On June 6, 2007, BRMC performed in a concert that was streamed live on the internet viaMSN Music.

In June 2008, Jago once again left BRMC's touring line-up, being replaced byThe Raveonettes' touring drummer Leah Shapiro.[4]Jago stated he "took it as I am fired again and to be honest with you I respect their decision".[4]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."[4]However, in October 2015 Robert admitted that "We were ready to be an international band that never toured the States again. Thank God, we got his (Jago) visa back and we were able to play together again until we fired him, but that's a whole other story when things got even darker".[5]

On October 27, 2008, the band announced via aMySpacebulletin 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 333is instrumental and was made available as a digital download through their music store on 3:33 A.M Pacific Time on November 1, 2008.

On November 10, 2009, BRMC released a live DVD throughVagrant Records.It was recorded inGlasgow,Berlin, andDublinduring the Baby 81 world tour.

Beat the Devil's Tattoo(2010–2011)[edit]

A song by BRMC, "Done All Wrong", appeared onthe soundtrackto the 2009 filmThe Twilight Saga: New Moon.

BRMC's sixth studio album,Beat the Devil's Tattoowas released March 8, 2010 in the UK and Europe and March 9, 2010, in North America. The band went on a world tour that lasted from February to December.

On August 19, 2010, after the band's performance at thePukkelpopFestival in Belgium, Robert's fatherMichael Beendied backstage of a heart attack.

On November 1, 2010, the band released their second live DVD, calledLive in London,on their own website and at HMV stores in the UK. The DVD would also be for sale at the band's headlining shows throughout the tour. It was filmed in front of a sold-out London Forum on April 23, the same year. This is the last project Michael Been has worked on with the band, mixing it.[6]

In 2011 the band started working on their 7th album, which was released in 2013. In between the recording sessions the band performed a South American tour and played their first shows in South Africa, as part of the Synergy Festival in Cape Town and China, in Beijing and Shanghai.

The band went on a brief successful three-show tour of small clubs in California to promote the album. These shows were at Slim's inSan Francisco,The Catalyst inSanta Cruz,andThe TroubadorofLos Angeleson the December 19, 20 and 21, respectively. All three shows sold out and BRMC played to packed houses each night where the setlist ranged from classics to quite a bit of new material.

Specter at the Feast(2013–2016)[edit]

After the success of these first shows, the band announced several more shows across Europe with stops in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy among other countries. The last announced show was at theAustin Psych Feston April 26, 2013.

On January 9, 2013, the band announced via Facebook the name of their seventh album calledSpecter at the Feastwhich was released on March 18 in the UK and Europe and on March 19 in U.S., Canada and worldwide.[citation needed]

It received mostly positive reviews; many critics noting that despite the band having been together for some time the album showed a mellower and moodier side with songs such as opener "Firewalker".[citation needed]

The band made the first single from the record available, a cover ofThe Call's 1989 hit "Let the Day Begin", as a free download on their website.[citation needed]The decision to record the song was a tribute to Robert's father Michael, who used his experience from The Call to help BRMC in the last couple of years before his death. The single becameQMagazine's track of the day.[7]The same song also reached a worldwide audience when BBC'sTop Gearused it for its 21st season trailer both on the live TV show and online.[8]The band have also released theLet the Day BeginEP free, the EP consists of the single and the album track "Returning", made available for streaming on the official website.[9]

The band continued to show a willingness to tour despite obstacles. During the 2013 tour, the organisers of the Harvest festival in Australia decided to abandon the multi-city event, of which BRMC were one of the lead acts, only a few months ahead of the performances. BRMC was the first band to announce it would still visit the country and play its own shows. Several sold out.

On October 2, 2014, the band announced they were in the studio mixing the audio for a forthcoming live album and DVD recorded in Paris during the Specter at the Feast tour.[10]

Wrong Creatures(2017–present)[edit]

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club live atRock am Ring2019

In May 2017, the band confirmed they were working on a new studio album to be released in the fall of 2017.[11]On September 12, 2017, they announced the album,Wrong Creatures,would be released on January 12, 2018.[12]The announcement was accompanied by the release of the first track, "Little Thing Gone Wild".[12]

Band members[edit]

Current members

Former members

  • Nick Jago– drums, percussion(1998–2004, 2005–2008)
Timeline

Discography[edit]

Main article:Black Rebel Motorcycle Club discography
Studio albums

References[edit]

  1. ^Dye, David (August 9, 2007)."Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Gutsy Rock 'n' Roll".NPR.
  2. ^"B.R.M.C. gig stopped due to safety concerns at Leeds Town Hall".Leedsmusicscene.net. November 6, 2003.RetrievedJuly 1,2011.
  3. ^"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club".Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Archived fromthe originalon June 29, 2011.RetrievedJuly 1,2011.
  4. ^abc"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's drummer leaves band".NME.com. June 10, 2008.RetrievedJune 10,2008.
  5. ^"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Going Wherever the Wind Blows".Whopperjaw. September 28, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 26,2017.
  6. ^"'Live From London' DVD ".Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. April 23, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2012.RetrievedApril 2,2012.
  7. ^"Let the Day Begin".Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.RetrievedFebruary 18,2013.
  8. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:TopGearSeason BBC (February 28, 2014),Top Gear Trailer (Season 21),retrievedOctober 13,2017
  9. ^"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Let the Day Begin".Blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com. Archived fromthe originalon March 2, 2013.RetrievedMarch 23,2013.
  10. ^"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in the studio mixing audio for the new Live Paris Album & DVD".facebook.com. October 2, 2014.RetrievedOctober 2,2014.
  11. ^"Black Rebel Motorcycle Club set to return to Irish shores".hotpress.com.RetrievedMay 30,2017.
  12. ^abMunro, Scott (September 12, 2017)."Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announce new album".Team Rock.RetrievedSeptember 13,2017.

External links[edit]

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