The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Interview

In the early part of the decade, a new music movement was forming.  By moving away from the studio created teen-pops, indie music and bands like The Strokes Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon were getting adorned by the press as the leaders of this much overdue progress.  But instead of becoming the darlings of music, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [BRMC to fans and taking the name from The Wild One] moved in a more activist direction, recording tracks against George Bush and his policies long before acts like Green Day and Bruce Springsteen took a stand. After losing their drummer Nick Jago to drug addiction, lead singer Peter Hayes and guitarist Robert Been sat down to put the 2005 album Howl together - a collection of songs the two had seemingly worked on for years before.  Jago recovered and later returned to the outfit to help record their latest, Baby 81 - a collection of blues, rock, and even hints of jazz influence throughout.  We had a chance for a short chat with lead Peter Hayes about being a psychadelic jam outfit, learning from past mistakes, and following the dream.

Pensatos: The new album is much more diverse than the last. How was the process for Baby 81?  How did you guys approach the studio this time versus Howl?

Peter: We had Jago back for this one which is nice as far as taking the pieces of all three other albums and putting it in this one.  It made for a much more complete feeling.  From Howl, we kinda learned what we could get away with; vocals, how to mix a song and learn to build - so that it has a place to go and not just seemingly feel like a part of a whole.

So you felt that you went into this a bit more experienced than in the past?

Well... I don't know about experience [laughs]. More experimenting to see what was best for the song.  But not really experienced.  Sometimes what's best isn't always a loud guitar all the way through.  I think that's what we can take from the move from Howl to Baby 81.

You ready to tour this album? Europe, Paris, two day break, then back to the States for nine weeks on the road...

I love to tour. Bring it on.

This isn't your first time in Europe, though.  Right?  Jago was from Devon.

Yeah, we've been there a few times in the past.  Not for Howl, but for a few other albums.  We just love playing and we love traveling.  One of the first things I ever got into when I was little - since ten I think - I was into maps always wanting to travel.  So, shit, this is the right profession for it I guess.  Made a right choice then [laughs]. I want to go everywhere.

Ten? So you knew then you wanted to play music and travel like a rock star?

I grew up in Minnesota.  Then I moved in with my mom and grandpa in a town outside of San Francisco. Robert [Levon Been - bass]; I think he was born in Santa Cruz, and then he moved to the same little town.  Nick [Jago - drums] grew up in England and ended up moving to the next town over.  We were the three weirdest characters in the area and just couldn't get away from each other. Eventually, we decided to try and play music together.

Were you guys always a rock outfit?

I was playing in a bar - probably sixteen - in and out of bars trying to play music.  Then Robert heard that I had a show in some bar out of town.  He showed up and eventually we started playing music together.  We started this band together and would play space rock for, you know, like a half hour at a time.  Just this wall of sound.  Then down the road we started playing these warehouse raves.

Raves? Quite the difference from space rock.

Yeah.  But Robert and I felt like that wasn't really our band.  We wanted to play songs. We felt we had something to say.  But every time we tried to play one of those songs, it just didn't work - didn't make sense [laughs]. We'd go on this fifteen minute soundscapes and then anything after that sounds like a pop song [laughs].

Okay, so we have raves, jams, rock, blues and more on your resume.  Begs the question who are some of your bigger influences.

Pink Floyd, Edith Piaf, Johnny Cash, the Verve, a little bit of everything. I really like the Silver Apples. But I feel like we draw from each sound in some way and make our own.