Bands
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
* San Francisco / USA
* 1990
Foto: Bandfoto
Band-Portrait: Bandinfo
So you saw Dig!--the 2004 winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, just released on DVD by Palm Pictures--and now you think you know it’s all about Anton Newcombe and the Brian Jonestown Massacre? Think again. Anton Newcombe is NOT A MOVIE! In the 90s, Anton was the Johnny Appleseed of west coast neo-psychedelia, sending former band members and pals out to form the Dandy Warhols, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Warlocks. Anton first assembled the BJM in San Franciscos Haight-Ashbury in 1990. Their very name was a rejection of the then-trendy single-word band names like Ride and Lush, and a harkening back to the misfit-genius Rolling Stone and one of the Citys g greatest, weirdest tragedies. Anton and his bandmates specialized in making enemies in the cliquish SF scene, and turned to Los Angeles to find a record label, Greg Shaws Bomp! Records. Why Bomp? Anton says, "I was holding a Spacemen 3 record and I figured whoever released that album would understand what we were all about; it turns out I was right." Nine albums later with Shaw's label, it seemed he was. In 1997, the band signed with TVT Records, a deal that only lasted for one release: the critically acclaimed "Strung Out in Heaven." Newcombe remains philosophical: "They gave us a mile of rope, so we hung ourselves." The band experienced a mass exodus of members, with Matt Hollywood, Dean Taylor, and Joel Gion all leaving the project. Over the years, 60 members have passed through the band, some gone for good, others returning unexpectedly. Original member Rick Maymi is back in the fold for this tour. BJM needed a record company that allowed artists to focus on making art. And post-TVT, Anton wanted a label that would give him complete artistic freedom, while pushing the music out into the world and letting the dust from past scandals settle. Enter Tee Pee Records, a label that was also attempting a change in focus and di direction, seeking out artists that could expand its horizons. A symbiotic partnership was forged. The result was and this is our music, (2003) a dynamic offering featuring contributions from Ed Harcourt and Kurt Heasley from the Lilys along with orchestration from some of Los Angeles finest. The album became BJMs most respected work, in a year when Anton Newcombe was sought out by every possible media outlet and given the bums rush to fame and notoriety. After one Sundance-winning documentary, fifteen years and fourteen albums, Tee Pee Records paid tribute to one amazing band with the double-CD retrospective Tepid Peppermint Wonderland, compiling 36 of BJMs finest songs (with some select unreleased and live cuts), rare photos, liner notes and commentary from past and present members--the perfect introduction for newcomers and a terrific memory-book for longtime fans. So whats next for the Brian Jonestown Massacre? Plenty, thanks for asking. They were personally invited to open the Patti Smith-curated Meltdown festival last month in London, toured the rest of UK with BRMC, and now prepare to promote their upcoming Tee Pee release "We Are The Radio" (street date Aug. 23rd) with a SOLD OUT North American tour, including a set at Lollapalooza in Chicago (July 23rd)--through another personal invite, from co-founder Perry Farrell. And while were dropping the famous names, did you see what Iggy told Thrasher mag in the September 2005 issue? Brian Jonestown Massacre! That's a fucking great band! And the way I got into him was I read in my local paper about a documentary and they interviewed the director and she was saying what a loser [Anton] was and all these terrible things he did. I didn't like how she sounded so much but he sounded cool. So I thought let's just check out his music and I hoped it would be good. The There's a new double album out on them and man, it's good, it's really good. Right now, BJM is making some of the most exciting music of their career. Rock writer Sylvie Simmons sat down with Anton in London, and reports, He plays me a few new songs; they're good. Never Become Emotionally Attached to Man, Woman, Beast or Child is hypnotic, jangly, the Beatles via the Byrds; Seer is like a psychedelic Phil Spector. " Those tracks are on "We Are The Radio," the 5-song EP out August 23 on Tee Pee Records. Anton says: "[co-writer/vocalist] Sara and I believe this to be the most important work of our lives, and to a g greater extent, our time. This is not some mamby-pamby-pop-culture-vomit, regurgitating or emulating something else. These are whispers from the underworld and tears of joy from heaven. These are anthems for all time." Catch BJM on tour this summer and see for yourself what Iggy and Patti and Perry already know. Anarchic, unpredictable, but always in service to the music, Anton Newcombe is the real deal. And once you Dig! that, youre really getting somewhere.
Mitglieder
Anton Newcombe - guitar/vocals
Collin Hegna - bass
Daniel Allaire - drums
Frankie Teardrop - guitar
Ricky Rene Maymi - guitar
Rob Campanella - keyboards
(subject to change without notice)
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