Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Date : 24 July 2001
Location : El Rey Theatre, Hollywood, CA

Nick: Drums
Peter: Guitar
Robert: Bass

I must say, that as brief as the interview was, it was
matched by the bands kindness. One would expect
an upstart band, signed to a major label and gaining
praise from music luminaries such as Liam Gallagher
and Johnny Marr, to have a bit of an attitude. This
couldn’t be further from the case. They we’re all as
kind as could be. After the interview was unexpectedly
ended they offered to speak again when it was more
convenient. Berny and myself sat back and watched
them conduct sound check with an almost total lack
of assistance, either in moving their equipment or
checking the sound. We hope to continue the below
interview at some later time….
and wish them all the luck they’ve earned.

Charles: What year did you start?

Robert: Late 98

Charles: So it’s actually only been a couple of years?

Peter: Almost three

Robert: Yeah

Charles: You are very cohesive as a band with a very strong
sound and identity. It seems that it usually takes a band a while
to find an identity.

Peter: Me and Rob have been going since high school, about eight
years, so that might have helped.

Charles: I want to get this out of the way quickly. One of the
first bands that I was ever into was The Call, so it’s interesting
to see things come full circle.

Robert: Oh, yeah, that is. Kinda weird.

Charles: The Walls Came Down was the very first song that I
ever got into.

Robert: So this is the end?

Charles: Hopefully not. Do you mind if we take photos?

Berny: They’re black and white, so it’s ok!

Nick: Sorry, we don’t do black and white photos.

Berny: Yeah, I’ve noticed that.

Robert: It’s all color, because we have colorful clothing.

Charles: So for a long period you traveled between Los Angeles
and San Francisco?

Peter: Yeah.

Charles: Was there a difference between the crowds in the two cities?

Robert: Your home town is your friends and family basically. When
you first start out it’s anyone you can get to come. That was the
beginning. It was pretty hard getting a following, so San Francisco
has a rough beginning to start something like that. Once we moved
to LA things started to take off. I don’t know if it was the people or
the industry or people coming together, but people were really
supportive.

Charles: Do you find a difference between the people, aside from
friends and family?

Robert: One, no one showed up in Los Angeles, but now things are
going fine. Now we go back and it’s great and people are really supportive.
People we’re into it, they just don’t show it very much in San Francisco.
The mentality is that you don’t show your hand. It’s fine, but not very
much fun to play to on-stage.

Charles: We were at an indie pop festival last weekend and it seems that
there is a difference between the crowds in LA as opposed to San Francisco.
I’m not saying they were rude. We were at the Bottom Of The Hill, and I
know they oversold by quite a bit. Every room was packed and you couldn’t
get anywhere. Is it hard to play such a small venue?

Peter: Not at all.

Charles: Do you prefer small or large venues?

Peter: Small. We prefer it be packed and stuffy and hot.

Charles: It matches the mood of your music.

Peter: Yeah.

Robert: You also want people to play to, as many that will fit. If it’s a
big room you just feel less connected with folks. If you can’t see
them at the end of the line, there’s not much point.

Charles: Do the lights effect you at all, to the point where you
can’t see anything?

Robert: We can see them all right. It’s usually pointed out to them.
We usually keep our eyes closed, so we really wouldn’t know.

Charles: So now you’re touring with the Charlatans.

Peter: We’re just starting now, this is our first night. We’ve been
doing shows on our own for the last week and half. Denver, Seattle,
Montana.

Charles: How is it playing in Montana?

Peter: Great actually. We were playing in Missoula on a Monday
night and actually had a good amount of people. 50 or so.
A tiny little place with an upstairs wood room. It’s really nice.

Charles: Is it a special challenge to move on from your core crowd
to those that may know you but have never seen you?

Robert: I’m not sure what core crowd you have yet.

Charles: For example, you have a strong following in San Francisco
or the numerous people on your web site that state they see you
every chance they get. They know what to expect as opposed to
Montana where they’ve never seen you before and might be there
on word of mouth.

Nick: There’s a large heavy metal scene in Montana, that’s their
thing up there. Pantera and big heavy metal stuff.

Charles: So how do you fit into that?

Peter: We don’t. It’s more the attitude behind it. It’s being as
honest as possible with what you’ve got to deal with. It doesn’t
matter a whole lot, what music you’re playing as long as you have
the attitude. It transfers. Heavy Metal transfers with anything as
long as you’re not being a jack-ass about it.

Charles: The first way I found out about the band was through a
Dandy Warhols interview. There are a lot of people who have discovered
you through people such as Johnny Marr throwing your name out there.
Does this create a special challenge for you with such a backing?

Robert: We weren’t discovered or anything, we had all ready had our
thing going on. It wasn’t too long ago. It was just nice to hear support
from people you respected, going “all right, you’re doing a good job,
keep at it”. It’s the nicest thing to hear when you’re in the middle of
recording your record or working. With the constant work it helps
you go a bit further.

Charles: So there’s no pressure at all?

Robert: There’s pressure. Not from them. Not sure what you mean.

Charles: As an example, if my friend asked me to play on his soccer
team and told everyone I was the best player there would be a great
deal of pressure on me to perform.

Robert: They never said we were the best thing

Peter: He just said he liked it. He had listened to it and liked it, stating
it to a music periodical. That was it. That’s all it is.

Robert: We put the pressure on ourselves. From the beginning it was
to make it as good as you can, make the best record you can, do the
best show you can that fits and flows right. We’re harder on ourselves
than anyone else can ever be.

Charles: Is that the overall goal with the music, to do the best you can?

Peter: I’d be happy with that.

Robert: The goal is not to worry about it some day. Actually, the
goal is to forget about it sometime and be comfortable with what
we do rather than picking it apart to death.

Charles: The press will do that for you.

Peter: Yeah, sure.

Charles: Has it gotten to that point yet?

Peter: That has yet to come. Well, every once in a while, yeah. That
will probably come a bit later, perhaps in a month or two from now.

Charles: There was a review that you list on your web site which states
you’ve merely copied Jesus & the Mary Chain.

Robert: We put everything up. We’re not just gonna put up the
people that praise us. That’s cheesy.

Charles: It wasn’t so much that he lambasted the group, as he stated
you are a great band. He just said the influences were a bit obvious.
I actually see a more than this, such as blues with some of the guitar work.

Peter: Yeah, it’s all there. Nothing you can do about that. It’s first
record, first time. It’s our first record, so all they can do is compare
you to someone else. I don’t see anything wrong with the first
record having you influences on your shoulder a bit anyways.
I’m not trying to rip anyone off, but there’s nothing wrong with this.

(At this point the owner of the cafe next to the El Rey announces
that he is closing down for the day. The sounds of metal barriers
being scraped across the ground can be heard.)

Charles: I feel like I’m on the beach and the waves are slowly coming up.
We mentioned that other bands have named dropped you.
Are there other’s that are coming up in LA or San Francisco that
you could suggest?

Robert: Stratford 4, Sunstorm Warlocks in Los Angeles.

Peter: The View, Voyager One.

Shop owner: You can not sit here. The next time you don’t
buy nothing here.

Charles: But we did.

Shop owner: Oh yeah, sure, you buy one drink for six people.

The extreme kindness of the shop owner and the
band’s impending sound check called an end to
the interview.

The author reserves all rights for the above interview.
Please notify us with any intentions or desires to
re-broadcast the above in any manner.