Black Rebel Motorcycle Club could have broken up on numerous occasions. In just over a year, such events as dropping from record label Virgin, almost losing drummer Nick Jago and the uncertainty of where the music was heading almost made the band history. But it didn’t.

E-mails from the boys would reveal that they weren’t about to give up. In a May 10 e-mail from guitar/bass/vocalist Robert Turner (now known as Robert Levon Been), he stated, “It’s been a long time. I don’t know where to begin or how to explain what’s happened and how much has changed. Right now, I would just like to say hello to all the fans of our music who have stood by us and been waiting patiently for us to return.”

And with that, we knew BRMC was coming back.

All bands have to go through a transformation, a situation or get to know each other a little more. Peter Hayes (guitar/bass/vocalist), Robert and Nick did just that. After all the drama, the breakups and who knows what else, these boys took control of their out-of-control situation, got their shit straight and gave themselves into the best therapy: third album Howl.

Ambitious-Outsiders once tried to interview Robert at the Hope of the States’ show at the El Rey, but we ended up briefly chatted and took a picture with him instead. We were just happy to hear they were alive, recording and preparing to come back. Robert said, “We will soon talk to press and do interviews.” And we happily responded, “We will be ready.”

That time is now, and here we are on the phone for a chat.

RLB: I’m running a cold.

AO: Ewww, you got cooties. [Laughs] First, I must tell you that I listened to Howl on a reporter’s cassette player, because my editor couldn’t bootleg the copy. So I got in on cassette.

RLB: Wow, I think you are the only person in the world to listen to it on cassette.

AO: It was worth it. I think it gave the album much more character. Honestly, I was afraid to accept the third album. Most bands struggle through the second album, but the third, the third is quite a challenge.

RLB: I don’t know. We took a turn around that probably wasn’t the one you expected. It contaminated the natural flow. I don’t know. It’s funny. When we were doing press for the second album, we would get asked, “So what are you going to do next?” The second album was clear. The third, we had more songs but we couldn’t put them in the second one.

AO: Would you have been happy if you stuck to the same formula for the third album?

RLB: We would have made an uninspired album. We know all the tricks; it would have been too expected, too predictable. The main problem with a lot of new bands, and it’s happening a lot more, is that a lot of the same stuff is glorified over and over. For us, [Howl] made sense, and we are lucky that way, the right place and the right time. Somethings are good in each different style of music. But there is a thread, and you can bring things together. It’s always hard to find. When you find it, it’s magical.

AO: How does the set list change with two extremes between the first two albums and Howl?

RLB: We keep changing, and we continue looking for the right formula. I don’t know what we are going to end up with. And I am tempted to keep it as simple as possible. Peter starts on acoustic guitar and then I come up and then Nick. And then more electric gets added along with piano by the time we get halfway through the end. The simplest builds contrast and the pressure builds. It’s almost like fire and ice.

AO: Why was it so difficult to release Howl’s first single?

RLB: There are a lot of great songs on the album. It was hard, since it was such a different sound. I guess all the singles are good to introduce the sound to people. “Weight of the World” might be the next single.

AO: What have the reactions been from the listeners?

RLB: Most of the people already came in hearing things, and they were pretty supportive. The reaction in general has really surprised us. It’s a big weight off to be able to do what we like to do, what we want to do, choose to do.

AO: Talk to me about the recording process.

RLB: Recording was the most fun we ever had. I think just from having no distractions. We were recording with a friend of ours. There were instruments laying around, and when we felt like it, we would put [in] a new instrument. We were surprised with what we were doing as much as everyone else. It sparked our imaginations every step of the way. It was really a good time.

AO: Do you think this album is a doorway for other bands to pursue the same style?

RLB: The only question you have to ask yourself is if you really could pull it off. Their hearts can be into it, but they are more ready to play than to pull it off and a lot of great bands hit a wall. I don’t necessarily say change for the sake of changing.

AO: Live shows?

RLB: We want to go all over the country. Do it just to feel like we went everywhere. [Touring] is really frustrating, [costs] time and money, and we get de-routed a lot. We do well in big cities ... San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago. But the more fun places are everywhere else. They don’t come in with much attitude and enjoy to hear good music.

AO: Hurricane Katrina?

RLB: Since we happen to be traveling through the country, [we’re] trying to do what we can. People can donate clothes at any of our shows. It’s an immediate way to help. We are just the messengers.

AO: The latest video, “Ain’t No Easy Way,” was recorded in a Ukranian brothel.

RLB: We were in Europe finishing our tour, and we needed to record the video. Our friend Charles Mehling directed a couple of our videos.

AO: Yeah, I’m not going to ask you if you hooked up.

RLB: [Laughs] Yeah, you don’t know what you are going to get out of that place.

Visit BRMC on the web @ Blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

Published on :: November 10, 2005