The Brian Jonestown Massacre
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| The Brian Jonestown Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The BJM |
| Genre(s) | Psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 1994 - present |
| Members | |
| Anton Newcombe Collin Hegna Frankie "Teardrop" Emerson Ricky Maymi Daniel Allaire Joel Gion Rob Campanella | |
| Former members | |
| Matt Hollywood Dean Taylor Mike Sharperson Jeffrey Davies Miranda Lee Richards Peter Hayes Matt Tow Reggie Shumway Bobby Hecksher Raugust | |
The Brian Jonestown Massacre (frequently abbreviated as BJM or The BJM) are a psychedelic rock band founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1990s, led by Anton Newcombe.
Contents |
[edit] Line-up
Since it's formation, the band has undergone a large number of personnel changes. Multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter Anton Newcombe is the only member who has stayed with the Brian Jonestown Massacre since its beginning, when it was founded by Newcombe and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Matt Hollywood.
There are at least two dozen musicians who have been in the BJM at one point or another. Ex-members include: tambourine man and "Spokesperson for the Revolution" Joel Gion, a founding member of San Francisco band, The Dilettantes, who clocked the most time with Newcombe and quit and rejoined the band more times than anyone else; guitarist Jeff Davies; Matt Hollywood, a founding member of Portland band The Out Crowd; Peter Hayes, founding member of San Francisco rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; Rob Campanella, a Los Angeles studio producer and engineer who has worked with The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks, Dead Meadow, Mia Doi Todd, Frausdots, Scarling., and his band The Quarter After; Sune Rose Wagner, founding member of Psyched up Janis, The Tremolo Beer Gut and The Raveonettes; Bobby Hecksher, founding member of Los Angeles band The Warlocks; solo recording artist Miranda Lee Richards; Matt Tow (formerly of Drop City), founding member of Australia's answer to the BJM, The Lovetones; Brian Glaze, solo artist and member of psych rock band The Gris Gris; David Koenig of Spindrift and the Clean Prophets; and for a short while in 1998 drummer Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo of Chokebore, Shadow Project, and Christian Death 1334.
Current long-term members include Collin Hegna and Frankie "Teardrop" Emerson. Long-time guitarist Ricky Rene Maymi was recently replaced by Irina Yaikowsky, who was in turn replaced by Ricky Rene Maymi.
Much has been made of the fact that Newcombe is head-strong and has just one vision in mind: his own. However, many of the musicians who quit his band have stayed in his orbit and continue working with him in some capacity. Newcombe was, at one point, a drummer in Hecksher's Warlocks. Campanella produces or engineers many of the records on Newcombe's record label, the Committee to Keep Music Evil. Gion is forever showing back up shaking the tambourine at BJM shows. Ricky Rene Maymi was a drummer in an early incarnation of the band, then came back playing guitar several years later, and has since quit and rejoined the band at least once. Even The Dandy Warhols appear to have buried the hatchet with Newcombe, as he joined them onstage at Lollapalooza in July of 2005.
[edit] Name
Newcombe's art is heavily influenced by the surrealist techniques of pastiche and image appropriation, and this influence is readily apparent in the name and logo of the band. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a portmanteau of the name of original Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and the infamous mass cult suicide at Jonestown, Guyana. The name was also a reaction against a trend toward monosyllabic band names at the time, in particular the British bands Ride, Lush and Blur.[citation needed]
Newcombe's interest in cults like that of Jim Jones and Charles Manson is well-known, and made quite plain by songs such as "The Ballad of Jim Jones" and "Arkansas" (written , and supposedly performed , by Charles Manson.) Similar interests include a fascination with the Masons.
[edit] Music
The first BJM album, 1995's Methodrone approximates the UK shoegazing genre. Their second, Take it From the Man! is reminiscent of the majority of the Rolling Stones' sixities catalog. By their third album,Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request (a homage to the Stones' 1967 album entitled Their Satanic Majesties Request), they began the pastiche of '60s psychedelia that has characterized most of their music. Even the incorporation of influences from world music such as Middle Eastern and Brazilian music seem to be filtered through the matrix of their '60s heroes, who also include The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Donovan, The Byrds and Bob Dylan.
The album track Jesus from Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request is extremely reminiscent of the early Spacemen 3 sound on The Perfect Prescription.
Stylistic divergences have occurred. A country/roots rock approach was applied to the Bringing it All Back Home - Again EP (another homage title, this time to Dylan), and electronic music crept into 2003's And This Is Our Music, whose title (a reference to a 1990 album by Galaxie 500) betrays much more recent influences. Thank God For Mental Illness displays a stripped-down sound, relying mostly on voices, and acoustic guitars. This is a format that Newcombe has occasionally resorted to presenting live during times of transition in the band.
In 2005 the band released the mini album We Are the Radio, on Necombe's record label the Committee to Keep Music Evil.
The band announced the release of a new studio album, tenativley titled My Bloody Underground, is due for 2008. On September 3rd, 2007 the band released rough recordings from the album for download from their website.[1]
[edit] Soundtrack and Television
- BJM and former friends/rivals The Dandy Warhols were the subject of the acclaimed documentary DiG!.[2]
- "You Look Great When I'm Fucked Up" was featured in the last minutes of Episode 5 of the British comedy/drama television series Skins which was shown on E4.
- "Not if You Were the Last Dandy on Earth" appeared in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers.[3]
- "Going to Hell" appeared in the 1999 film American Pie.[4]
- "Going to Hell" appeared in the 1998 film "Dead Man's Curve"
[edit] Related Acts
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
- The Warlocks
- The Out Crowd
- The Quarter After
- The Dilettantes
- Dead Meadow
- Miranda Lee Richards
- Sky Parade
- The Black Angels
The band has also influenced many other indie bands noted in the Brian Jonestown Massacre Covers Project.[5]
[edit] Lineups
The Brian Jonestown Massacre frequently change their lineup.
| Guitar | Bass | Drums | Vocals | Miscellaneous, Guests, Etc. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood | Ricky Maymi | Anton Newcombe | |
| 1992 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood | Ricky Maymi Greg Helton | Anton Newcombe | |
| 1993 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood Ricky Maymi | Ricky Maymi Greg Helton | Anton Newcombe | Ian Sefchik - Guitar |
| 1994 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood
| Brian GlazeMilo Warner Martin | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas Sophie Guenan - Tambourine |
| 1995 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood | Brian Glaze Milo Warner Martin Graham Bonnar | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas Sophie Guenan - Tambourine |
| 1996 | Anton Newcombe | Matt Hollywood | Brian Glaze Brad Artley | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas Dawn Thomas - Accordion |
| 1997 | Anton Newcombe Matt Hollywood | Matt Hollywood | Brad Artley Jussi Tegelman | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas Raugust - Flute |
| 1998 | Anton Newcombe | Matt Hollywood Charles Mehling | Norm Block Hunter Crowley | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas |
| 1999 | Anton Newcombe Jeff Davies | Charles Mehling Lenny Pops | Hunter Crowley William Pleasant | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion - Tambourine/Maracas |
| 2000 | Anton Newcombe Frankie "Teardrop" Emerson | Bobby Hecksher Tommy Dietrick | Greg Epman | Anton Newcombe | Mara Keagle - Organ |
| 2001 | Anton Newcombe Jeff Davies | Bobby Hecksher Dave Koenig | Hunter Crowley | Anton Newcombe | Mara Keagle - Vocals on Bravery, Repetition and Noise (appears as "Mara") Jason Anchondo - Tambourine |
| 2002 | Anton Newcombe Jeff Davies | Dave Koenig | Hunter Crowley Dan Allaire | Anton Newcombe | Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin Raugust - Flute |
| 2003 | Anton Newcombe Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson | Dave Koenig | Dan Allaire | Anton Newcombe | Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin Ed Harcourt - Vocals on "Here It Comes" |
| 2004 | Anton Newcombe Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson | Collin Hegna Dave Koenig | Dan Allaire Ryan Sumner | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion (on and off)- Tambourine/Maracas Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin |
| 2005 | Anton Newcombe Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson | Collin Hegna | Dan Allaire | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion (on and off)- Tambourine/Maracas Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin |
| 2006 | Anton Newcombe Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson | Collin Hegna | Dan Allaire | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion (on and off)- Tambourine/Maracas
Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin |
| 2007 | Anton Newcombe Frankie “Teardrop” Emerson | Collin Hegna | Dan Allaire | Anton Newcombe | Joel Gion (on and off)- Tambourine/Maracas
Rob Campanella - Organ/Flute/Mandolin |
[edit] Discography
See Brian Jonestown Massacre discography
[edit] References
- ^ The Brian Jonestown Massacre official website. The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ IMDb page. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ IMDb soundtrack page. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ IMDb soundtrack page. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Brian Jonestown Massacre Covers Project page. N/A. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- MySpace page
- Interview with Anton Newcombe
- Band synopsis
- BJM Archives
- BJM Covers Project
Peoples Temple | |
|---|---|
| Leadership | Jim Jones |
| History | Father Divine · Wings of deliverance · Disciples of Christ · Jonestown · Mark Lane · Charles Garry · Larry Layton · Deborah Layton · Flavor Aid · Dr. Laurence Schacht · Hyacinth Thrash · John R. Burke · Jonestown conspiracy theory · Cult Awareness Network |
| Congressional entourage | Congressman Leo J. Ryan · Jackie Speier · Richard Dwyer · Tim Reiterman · Don Harris · Greg Robinson · Steve Sung · Bob Flick · Charles Krause · Ron Javers · Bob Brown |
| Books | The Jonestown Carnage · Seductive Poison |
| Films | Guyana: Crime of the Century · Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones · Cults: Dangerous Devotion · Jonestown: Paradise Lost · Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple |
| Music | The Brian Jonestown Massacre |
| Sister Projects | WikiSource · Wikimedia Commons |
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