Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - the Band
Created | Updated May 21, 2013
The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, formed in San Francisco in 1998, are one of the most talked about new Indie bands to come on the scene in nearly a decade. The band consists of Peter Hayes and Robert Turner - who share the responsibilities of guitar, bass, and vocals - and Nick Jago on drums and percussion. The sound is trippy and brooding, heavily influenced by the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Stone Roses, the Pixies, Velvet Underground and the Stooges.
While attending high school in the East Bay area of San Francisco, Peter Hayes and Robert Turner discovered they shared a passion for early '90s British music, and began writing music and playing together. In 1998, they teamed up with drummer Nick Jago, who had recently moved to California from England. The name Black Rebel Motorcycle Club comes from the name of Marlon Brando's biker gang in the movie The Wild One. The band performed and recorded exclusively in San Francisco, and put together a full-length demo with no record label support.
During the Summer of '99, the band spent several months performing live in Los Angeles, eventually signing to Virgin Records in Spring 2000. They then wrote, produced, and recorded their debut EP, Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song), released in late 2001. Their eponymous debut album, released in early 2002, consists of these 11 tracks:
The album has been very popular on the US college radio charts, and was certified gold on June 11, 2002. At the time of writing the band has been busy touring, playing many sold-out shows throughout the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, and Canada. They have appeared on a number of TV shows, and the video for 'Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song)' has received frequent airplay on MTV2.
Fans of Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, or any of the aforementioned bands, will probably appreciate Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's moody, psychedelic sound.
