Lowend - AB: How are you ?
BB: Im good man how are you?
AB: yeah Im good, so how was last nights gig in Belfast?
BB: Great, really good, Belfast was really good to us good vibes bad ass.
AB: So the European tour is going pretty well for you guys, you're enjoying it?
BB: Its been great , its been a great tour for us, about two months by the time were done. Its been super super good man, every year it gets a little better. Here was no exception just bad ass.
AB: Do you love playing Europe?
BB: I love it
AB: Compared to the states how is it?
BB: Well you know I don’t say I love playing Europe, because I don’t like playing the states.
AB I don’t mean it like that.
BB: Yeah no, no I understand, a lot of people ask me this question, just for the record, I like it to be clear I love playing the states but its just because of the way music in general is set up live.
For performers in the United States it’s very difficult if you’re an independent artist to continuously get out there and nurture the market in America. Its hard man, it a big land mass a lot of different markets, its expensive dude and I don't have the major backing, so I can’t compete with a lot of the shit.
AB: For you as an independent artist, especially with your own label, you obviously get full control over what you're doing and taking Punk Rock Guilt. It sounds like your having a blast doing your own thing.
So when you come to Europe is it hard for you coming here promoting that being an independent artist with an independent label?
BB: No it’s actually easier, well I don’t know if easy is the word but I honestly don't know man.
I look back over the years and you know if I had of pursued the states with the same kind of drive as I do in Europe, I might have got similar results but I started touring Europe and the united sates at the same time when I put this band together in 2003 and immediately Europe was more rewarding, financially, artistically on all levels.
So when you're independent you’ve only got so much to work with, so you gotta go where you can really get the most for your buck so that’s why over the years Europe's been a better general market for me.
I’d always lose money doing the states.
Its like the shows would be good, people would come out. The fans are fucking awesome, I love playing America, but in the end when I got home, Id always like fucking loose my ass ya know. When ya don't have someone picking up the bill its tough.
I just had to see what works and what doesn’t, and this works.
AB: So with the new label (Low Desert Punk) has there been much of a change in the states with promotion of yourself and that whole scene?
BB: No, Eh not really.
To play this kinda music and be dedicated to it as much as we are, it’s a labour of love and you just gotta be patient and you gotta work hard and you gotta keep going and just keep playing the music. You know? and it’s word of mouth. The funny thing about stoner rock is that to a lot of people they might not take it so serious because the name, they might think the name is silly or whatever.
It's interesting for me its kinda a phenomenon because I can't think of too many other underground movements that have grown and growing every year more and more its been around for years now. This isn’t like five years man, this is going on almost 20years now. It's pretty incredible
AB: So with Punk Rock Guilt which I know was in production since 2005, but was it an easy process?
BB: Well it was easy in terms of like just doing it . I don’t...again going back to the whole independent and finances and all that. You know the beauty is that I don't have the luxury to really do a pre-production on a record like thoroughly and make a narly production.
With this particular record I just called up Dave my friend Dave Raphael in new jersey and said I'm between a rock and a hard place I got production time on my hands over the holidays I need to create are you in? and he said yeah come on lets do it. He's got a home studio, so I flew out to New Jersey during the winter. Which I don’t want to do [laughs]
And I brought like 3 songs and maybe like 8 ideas and a couple of guitars and went in the studio.
It was more therapy at the time I didn’t have any real solid plans to like make it a major release or anything. I just gotta create and that’s why I sat on it for a couple years and upon returning to the united states I needed something to get the new record label started, show people that we are up and running new and improved.
AB: So since that was done in 2005 you have just been touring?
BB: Yeah I’ve just been touring, yeah like the last proper recording that I did was Somero Sol, that was the last record I did, this one’s older then that.
AB: So does this mean you have bucket loads of ideas?
BB: Yeah I’m ready to go [laughs] Im ready to record right now man.
AB: Do you find the studio process more fun then the touring process or do you just enjoy both?
BB: I enjoy both, it’s so hard it gets really tough if you start to combine the two because they are two completely different worlds.
Performing live is just that and making records that’s an art and a craft in its self.
You can say oh well were a live band so we need to capture ourselves live in the studio, well it doesn’t really work that way. Like that’s why The Who’s Live at Leeds sounds that way and Who’s Next doesn’t sound like that because their a live band, its hard. So I like them both for what they are.
I like crafting records from a production point of view. I like loose records I like lo-fi shit.
I like em to be raw but ya know it’s still never even near what the trip is when its live in front of an audience the energy of the night.
AB: It’s always going to be different, different places with different energies,
BB: Everyday is different, every night start from zero
AB: Back to square one tonight so?
BB: That’s it man
AB: You’ve played here before, Belfast and Dublin. Venue wise how do you like the venues and the general vibe?
BB: In Ireland?
AB: In Ireland yeah
BB: Ahh I fucking love its one of my favourite places to play, it took me a couple of years to get over here.
I was trying really hard and then finally got it. I’ll be coming over every time I come to Europe for sure. I love it the energies really cool.
I know a lot about like the love of music here and the culture in general.
AB: From your various vast catalogue of music you’ve pretty much covered guitar bass, drums and vocals, is there any of those which stand out as your favourite or do you have love for each one individually?
BB: I have an individual love for each one.
But the guitar fascinates me I find the guitar is the most challenging it combines the rhythm and pulse of the bass, combines the swing of the drums and yet you can like harmonies and melodies you can really paint a picture ya know.
So the guitar is the most challenging for me.
AB: When your writing new ideas would you just pick up a guitar, an acoustic guitar?
BB: Yeah if I’m coming from the stand point of I wanna like write a song, I enjoy song writers and I like to write songs I don’t know if I’m a song writer in the traditional sense. I’d like to think I might be able to consider myself that.
But sometimes ya gotta write not so much a song but what maybe refer to as a jam or a fucking groove or something and in that situation the notes or the chords aren’t so important, just the pulse which I could get from the drums or maybe even a bass just get a riff. What do you want to say, lyric doesn’t even apply in the creative process at the beginning how do you want to make it groove.
AB: Then your writing lyrics at whatever stage you decide?
BB: I write a lot of my lyrics ten minutes before I sing them [laughs]
AB: You mentioned there about the jamming process, but a lot of stuff is just you writing it.
How much time would be spent in the studio with the guys bouncing ideas off them?
BB: For better of for worse since my time as a solo artist doing this whole trip I don’t really collaborate with my band members there more of a live band and again its not because I don’t enjoy that. I love to create a process bouncing ideas off other musicians and I think that was the magic of bands in the past I was involved with like Kyuss and Fu Manchu and stuff because we bounced ideas off each other.
But I left that situation to go solo in the true sense, I got something I need to do & artistically I know exactly what it is.
When it comes to a time line, a couple of days in the studio I don’t have time ya know, zip this is it lets go. There’s no time to bounce ideas.
AB: So you just go in with the plan in your head?
BB: Yeah it’s a vibe and it’s a trip and I don’t have time to negotiate, discuss or collaborate and it has nothing to do with me not enjoying those things I love doing that but it a luxury for the situation I’m in.
AB: You’ve just got you crazy concert in your head.
BB: Yeah, yeah zip and its done.
AB: Whats you preferred set up live?
BB: I have two guitar my main guitar, a Mexican strat I broke it in Italy about 3 or 4 years ago so I put a squire neck on it and I play out of a what I like to believe is a ’73 Marshall 50 watt head. I got a wah a fuzz pedal a rotar vibe. So whenever Im trying to express myself on stage that’s all I need.
AB: So after this tour what’s in store for you, what are your plans?
BB: I’ll go home I’ll chill out for the holidays and then in January I’ll start thinking about the record label. I’ll start getting back together with Cale get busy on that, we’ve got a lot things we want to do next year.
Then February I’ll go to Australia & New Zealand, then come home and maybe in the spring record a new record.
AB: So you must have lots of ideas for that ?
BB: Yeah I’ve always got a shoebox full of fuckin demo’s, I mean I’ve got demo’s that go back 10 years that I always pull from. But I’m always trying to create new fresh shit. Usually im not at a loss for new shit.
AB: When your on the road do you have a set-up for recording?
BB: I have a little mini cassette, a little hand cassette
AB: None of this fancy pro-tools gear.
BB: Yeah [laugh] just hit a couple of lick’s, I’ve a couple of tapes
AB: With Cale and yourself looking after Low Desert Punk is it a priority for you on a daily basis to find out what’s going on with the label being away from it so much or does it just come up every few days?
BB: He’s more hands on because that’s just kinda the way it works out.
He has more computer knowledge he takes care of a lot of the orders and the website. I mean we talk like were best bros. We usually talk business everyday just real quick like 10 minutes, what’s up, what’s going on and then we’ll like have a proper meeting like once a week, we’ll hook up go to the bars[laughs]
AB: Always good place for business
BB: Yeah[Laughs] its cool.
AB: So what kind of stuff would you be listening too lately are there any bands or new bands that you might listen to or like?
BB: I don’t listen to too many new rock bands, I know there is a lot of great talent out there.
Ya know I like old music its that simple. I like old jazz, I like old blues and I like old funk, I like roots music from Jamaica, I like traditional Irish music ya know I like the Dubliners, old 60’s 70’s rock.
Actually ya know what new artist I like? I like Amy Winehouse.
I think she’s bad ass, she talented and a magical artist. I think we are really lucky to have an artist like that right now
AB: Say a lot of your past musical influences would you still go back to those old records you listened to hundreds of times and maybe spark off ideas in your head.
BB: When it comes to sound I learned long ago that it’s like chasing your tail when trying to chase a sound so many things apply.
Something that was recorded in 1967 aint gonna sound that way now and there’s just nothing you can do about it and I try not to do that so as far as poling just to be inspired I like to tap into the things ya cant hear, just like the vibe or like the feeling behind it.
I might listen to an old doors record, ya know I love the doors and kinda try and feel where were their heads when they were dropping this song.
What’s the energy behind it, not so much the note or the sound, just the ambition, the artistic ambition behind it and just try and get into that or a blues guy and get the emotion of it.
AB: It’s definitely something that comes out in your music, your not doing anything for anyone else it’s always about where your head or your vibe is, at that moment
BB: That to me is such a beautiful part of being an artist because you get to do that. Growing up that’s what I needed man I needed an emotional release.
When I go to see a band or an artist the thing that I either quickly absorb or walk away from, that’s thing that brings me in is when I see someone doing only what they know how to do and just giving it to you with all they got. I don’t care what kind of music it is or what there doin if I sense that then I’ll be attracted to it.
That’s just something that’s so rair especially now a days. That’s what I get out of lots of old records or old documentries and not always on musicians to it can be on just people I like to see raw emotion the honesty.
People who are not afraid.
AB: It’s having that artistic edge & creativeness?:
BB: Yeah ya know arts is such a beautiful world and you’ve got so much freedom ya should take advantage of it. And I think people that claim to be musicians & artist and just thorough a hoop alday its a shame.
AB: Do you think that’s individuals getting wrapped up in the financial end of things and trying to bigger then they are?
BB: Yeah I think it goes even way far and beyond that, but I think on the surface it’s certainly people for lack of a better word they do like the alternative lifestyle and they don’t want to work in a shop so there like I’m gonna do this.
Its something way more then that, I take insult when I see artist just going through the motions hoping to make a buck to get a little fame or power. I take offense to that cause its so much more then that but there no law saying they can’t partake.
AB: As long as we don’t have to listen to it.
BB: [Laughs] Yeah that’s it man that’s it.
AB: I wanted to ask if you’ve had any recent tattoos?
BB: My most recent would be this one right here, which is a traditional flash Chicano style from the Los Angles area, which was actually done by my wife it was her first tattoo, she’s a tattoo artist now. She been apprenticing for a while.
AB: Awesome man, you must be really proud of that one
BB: Yeah she’s bad ass, she just picked up the machine and zip.
AB: This must mean your getting loads of free tattoos
BB: Hah I think so
AB: So your sitting around with a pen and a pad drawing, hold on have an idea for a new tattoo
BB: Yeah we already have a couple in the works yeah I like tattoos.
AB: So would you just get your wife to do a lot of your future tattoos?
BB: No,I'd refer to my style as just kinda sailor style rock n roll style, I get tatts all over the world. I like to just get tatts wherever I'm at.
AB:So its like just documenting that time
BB: Yeah to me its like the old sailors, they sail into port and the go out just get drunk on rum and get themselves a little ink just so they don't forget the stupid shit they've done [laughs]
AB: Do you reckon you'd get a chance to get a tattoo in Dublin
BB: I've been wanting to get a tattoo in Dublin for a long time man,but it just hasn't happened. I don't have much time.
I know for a fact that I'll be back and get some ink here in Dublin for sure.
AB: Is it something you find hard when you go to city you do a gig and before you know it your off to another city or another country. Is it a full on schedule
BB: Yeah, Yeah its full on its super full on.
Especially the kinda tours we do were we don't like days off. We do like 30 dates in 30 days.
It's pretty nuts, you blow up the show ya say hello and good bye and you pack up the van do a 3 hour drive and you catch a ferry. You have a couple beers on the ferry, then straight to the hotel catch a couple of Z's , wake up do it all again.
Its non-stop man but ya I like working hard, I do what I love. I meet the coolest people, I get to see the best of the finer countries and get to show people what I do. Its pretty bad-ass.
AB:Cool, man and on that I think we'll wrap this up, Its been really cool meeting you and chatting. I'm really looking forward to tonight's gig
BB: Cool,Yeah man, really nice meeting you too.
AB - 2008