anton, a musical prodigy, and the only continual member of brian jonestown massacre, can play 80+ instruments and is equally talented at producing records and running his label.

the band’s name comes from the rolling stones' guitarist brian jones (the driving force responsible for turning the rolling stones on to psychedelia) and the infamous mass cult suicide in jonestown, guyana; the name is supposedly a reaction against the 1980/90’s monosyllabic band name trend (blur, bush, etc).

anton is infamous for being a volatile megalomaniac, and for sabotaging himself through his stubbornness, with no internal dialogue or propensity for self-censoring.  however, in his defense his is a musical prodigy, and many who quit his band have continued to work with him in some capacity.

anton created some of the most awe-inspiring music of the 1990’s, however, sadly many of his songs focus on his inner demons.  according duncan harman, anton’s talent and attraction lie in his “musical diversity, their progressive take upon the retrospective [and] the emotional articulacy of their lyrics that epitomizes the concept of cool.”

you may recognize anton from DiG!, a 2004 documentary about anton and the dandy warhols' courtney taylor.  the doc follows the two bands over seven years, and shows the dandy warhols struggle with their decision to sell out to the music machine and at the same time fight to keep their integrity; while self-destructing brian jonestown massacre (or more specifically anton) struggle to create art, while fight with each other (with fists and words).

the most infamous clash captured in DiG! occurred at a gig for elektra records executives.  in mid-song, anton fired his new guitarist, resulting in an on-stage brawl involving the entire band.

let’s just say that anton did not come off looking good; he has denounced his depiction in the film.

who killed sgt. pepper, with tracks ranging from ambient bhaṅgṛā beats (music originated in punjab region of india), to rock, to shoegaze, to gypsy released february 23, 2010.  it was recorded overseas with musicians hailing from france, germany and iceland in 2009; it is considered “the band's most 'multicultured' release to date.”

click here to watch DiG! streaming on hulu.  click here for a bunch of songs from rhapsody.  click here for a rehearsal space interview.  click here for bjm archives.  don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if brian jonestown massacre have any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.

brian jonestown massacre is out of control.

if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site).

jason

don't worry if you missed the broken bells profile from last week: here it is.

a records


a records