Black Lips is a "flower-punk" band from Atlanta, Georgia.
History
While still teenagers, the band formed in 2000 after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Reruns. Drummer Joe Bradley joined a few months later. They released their first 7-inch in 2002 on their own record label, Die Slaughterhaus.
Just days before a tour was to begin in December 2002, guitarist Ben Eberbaugh was driving a car that was struck by a drunk driver going the wrong way while he was parked at a toll booth. He was killed but the band carried on, believing that Eberbaugh would want them to continue.[1]
The band's debut full length album, Black Lips!, was released on Bomp! Records in 2003. Eberbaugh was replaced by Jack Hines, a friend of the band members, and they recorded their second studio album, We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow, with him. Hines, too, was eventually replaced by current guitarist, and former Renegades member, Ian Saint Pé, in 2004.
They have slowly built a fanbase that appreciates their style that is a rough mishmash of blues, rock, doo-wop, country, and punk. One of their biggest influence is the 60's Peruvian garage band Los Saicos.[citation needed] They gained national attention in 2006 with features in Spin and Rolling Stone magazines. The band got exposure in the New York Times[2] during the 2007 South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in which they played a dozen shows over a three-day period.
Their debut for Vice Records, Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, was released in February 2007. It is supposed to have been recorded at a bar in Tijuana, Mexico, but fans, musicians, and journalists have expressed doubts about that claim and speculated that some or most of it was recorded in a studio with John Reis.
In September 2007 their second studio album for Vice entitled Good Bad Not Evil was released. The Black Lips made their American national television debut in October 2007 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and played "O Katrina". In May 2008 Black Lips made their UK TV debut performing 'Bad Kids' on BBC3's The Wall.
The Black Lips were going to star in a film entitled Let It Be, in which they portrayed musicians in a fictitious 1980s era DIY band called The Renegades. A trailer for the movie can be viewed at the official website for the film.[3] The movie was set for production in the summer of 2008; however, in a September 2008 interview, the band admitted they became disenchanted with the project after viewing the trailer and seeing the way they felt they were going to be portrayed in the movie.[4]
In October 2008 a portion of the band's song "Veni Vidi Vici" was played during the season premiere episode of the television show Dirty Sexy Money, shown on the American network ABC.[5] The same song was going to be used in a commercial by British supermaket chain Tesco, but, according to the band, the company decided not to go through with the deal because of concerns with the lyrical content of the song.[6]
The group toured India in January 2009. Following some antics at their show in Chennai, the band became worried about being arrested and imprisoned for "homosexual acts" so they fled the city and eventually the country. The band summed up what happened in an interview at the Pitchfork Media musical festival: "they [Ian and Cole] kissed, some weiners got pulled out..." Vice Records documented the trip.[7]
After the band left India, they traveled to Berlin, Germany and recorded a 12-song LP of gospel-influenced songs with King Khan & BBQ. The album was released on September 22, 2009, under the name The Almighty Defenders.[8][9]
The Black Lips released their fifth studio album, 200 Million Thousand, on February 24, 2009 on Vice Records. The songs were recorded at New Street Studio, a former art gallery in Decatur GA, near Atlanta.
The band have a featured role in the documentary We Fun: Atlanta, GA Inside Out. The title was coined by Jared Swilley on the band's blog.[10] The film made its debut at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2009.
"Bad Kids" from Good Bad Not Evil is featured in the movie (500) Days of Summer.
Live shows
The Black Lips have a reputation for crazy live shows that have included vomiting (Cole's medical condition), urination, performing fellatio on each other, nudity, band members kissing (each other and audience members who go on stage), electric mini-car races, fireworks, a chicken, and flaming guitars. The frequency of the group's outrageous stage antics has declined, as they claim to have matured "a little bit". Regarding these stage antics, the band said: "People and other bands and club owners can get really mad. We have gotten kicked out of a lot of clubs. Sometimes they want to fight us when it happens. People run away and act scared. But theres nothing to be scared of, its all natural bodily functions. I think it's funny when people get mad." [11]
They played at Heaven in London on September 16, 2008, which ended with a classic stage invasion, and has become their most popular live YouTube video. [12]
The band has played shows in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.
The group has expressed interest in playing venues and countries that typically don't see many rock bands perform. They've said they'd like to play Africa, South America, China, Japan, Indonesia and Iraq.[8][13]
Future plans
The group has songs from recording sessions prior to signing with Vice which may eventually be released[14] by In The Red Records.
Volume six of Brendan Canty's Burn To Shine series includes a performance by the Black Lips. There is no release date set for this DVD.
In a November 2009 interview with Maps Radio in Italy, Joe stated that the band is in the "very early stages" of their sixth studio record. One new song, tentatively titled "So Long To Carolina," was debuted in that interview and will be included on the new album. [15]
Side projects
Cole sings, Jared plays bass and Joe plays keyboards in a ghost-rock band called The Spooks. The Spooks formed in 2002 as a band to play Halloween shows. Their performances always involve the band members performing while wearing white sheets, and have included blood, animal parts and a chainsaw. They began recording songs for an album in 2004, and their first LP, Death From Beyond The Grave, was released by Die Slaughterhaus in late 2008.
Ian has a side project called theFixedFocus .[citation needed] Ian also plays guitar in a garage punk band called The Original Three. They have one self-released EP, a full-length record out on CD through Empty Records and on vinyl via P.Trash Records, and 7-inch singles out on Shake Your Ass Records, Savage Records, and Perpetrator Records.
Jared plays guitar and sings in a band called The Gaye Blades. Rob's House Records has released two 7-inches by the group. In late Summer 2008 band member Bobby Ubangi was diagnosed with small cell lung and brain cancer, and he died in Summer 2009. Bobby is mentioned in the Black Lips song "Dirty Hands" and is the one whom Jared is referring to in the Black Lips song "I'll Be With You."
Cole released solo material under the name Old King Cole Younger. There is one split 10" release of his material on Rob's House Records that features Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, under the name of Atlas Sound, on the other side. Cole has recorded additional music which may eventually be released as a solo album.
Cole and Bradfox Cox also have a project called Ghetto Cross[16] which is also the name of a song on the Black Lips' album We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow.
Joe produced a rap group called Incoqnekro. They recorded an album titled Incoqnekronomicon, which was released online in 2009[8].
Band members
Current
- Cole Alexander (born on June 8, 1982) - Vocals, rhythm guitar
- Jared Swilley (born on August 8, 1983) - Vocals, bass guitar
- Joe Bradley (born on February 3, 1984) - Vocals, drums
- Ian Saint Pé (born on October 12, 1977) - Lead Guitar (from 2004)
Former members
- Ben Eberbaugh (deceased) - Guitar (2000 - 2002)
- Jack Hines - Guitar (2002-2004)
- Richie Hayes - Guitar (2004)
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
- "Ain't Comin' Back" 7" - 2002 (Die Slaughterhaus)
- "Freakout" 7" - 2002 (The Electric Human Project)
- "Ain't Comin' Back" 7" - 2003 (Munster Records)
- "Live at the Jam Club" 7" - 2004 (Shake Your Ass Records)
- "Does She Want" 7" - 2005 (Slovenly Records)
- "In and Out" 7" - 2005 (Slovenly Records)
- "Born to Be a Man" 7" - 2005 (Varmint Records)
- "Party at Rob's House" 7" - 2006 (Rob's House Records)
- "Born to Be a Man" 7" - 2006 Re-release with different cover (Bachelor Records)
- "Not a Problem" 7" - 2007 (Vice Records UK)
- "Cold Hands" 7" - 2007 (Vice Records UK)
- "O Katrina!" 7" - 2007 (Vice Records UK)
- "Veni Vidi Vici" 7" - 2007 (Vice Records UK)
- "O Katrina! Australian Tour" 7" - 2007 (Juvenile Records)
- "Bad Kids / Leroy Faster" 7" - 2008 (Vice Records UK)
- "Short Fuse" 7" - 2009 (Vice Records UK)
- "I'll Be With You" 7" - 2009 (Vice Records UK)
- "Disconnection/99 Victs" 7" - 2009 (Sub Pop Records Singles Club)
- "Drugs" 7" - (Vice Records UK)
Splits
- "Black Stereo/Dirt Mono" - 2006 with The Dirtbombs (Cass Records)
- "What To Do/Factory Girl" - with the Demon's Claws (Norton Records)
- "Christmas in Baghdad/Plump Righteous" - 2007 with The King Khan & BBQ Show (Norton Records)
- "Whirlyball" - 2007 with Baby Shakes, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, and Coffin Bound (Chunklet Magazine)
- "Live at the Clermont Lounge" - 2008 with the Subsonics (Rob's House Records)
- "MIA/Day Turns To Night/The Rest Of My Days/Little Prince - 2008 with the Carbonas, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, and Predator (Rob's House Records)
References
External links
