If someone told you to make a list of the best drummers in stoner rock, it’s a guarantee that Brant Bjork would be at the top. As the drummer of stoner pioneers Kyuss, Brant helped bring the sounds of the hot Palm desert to the world. Post-Kyuss, Brant would go on to play for Fu Manchu and release some surprisingly prolific solo albums.
After a stint with the mostly-reunited Kyuss which morphed into Vista Chino and released an album, Peace in 2013, Brant is back in a big way. With a new band, the Low Desert Punks behind him, Brant has a brilliant new album on the way. Black Flower Power is a heavy, grooving chunk of rock—a step away from the soulful, funky jams of his previous solo albums.
We talked to Brant as he was preparing to depart for a European tour to support the new album, talking a bit of vinyl, and even a bit of Kyuss.
Hi Brant! How are things going?
Things are going well. We’re just getting ready to leave for Europe tomorrow.
Leaving for the European tour?
Yeah, we’ve got like five weeks over in Europe, so we’re all geared up, ready, and excited.
Are there any U.S. tour plans after that?
We don’t have any U.S. dates planned as of now, but we’ve been talking about it. We definitely are going to pursue some U.S. dates, probably sometime next year.
I know myself, and a lot of other people would be very happy if that were to happen.
Ok, we’ll make it happen!
Black Flower Power is possibly the heaviest solo material of your career. What was the motivation behind a heavier record?
I just was feelin’ heavy. I felt like I wanted to get back to a no-nonsense sound and a rock sound. I kind of went back to my interest in that type of sound. Like the late-‘60s, with that heavy rock guitar sound, but they just hadn’t really been developed yet. It was kind of like a prototype sound. I really dig that, so I wanted to tap into that. Emotionally, I was right there with it. About the time I was writing this music, I was kind of in a heavy place in my life. It just felt good to just kind of rock.
The genres that you have covered on your solo albums have just been all over the place, from funk and soul, to acoustic material, and more. Is there a certain style that you haven’t tried, but would like to?
No, I look at jot less as styles that I’m trying to tap into. It’s more of just what comes out of me. I listen to a lot of different music. On my turntable, you’ll find anything from Thelonius Monk and Erykah Badu to Reagan Youth or the Ramones. I listen to all kinds of music, and enjoy it all for different reasons. I think when it comes time for me to be creative, all that music that I ingested naturally comes out in some way.
It becomes more of a mood than a mission.
Yeah. yeah, exactly. In some ways it’s difficult to have a mission to create something specific.
You recorded your album Jacuzzi. Will that album see a release anytime soon?
I hope so! I’d really like to release this record. It’s one of those situations where there’s no real backstory, or no major complication, except it’s just a timing issue. The moments where I felt I was ready to release it, the people who were involved on the other end of things need a couple of minutes to get their thing in order. When they were ready, I was already on to some other pursuits and was tied up with that. It really has been kind of a phone tag situation. That has nothing to do with my support and love for the record. I hope to get the record out by the end of this year—which is what I said last year—but for sure early next year at the latest. It’s gonna get released, for sure.
I’m looking forward to it. Going back to Black Flower Power, this is this all new material, correct?
This is all new material, yes.
Tell us about the Low Desert Punk Band.
Low Desert Punk Band consists of Tony Tornay and Dave Dinsmore. That’s my rhythm section, Tony on drums and Dave on bass. They’re some old friends of mine that I grew up in the desert with. I’ve known Tony and Dave for years, played music with them at separate times throughout the years. My guitar player is Bubba DuPree. I was a fan of Bubba’s guitar playing, and he was in a band out of the east coast in the ‘80s called Void that I was into. I had hung out with Bubba a few times over the years, and just knew that he was a cool guy. I just approached them all, and everyone has a punk rock background, which I thought was really cool and fun. I said “Hey man, let’s rock,” and everyone was down. We got together, and it’s been a blast. It’s a real jiving group.
I’ve noticed with a number of the members of Kyuss, when solo albums have been recorded, rather than going out and getting big name superstars to play on your album, you all tend to stick, for the most part, within your tight-knit desert community. How do you see that?
I think when it comes to music, if I can absolutely help it, I prefer to be creating with people who I jive with, just as human beings. I’m not looking to satisfy some level of success that’s based upon “name” people, or technical ability. Those aren’t the pursuits that I have within music, and those aren’t things that I add up as a formula to some greater success. That’s not my interest. I’m into just making music, and making music with people who I think are genuine, soulful musicians.
People you vibe well with?
Yeah.
You mentioned your own turntable. Will Black Flower Power be released on vinyl?
Absolutely, of course.
I’m assuming you personally are into vinyl?
Yeah, I prefer vinyl as a listening format. I’ll be brutally honest and say that spend a lot of time listening to music on my iPhone and iPod. It’s just so darn convenient. It’s hard not to take advantage of that. I don’t look at that situation as a hi-fi, really studying sound kind of thing. It’s more for just having some music near me. If I want to sit down and really get intimate with a recording, I definitely prefer the vinyl format, for sure.
What’s one special record from your collection? Special to you.
I’ve got a record that I bought years ago, it’s a Jackie Mittoo record called Macka Fat. It’s my go-to record. I could be in any mood. I could be happy, I could be sad, I could be angry or confused, and for some reason I’m able to put this record on, and I think it’s a combination of the sound, the song, the melody. There’s no vocals, it’s an instrumental record and it just always seems to hit the right spot for me. It’s definitely one of my favorite records in my collection.
It’s a great feeling when an album can do that to you.
Sure is.
While we are talking about vinyl, what are your thoughts on the four Kyuss vinyl rereleases?
You know, I haven’t had the opportunity to get a hold of them and hear them, so I don’t know where they’re at with the quality. I’m sure they’re up to speed and sounding good. Conceptually, yeah, vinyl is the premier format, of course, and Kyuss was a band that was around when analog was still the norm. It definitely deserves to be on vinyl, so it’s great that it is.
Did you record Black Flower Power in analog, or did you go with modern techniques?
I recorded this record in my own studio out in the desert that I built a couple of years ago, It’s an all-analog studio, we have a digital option if necessary, for editing and stuff. It’s a analog studio, we recorded to two-inch twenty-four track, and mixed down to half-inch tape. My records have all been recorded on tape, using analog gear. There’s been a few records in my past where I’ve used digital technology to do various overdubs, or I’ll mix a few things here or there, maybe a few edits, but I’ve never really strayed from the original recording process that I was introduced to in the late ‘80s when I was first starting.
Keeping it alive.
Yeah, man.
Kyuss played a key role in shaping much of the stoner rock genre as we know it today, and you and Yawning Man gave birth to the desert rock sound. Did you intentionally set out to do something different from what was out there, or were the four of you just doing what came naturally?
I think it was a little bit of both. I think I said in an interview last week, with Kyuss, we were interested in the music that had come before us that was sonically and emotionally heavy. I think we were heavy kids, and we were coming form a heavy environment, so we identified with music that had that similar sound and vibe. Whether it was punk rock, like early punk rock and hardcore, or ’60s and ‘70s hard rock, and things like that. Then of course, we dug a lot of the stuff that was coming out of Seattle, it had a nice raw, heavy sound. Punk and metal, and even grunge, for that matter, these were genres of music that we had never felt that we could fully embrace, even if we wanted to.
We just kind of did what we did, with no looking back, and no expectations of what was to come by moving forward. So it was just like turned-up rock, it’s heavy, but let’s just play our music and if the result was…well, we were smoking a lot of grass back then, but that was just what us kids did. All our friends, that’s all we did, whether you played in a band or not. It’s interesting that kind of came to be an element and what the music was labelled as and part of, but we had nothing to do with that. We had no idea what people would call it, or need to call it. We just did what we did.
I think one of the things that is a misconception, is that when people first hear Kyuss, they think, “Oh, they’re like Black Sabbath” because of the bass-heavy sound of your music. It’s not until you really dig into the music and listen, that all your other influences really start to become apparent.
Yeah, more than anything, I think, speaking for myself, I always thought we were kind of a cross between Black Flag and the Grateful Dead. That’s kind of where my head was at. We obviously loved Black Sabbath, but never saw Black Sabbath as a touchstone or something to pursue. How could you, in your right mind? They’re obviously a mountain of their own. I thought we were more of a punk-spirited band. None of us were really like “chops” guys, and not really big heavy metal guys, either. We were leaning towards more of a punk rock vibe. Even the Grateful Dead, for me, the whole concept of improv, jamming within rock music, and having a grassroots, organic approach to the band.
What’s amazing about what you just said, is that even though your music wouldn’t be defined as “metal,” Kyuss’ music was always fully embraced by the metal community. It’s interesting how that happened.
Yeah, it is. I think we were one of those bands that kind of bridged the gap, or just created a bridge, which is cool. I was really excited as a kid, when I saw punk rock and metal starting to kind of cross over in the mid-‘80s. A lot of great bands and a lot of great music was born from that bridging, that crossover. I think in a lot of ways, yeah, Kyuss was a band where people who were into punk, and heavy metal or even some of the Seattle stuff, they could embrace us as a fan, and say, “Yeah, this is cool, man,” even if it was a little different from my usual taste.
What’s your reaction when today, you look around, and so many bands across multiple genres claim Kyuss as a major influence. What’s that make you feel?
It’s flattering. I grew up really, really loving certain bands, and was a fan, and in a lot of ways still am a fan of those artists. It always feels good when people show you appreciation for what you did. I’m not quite sure the degree of influence that Kyuss has had, because I’m just too busy doing what I do, but people tell me that a lot of people are into it, and that they’re inspired by it, and it’s affected their ability to start a band, or pursue things in music. I don’t know, but I try not to get hung up on it too much, I just do what I do.
Looking back at your solo albums since then, which album, if you had to pick a favorite child, sticks out to you the most? Not counting the latest record.
I think the first record, Jalamanta, for no other reason than it’s just my first one. It’s the record that my ability to become a solo artist was born with that record. In fact, I didn’t have any plans to call it a “Brant Bjork” record, I was kind of trying to think of names for this project. My friend at the time was like, “Well why would you call it anything other than Brant Bjork?” I never thought to do that. I never thought to put a record out under my own name.
They’re like, “Well, it’s the most authentic title you could give it, because it’s you, you are literally playing everything.” I just couldn’t really argue with that. So that’s how my solo career began, I just said “Fuck it, alright. I’ll call it Brant Bjork, and call the album Jalamanta.” It’s an important record.
It’s a great record. All of them have been. What’s down the road for you? There’s the new album, the tour, what do you see beyond that?
Well, I try not to see too far beyond that. I try to stay focused, and right now, that’s where we’re at. The record comes out in November, we’re going on tour for that now, and we’ll see what we do before the year’s end.
There’s already talk of returning to Europe next year, and doing some U.S. dates. We’re gonna rock this new material, and support his new record for as long as we feel is necessary, and without going too far in the future, I do feel confident that I’ll be in this band. Everyone’s having a good time, and I can see us making another record sooner than later.
