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 West Coast USA born and bred musical wizard Anton Newcombe is in the UK touring with his cult outfit The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and I really couldn’t let go of such an opportunity to meet someone I have admired for so many years.
Firstly, there is the music. Personally I can’t fault any of the BJM’s offerings in the last twelve years. Beautiful, at times dreamy, frequently sun drenched and/or emotionally charged retro meets the future eclectic but often psychedelic numbers galore.
But my fascination and respect lie with founder, leader, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Anton Newcombe and the fact that no-one could successfully argue his genius.
Philanthropist by day, most prolific of songwriters by night, perfectionist 24/7, Mr Newcombe is without a doubt a complex character and maybe, at times misunderstood.
To firmly stand by his strong beliefs and principles, many a time he has ‘cut his nose to spite his face’ but Anton Alfred Newcombe, born August 29, 1967 in Newport Beach, California, proclaims that he is not for sale.
Unable to find proof to the contrary I wonder how many of his contemporaries could join his club?
Being aware of his own talent and being in equal measures, refreshingly outspoken or just downright rude, outrageous and provocative, give him an arrogance that I can tolerate given his brilliance.
A man after my own heart he declares: ”I’ll eat my own shit if The Arctic Monkeys or Oasis produce as many albums as we have!”, well Mr Newcombe I think that your eating habits are safe for the foreseeable future and beyond.
 Of course many people have become familiar with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and its master in the last couple of years or to be more precise since the release of documentary ‘Dig!’ which follows their ‘career’ path as well as that of close friends, Portland, [Oregon], based quartet The Dandy Warhols.
To my disappointment, cinematographer Ondi Timoner, probably needing a strong selling point The Dandy’s story couldn’t provide, decides to concentrate on Anton’s darkest moments.
Clever editing portrays him as quite a volatile, tantrum throwing, psychotic, abusive jerk.
I am somewhat very keen to prove otherwise, if only to myself.
But to be fair we also discover someone capable of moments of pure genius, totally dedicated to his cause, his ‘revolution’.
Someone of great influence and inspiring to his fellow musicians.
Some, like Courtney Taylor will readily admit it and many more won’t.
Notoriously, he won’t speak to journalists preferring the rare e-mail interview but I believe that to be more a case of ‘once bitten, twice shy’ than awkwardness.
I am to meet him in Birmingham, where the BJM are playing tonight, between soundcheck and stage time.
However due to a small case of miscommunication I will have to interview him after the show.
This is not a good idea as he will be very tired and emptying the content of a bottle of Smirnoff during the show, I now know that he will also be quite drunk.
I expect him to tell me to piss off. If not I certainly don’t expect to spend more than a few minutes with him...
Florence: Hi Anton!
You’ve just come off stage from a two hours gig in Birmingham.
Officially this is the last performance of the tour, so how do you feel?
Anton: I am sooo tired!
We’re going to Manchester tomorrow and then one more show in Wales.
There was a problem when we went to play Manchester last month, an electric blackout at the University and the neighbourhood....so we went to play in a bar, like a small pub, for free, for hundreds and hundreds of people so that’s why we’re going back there to play.
Florence: You’re adding a few days to an already very long tour so that The Brian Jonestown Massacre can give the people of Manchester a good performance...that shows a lot of respect for the fans...
Anton: We understand that sometimes people take trains, come from France to see shows in Manchester, maybe they can’t get a ticket in Paris so they will travel, people will come from everywhere....
We had people from England at our Amsterdam show...
Florence: I can appreciate that you are totally exhausted but are you happy?
Did the tour go as expected?
Any highlights?
Anton: I want to go back to France and play.
I have nothing bad to say about the people of England but I wish we had started in Europe, to be fresh when we got there.
It’s very difficult to travel so much, and we’d already toured a couple of weeks in England by the time we got to Rouen and then we went everywhere in France.
Florence: BJM visited about 10 different countries.
That’s a lot of people to please, so where were the best crowds?
Anton: France and Scandinavia equally.
I’m very happy when people just relax and here was also very good.
I don’t mind having jokes with people in the audience like we did tonight.
Florence: Talking about your music, you write sublime love songs.
Is that the sign of a man who falls in love easily...
Anton: Someone who sleeps alone at night...someone who sleep with eleven other guys on a tour bus!
Florence: Or have you had your heart broken too many times?
Anton: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Florence: I love the way you can translate a lot of emotion in a very short space. I am particularly fond of ‘Stolen’ where you’ve achieved so much in ninety seconds.
Anton: That’s not about a specific girl, it’s about an idea.
It’s something I imagined.
Florence: It’s exquisite and you can make me cry in a minute and a half! Total genius.
Anton: Yes it’s genius and it’s very sad, but it’s a very old song from 1990.
I have a bunch of songs in my head that I don’t share with people because of fashions...it’s a lot of bullshit...
Florence: Are you very aware of what’s going on around you musically?
Anton: I always have been. I always save songs because sometimes people say “oh you know Anton I really like the way that you used to sound!”
Florence: Used to sound!!
Anton: So I put out songs from ten, twelve years ago.
Or they say “I like your old sound” but it doesn’t make any sense to me.
People should just relax, listen to the music and think “ok! that’s just the way they are”.
Florence: You are very versatile in your writing and so you should be, you’re an artist...
Anton: Well that’s the key...I am not trying to be a rock star, a pop guy or a poster boy. I am an artist and I really believe in it but it’s really very difficult for some people to understand.
Maybe that’s why I have been so well accepted in French culture.
They don’t like everything that’s on the radio, they don’t get influenced easily.
I am sure that Nirvana had a great time but because the music was good not because a label said “this is important, pay attention”.
Florence: The French do love an artist and even more an underdog.
They have a lot of respect for guys like The Warlocks.
Anton: The Warlocks are not underdogs! They’re signed to Mute and Sire.
They are the exact opposite of us, the acceptable version of BJM.
Mute pays for them to come out here.
Florence: You mentioned in an e-mail that you paid for this tour yourselves.
Anton: We did four shows in the US and got the money together to buy a bus and get eleven people in Europe for two months.
But this tour is doing good. In Dublin for instance we played to eleven hundred people so that money keeps us going.
We pay for our own things because we have no label. We are the label, Keep Music Evil.
Florence: Good on you!
Anton: Good on everyone because we help our friends.
We bring our friends to play with us, like The Lovetones.
We had The High Dials from Quebec who are so fucking good, live especially and also guys from Iceland, Singapore Sling.
Last night at Koko [in London], it was Jakobinarina also from Iceland....
Florence: I really admire the way you look after your buddies and you’ve surrounded yourself with so much talent...you’ve created a milieu where you can help each other and that’s something a lot of other bands can learn from.
Anton: Listen Miss Flower, it’s like an ecosystem, symbiotic...
You have to create an environment for everything, it’s so important, more important than your ego. ‘Eco over ego’.
Life never really is what it seems and fortunes change.
I tend to laugh at everything because I know people and this business.
It’s nothing new to me.
Florence: I guess that if you are refusing to play by other people’s rules, you need to create your own within your own world.
Anton: I love the fact that people were very upset with Serge Gainsbourg after a certain point because of the crazy things he did.
People in this business would say that his behaviour is bad business, but it’s good business! I absolutely love him.
Even after his death, internationally, people acknowledge how good he was.
Florence: He didn’t want to play the game and nor do you, and maybe that’s the way to be.
Anton: It’s one way to be, but it’s the hardest path.
You need a hard hand for the long haul.
Florence: What important message do you have for people out there?
Anton: Our music is free from our website, and it’s Ogg files so it’s better quality than MP3.
I’ve had fan mail from as far as Antarctica, from scientists saying “thank you so much Anton for giving your music for free”.
Think about it, you’re in Antarctica and even if you can access amazon.com, it’s six months before the ice breaking ship comes to you....so they’re so fucking cool that you give the stuff away.
I create the music to be heard.
Florence: Your ideals are so strong. It probably doesn’t pay the rent but you’re so sussed out.
You’ve been criticised for that but I don’t think you’re the one screwed up.
It saddens me that everything, especially art has become about money...
Anton: Will you marry me?
Let’s find a bar and have a drink.
Yes folks! It’s all gone pear-shaped but not down hill.
That was the longest I could hold Mr Newcombe’s attention to ‘serious’ matters.
After roaming the empty streets of Birmingham for what seemed like miles and miles we reached Broad Street and it’s array of bars.
Tonight and maybe out of sheer exhaustion Anton is in a very gentle, mellow mood and somewhat talkative.
Sensing that he wasn’t dallying with the enemy he chooses to be revelatory and every other sentence is peppered with F-words: friends, friendship and family.
Fierce loyalty is also a recurring theme.
Not wanting to betray Anton’s trust there isn’t anymore I can share from our evening together.
However among a lot of personal statements Anton declares his love for Joel Gion, tambourine man and long standing buddy.
Anton is genuinely sorry that Joel had to miss the last few shows, due to personal commitments back in The States, and even more sorry that he didn’t witness the devoted, enthusiastic audience of La Cigale, Paris on monday night.
But he swears that The BJM will be back in October and that Joel will not miss any of the action.
For good measure a few anecdotes are thrown in, like the time he stopped to have his photo taken leaning against a classic Porsche and then decided to have a pee [on the unseen], damaged side of the car, just “to add insult to injuries”.
He’s desperate to get home and chill out after so long on the road, sharing a tour bus with so many guys.
He’s not really a ‘pack animal’ and there is only so much male bonding he can take, preferring female company. He also admitted that on this tour he found it difficult to write new songs.
To set the record straight and contradict the film’s ending, stating that Anton is not allowed to see his son, spending quality time with his family seems primordial to him.
Home is now Manhattan where he has relocated from his native
California in order to be closer to his little boy, whom he clearly adores. Whilst he did not comment on his parenting skills he had nothing but praise for the mother of his son, actress Tricia Vessey.
“Life never really is what it seems and fortunes change”
That’s all from Anton Alfred Newcombe until next time.
Words: Florence ACHERYPictures: Mary MARTLEY
www.brianjonestownmassacre.com
www.myspace.com/brianjonestownmassacre |
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