For a dedicated group of people, Brant Bjork needs no introduction. For fans of Stoner Rock, Brant is practically royalty, having played in two of the most formidable bands of the genre, Kyuss and Fu Manchu. But Brant has also put together quite an impressive resume as a solo artist. Depending on how you count and who you ask, Punk Rock Guilt is his tenth solo record. Tenth. Since 1999. That’s in addition to all of the albums he lent guitar and drums to. Tenth. Given this prolific output, it’s a marvel he had time to talk to me from his home in California.

Brant explains, “I don’t believe in masterpieces. I just make records. I enjoy making records. I enjoy playing live. And when you have something you enjoy doing, you develop a natural pace for it. And that was part of why I wanted to set out and be independent, so I could kind of establish my own pace and do my own thing when I want to do it.”

This laid back approach is evident both in his music and his personality. Punk Rock Guilt resembles his musical output as a whole, both solo and collaborative: it’s relaxed, it’s full of tight riffs, and it’s about forgetting your responsibilities, chilling out and having some fun. While it definitely packs a hard rock punch, at its best Punk Rock Guilt is about finding a groove and not letting go. This is especially true of the fuzzed-out “Born to Rock” and on the two epic jams that bookend the album, “Lion One” and “Locked and Loaded”. The latter song, for instance, although over 10 minutes long, could go on for an hour and it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

There’s just a spacey warmness that permeates throughout the album, even as the guitars get louder and the drums get harder. While blogUT doesn’t endorse doing drugs (this is a student blog, who’re we kidding?), this album is best accompanied by a fat spliff and perhaps a bottle of tequila.

But then why the title, Punk Rock Guilt? “It’s just the way I define Punk Rock,” says Brant. “It’s like Mike Watt said, ‘Punk Rock is what you want it to be’. And the irony is that it’s Punk Rock Guilt and I’m this long haired guy who’s just playing Stoner Rock. But to me, that’s Punk Rock. Y’know, like Cheech and Chong was Punk Rock. The Cars were Punk Rock in their own right. The Who was Punk Rock. Punk Rock has been a term that’s been used enough over the years that it’s a lot more than Sex Pistols. It’s a broad term now and it’s used to describe an attitude and that’s how I use it.”

That’s definitely the first time I’ve heard Cheech and Chong categorized as Punk, but he is onto something when he says that Punk Rock is more an attitude than a style of music. A simple glance at Punk Rock Guilt’s track listing displays Brant’s philosophy. Songs like “Shocked by the Static”, “Dr. Special”, and “Punk Rock Guilt” bust out lyrics about getting stoned, having a good time, and generally just letting your freak flag fly.

This rebellion against the rules and mores of mainstream society perhaps explains Brant Bjork’s aversion to labels like Punk or Stoner Rock: “They’re not for the musicians. They’re not our experience. They’re just terms for critics, journalists, and interesting people who write pieces about music. Johnny Ramone couldn’t stand the term Punk Rock. In his eyes, they were a rock and roll band, and rightfully so. And it’s the same with me and 90% of the people I grew up with playing this type of music. We thought we were just making rock. They call it Stoner Rock. I guess in some ways I’m kind of saying, ‘well if it’s Stoner Rock, it’s just as much Punk Rock.’” Point taken, Brant; no more labels.

I can say this, though, as effortlessly cool as the record is, the true Brant Bjork experience is seeing him live. As it is most of his arrangements and lyrics were hammered out in studio, so the record is already principally an approximation of the live show.

That’s why almost as important as Brant himself are the musicians that he surrounds himself with. “Choosing band members for me is like establishing any kind of relationship,” he explains. “And there is a trust factor artistically and musically, but also in getting to know each other as people, as musicians, chemistry, timing, philosophy. I’ve jammed with enough musicians to know that it’s a rare and exciting experience to get a group together who’re all on the same page musically. Right now I’ve got a new band and I’m very excited about it.”

And you too can get excited about it. Brant Bjork will be playing at North By Northeast, not once, but twice. First he plays at the El Mocambo on June 13th and then at the Bovine Sex Club on June 14th. I would suggest checking him out if you get the chance. You can also pick up Punk Rock Guilt, which is out in record stores now.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.