Bjork’s newer solo work seems especially fitting at this stage of his life. A balance has been struck between all the musical influences that informed his previous material. The same punk elements that influenced his earlier projects – Kyuss and Vista Chino – are still present. In fact, they’re perhaps referenced more in his newer work than they were in his earlier work. There’s a stronger garage notion about this material, and the really great strength of garage music is that it’s inherently sincere. After all, the beauty of garage rock is in its simplicity.
Bjork’s solo work has always had a progression that flows in a very natural ‘stream of consciousness’ type of way. Where the steady, thudding movement of Kyuss or Fu Manchu would be further propelled by blood-curdling shrieking and wailing guitars, in Brant’s songs they’re often married with an unfettered vocal track and an overall looser approach to guitar playing. Brant’s latest project, which he’ll be touring around Australia in the coming weeks, is essentially spawned from this attitude to making music. It celebrates his career in music and gives a nod to his punk roots, as he falls back into a more casual and relaxed place.
“This is my new band, I call it the Low Desert Punk band. It just consists of Tont Tornay on drums, Dave Dinsmore on bass and Bubba Dupree on guitar. These are guys that I’ve known for years. They’re dear friends and we’re just excited about this new band and new music,” Bjork says. “It’s a celebration with old friends and the result is very natural and comfortable.”
Brant Bjork is bringing the Low Desert Punk band down for an Australian tour, including performances at CherryRock014 in Melbourne and Sydney alongside alt-rock luminaries Meat Puppets before hitting up the Ding Dong lounge on May 29,
“We’re going to come down and play a lot of my old solo classics, but we’re also going to play a couple of new songs as well. We’re in the process of making our new record right now which is due to be out in late September or early October, so this Australian tour is kind of like a warm up run for us. It gives us a chance to get out there and let people see the new band and the new tricks. I couldn’t think of a better place to launch this new band.”
It’s been a career that has stretches over two decades now, and truthfully that’s a long time to be in any profession without things turning a little stale. Bjork’s artistic growth throughout his career has been one of his noted strengths. His 1999 debut solo release Jalamanta expressed a very different and far more experimental side of Bjork, exhibiting an infatuation with sparse guitar tones and subtle bass movements reminiscent of New Zealand avant-garde punk legends The Clean. He’s crafted a distinguished solo career as a guitarist and songwriter, and come a long way since drumming in Kyuss, musically and personally.
“I think a lot has changed and a lot stays the same,” he reflects “The biggest change is I’ve changed a lot. As much as I’ve stayed the same, I’ve changed a lot.” “I’m married and I have two kids now, and as any parent will tell you, when you have kids the world changes. You just look at the world with different eyes. My kids have really helped me to return to the child within me. It’s exciting to see them get excited about music and jump around the house and the innocence there. That’s part of what Low Desert Punk is all about to me. Returning to my roots and my love of listening and recording and writing and performing rock’n’roll. I wouldn’t say that I’ve abandoned all my creative and artistic ambitions but I’ve definitely softened up a bit now. I think I’ve worked really hard over the years, and I think it’s really because I didn’t know how to work any other way, but now I’m just starting to lighten up and relax a little bit.”
With this newfound energy and enthusiasm in playing for the sake of playing, Bjork has put together a lineup of musicians that he considers to be ‘ideal’ in the midst of a modern day renaissance of garage, punk and stoner rock. It’s a rather serendipitous circumstance that he’s found himself in at this point in time, with the genre as healthy as it is.
“Stoner rock is an interesting genre of music because it’s been around for a long time. I think a lot of people – sometimes even some of the people directly involved in stoner rock – probably didn’t think it was going to last or be around this long but it has been around for 20 years or so now, and it’s actually growing. In typical stoner fashion it’s growing at a very slow but very steady pace. Right now I think it’s a great time to be playing rock music or be interested in it or participating as a fan. It’s an exciting time for rock music.”
BY KEATS MULLIGAN
