He started out as the drummer for Kyuss, but Brant Bjork’s love of guitar won out. “My favorite record? That’s an impossible question,” he says, adding: “Do you have experience by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is the closest thing to rock perfection I have ever heard.”
Björk’s new album, Once upon a time in the desertwill be released on September 20th – but he says that the sound has more to offer than the title suggests.
“My music is an extension of my heart, soul, mind and surroundings. Many people say my music has a ‘desert vibe’ because I grew up in the desert of Southern California. When I listen closely to my music, I hear a lot and sometimes a little bit of the many artists, bands and eras I have listened to since I was young.”
His new band, the Brant Bjork Trio, has a sound as unique as any group he has played in, he adds – and he has no interest in resting on his legacy, whatever it may be.
“I realize I’ve been making music for a long time,” he says. “But I’m on a creative journey, and my best and most satisfying work may be way ahead of its time. Maybe not; but I still enjoy continuing. That’s why we call it a journey.”
You have released new music. Where do you draw influences from?
“Mostly blues and jazz from the ’50s, classic rock from the ’60s and ’70s. And I grew up in the ’80s, so of course I hear some of that in my music. My favorite artists are nothing out of the ordinary or surprising… Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Ramones, Bob Marley. I like the classics shamelessly.”
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, offers and more straight to your inbox!
How does your trio’s music differ from your other projects in terms of guitar and songwriting?
“It’s no different than I would imagine with jazz musicians. When you play music with certain musicians, your style changes a little bit. I’ve been playing with my drummer Ryan Güt for almost 10 years. And I’ve been playing in one way or another and listening to Mario Lalli for over 30 years – so I’m pretty familiar with their musical styles.”
What does your main guitar setup look like these days?
“I’ve played around with different amps and pedals and tried a handful of guitars; but for the most part my live setup has been the same for 20 years. I play a Fender Squier Strat through an early ’70s Marshall JMP. I play through a Fuzz Face with the fuzz turned all the way down. I also have a wah, a Supro overdrive and a reverb/delay.
“I use my little Marshall practice amp to get a nice broken tone. I’ve found that a smaller amp can better simulate a bigger guitar sound when examined under the sound microscope of the studio. The art of recording rock records is all about deception. There’s the art of recording and the art of performing. They’re two different things.”
Look further
Despite what you say, have any interesting discoveries in equipment helped shape your current sound?
“When I record, I like to do some of my rhythm tracks with the bridge pickup through my wah set on mid-scoop. I don’t think this is anything new, but it’s effective. Straight guitars always sound cool and I’ve recorded a lot of them over the years. That’s how Roger McGuinn did all his guitars in the Byrds. Of course, he used his 12-string.
“I’ve never claimed to have a sound – I’m always exploring something and that’s part of the fun. I would describe my sound as very malleable. If you listen closely, Tony Iommi’s guitar sound changes on every Sabbath record. Which is the best? Impossible. They’re all great.
“I don’t think I have the same guitar sound on any two of my records. I think it’s the same with my live sound: it’s always changed a little bit. I would get bored playing the same sound all the time.”
Have the sound, vibe and ethos of Kyuss been preserved in your music?
“Back in the Kyuss days, we were a bunch of young punks, but we were smart enough to know that rock music should be pure, simple – not to be confused with simple – organic and fearless. I think my music then and now still has all of those qualities. I’ve been cooking with the same ingredients for 35 years.
“The more I’ve changed, the more I’ve stayed the same – that’s the amazing thing about getting older. I’m officially an adult and ‘grown up’ now, but I still get just as excited when I hear Lobotomy in teenagers by the Ramones, like I did when I was 13.
I hear classical guitar in Josh Homme’s playing – in mine there is more of a natural blues going on. My guitar is untamed
“I like to study songwriting and usually do it with my favorite artists. Everyone likes to make fun of cover bands, but I think that’s why the Beatles and the Stones became some of the best, if not the best, rock songwriters of all time.
“In their early years they were essentially cover bands, learning directly and indirectly how to make songs by playing the best R&B, blues and original rock ‘n’ roll songs there were.
“Money can’t buy this kind of education. It doesn’t matter if it was today or 50 years ago. If you want to do good things, you have to study good things.”
How has playing drums influenced your view of the guitar? Dave Grohl, for example, has said that for him the fretboard is like a drum kit.
“I switched because it was getting harder and harder to find a place for my drum kit, as I moved around a lot when I was younger. The guitar was more practical – and because I like the guitar so much, it gave me a lot of joy.
“As I continued to grow as a songwriter, it was a natural transition. To be honest, I didn’t think much about it then and I still don’t. For me, it’s all about rhythm, whether you’re playing guitar, drums or kazoo. Maybe that’s what Dave was expressing.”
Even though you moved away from drums after Kyuss, what did you take away from Josh Homme’s guitar playing?
“I wrote songs for Kyuss on my guitar, but when I was making music with Josh, I was totally focused on the drums so I didn’t take anything away from Josh as a guitarist.
“For me, his approach is very educated and correct. I’m self-taught and my style is rather unorthodox. I also hear more classical guitar in Josh’s playing – while in mine there is more of something natural like blues. My guitar is untamed.”
“Josh had a unique approach to songwriting. He approached it almost as if he was orchestrating. Again, that’s not something I necessarily adopted, but I always recognized his musical instinct with fascination. He does his thing and he does it effectively.”
When I look back, I don’t see a stoner scene – because it didn’t exist
Looking back, what does the desert/stoner scene mean to you?
“When I look back, I don’t see a stoner scene – because there wasn’t one. I see Kyuss and Fu Manchu doing their thing in Southern California, Sleep doing their thing in Northern California, and Monster Magnet doing their thing way away in New Jersey.
“We all had our own style, but there was some kind of fundamental connection. Over the years, that connection developed into a global scene with countless bands. It’s been fascinating to watch the evolution, but I can’t say I’m completely surprised.
Look further
“What Monster Magnet, Sleep, Fu Manchu and Kyuss were doing in the early 90s had substance. We didn’t play metal, punk or grunge. We all played heavy rock and we meant it.”
“The music was real and raw, and people started to recognize it. That’s how movements start. Everything has a starting point. It was crazy to be there when the first seeds fell into the ground.”
Do you have a favorite Kyuss album?
“No. They are all unique and have something to offer in their own way.” Blues for the red sun will always have a special place in my heart because when you make a record like that at 19, you never forget the experience.”
Which of your new songs mean the most to you and why?
“All of my songs, new and old, mean something to me. To try to measure their individual meaning or value would be pointless. Every record I’ve made is the result of creating, maintaining and releasing a body of work.
“The songs that make up a record are simply pieces of a certain puzzle. They depend on each other to define the whole. To give preference to one over the other would be foolish.”
“A more pragmatic answer would be to simply say: It depends on my mood!”
- Once upon a time in the desert will be released on September 20th via Duna Records.
