The Black Box Revelation (BBR) gathered in 2005 and became known at first in 2006 when they reached the second place in the Belgian band contest Humo Rock Rally.
(Nota para leitores portugueses: Podem ler esta entrevista em português AQUI.)
In 2007 they released the EP Kill For Peace (And Peace Will Die) and started playing regularly live shows in Belgium. In 2007 they also released their first LP, Set Your Head On Fire. A presentation of a band featuring pure, simple and fun Hard Rock. I Think I Like You, Love, Love Is On My Mind and Never Alone Always Together were some of the singles that came out of that first album.
BBR made some tours as supporting act with bands like dEUS, Iggy Pop, Eagles Of Death Metal, Raveonettes and others, also playing in some important Summer Festivals as Werchter, Pinkpop and Pukkelpop.
2010 saw the release of a new record entitled Silver Threats, showing psychedelic influences in songs like Love Licks and keeping the Hard Rock vein in songs like High On A Wire.
On February 2011 BBR released a single in a heart-shaped red vynil. The single was Lust Or Love, a song that isn't featured in any of the records of the band.
Rattle My Heart was released in June 2011 and was the single of the fortcoming album My Perception, their newest one, which was published in September 2011. A very consistent album (maybe the more consistent of the three) with a lot of ambience methamorphoses, that promise to make you listen again and again.
What more can we say? Jan Paternoster is the guitar player, singer and songwriter, and Dries Van Djick is the drummer. Yes, you read that right, they are only two, however, and despite being influenced by bands like The White Stripes and Black Keys, BBR deconstructed the idea that being a two piece band means having a thin and (too) simple sound. BBR songs are well constructed and sound thick and anyone who listens will be convinced that they are a "complete" band. BBR is a band willing to cross barriers. Tours with other bands through the USA have granted them good reviews and acclaim from the American audience, rare thing for minor European bands mainly coming from outside of the UK.
Assuming themselves as a genuine live band, BBR don't lack energy whatsoever and they look like they want to conquer the world. And Jan has only 22 and Dries 20. Fantastic, right?
For more information about BBR go to the Official Site, and to see their videos go to their Official Youtube Account.
It is with pleasure that we present you here on The Taste Of Orange the first and exclusive interview to a Portuguese site, in English so everyone can enjoy.
Taste Of Orange: According to the CD's leaflets, Jan writes all the songs, so how is the creative process when the two get together to actually build the song?
Jan Paternoster: As you mentioned already I'm the one who comes up with new songs in demo version. I record new ideas, vocals, guitars, riffs, whatever, .. on electric or dobro guitar via a 4 track cassette recorder. Once I have enough bricks to build our wall of sound, I go to Dries and most of the time I just try to introduce those new tunes without mentioning them. Our rehearsals mainly exist out of long jams and improvisation. In between I shoot some new tunes or ideas in there and we just see what kind of results it brings. When we like it, it most of the times turns out into a very long stretched jam. It's all about gut feelings and 'magic' then.
TO: What’s your main inspiration when writing songs? Do you get it from books, real life or any other thing?
J.P.: I always get inspired by loads of things while traveling. You see so many places and meet new people, and if we compare our lives to that of our friends it just differs so much. Love and Death are the two most fascinating things in life. Without life we couldn't even die or make love, haha. Fear can be an influential factor in writing as well, mainly cuz those themes are all so fascinating. While writing our new album 'My Perception' I got influenced by a lot of art as well. In particular by the New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. You'll see the same themes coming back, and I just love to try translating paintings into words. Exactly the reverse of what happens with books, where the reader tries to translate words into fantasy and visuals.
TO: Since most of the generally heard bands are from the UK and USA, being from Belgium do you feel any difficulty taking your music abroad? Why?
J.P.: Since English isn't our mother tongue there will always be a small language barrier. But this doesn't have to be a negative thing. We're proud of our music and we've played loads of concerts and tours for English native people already. Reactions couldn't be better, Americans like it so much we almost can't believe it. We toured the States with Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye, toured with Eagles of Death Metal, and are going back to the States next month with Jane's Addiction. I bet people's reactions are different then when they hear American bands, it might give 'em a more exotic feeling, which they like in a more curious way I guess.
TO: In 2008 you toured with dEUS. Do you feel influenced by those 90's bands, dEUS, Evil Superstars and others, that took Belgian music throughout Europe?
Dries Van Djick: We like dEUS and Evil Superstars, but we're not really influenced by Belgian bands, but we are influenced by some bands like Nirvana from the 90's. We're really thankful that dEUS took us on tour with them, this was the first European tour for us. In general we're more influenced by bands from the sixties and seventies like The Rolling Stones and Neil Young.
TO: What made you begin a band without any other instrument besides drums and guitar?
D.V.D.: Before Black Box Revelation we were both playing in a four piece band with Jan's younger brother and another friend. The genre was rather pop rock. After a while, Jan wrote a song ("Love In Your Head" from our first album "Set Your Head On Fire") which didn't really fit with the music of that band so we tried that one with just the two of us, and it worked out well! After writing more bluesy songs and some rehearsals we decided to go on with the two of us and started a new band: Black Box Revelation.
TO: Do you feel any restriction in songwriting and construction because of the limitation to those two instruments?
D.V.D.: Not at all, being just the two of us gives us a lot of freedom! When we're jamming we don't miss any other instruments. With Jan's three amp's and different guitar pedals, he brings a lot of dimensions into solo's, riffs and gives an extra boost in certain parts. I'm always trying to combine a groovy pattern, with my two floor toms and tom instead of the basic hi-hat, snare, kick beats, in that way it replaces a bass guitar. While recording we do use some overdubs, for example in "Sealed With Thorns" there's a small piano part that fits so good at that moment. Overdubs are making some parts more interesting for sure, but you won't miss those when you see us live!
TO: How do you feel when playing live and what do you like most about it?
D.V.D.: It feels great to play live shows! We agree that we're more a live band, and we really convince people when they see us live, because when people hear our albums, most of them can't believe we're a duo. What we really love about it is the interaction between us and the crowd, especially in the smaller venues. We always give as much energy as we can, once we see the crowd is getting wilder and crazy, it gives us even more energy. Sweaty basements, always fun! On the bigger stages it's quit different. Then it's more the huge crowd which gives us adrenaline and a lot of energy.
TO: Do you feel amazed when you look back and realise you already have three well accomplished albums under your belt? Especially when you are such young people?
D.V.D.: We never really think about it because we're always on tour, making new songs, videoclips,... But sometimes when we do think about it we're proud of what we've already accomplished the past six years. Our ambition is always growing. Now we're touring a lot in the States, It's amazing that bands like Beady Eye and Jane's Addiction want to take us on tour with them. Our ambition: Beady Eye and Jane's Addiction supporting for BBR:)! When an album is finished and we're back home, putting the record on is really satisfying. That moment we're really proud and happy with our brand new album!
TO: Do you have any influence on the video’s conception or you just let the directors take care of it? Because they are very cool, being quite different from the usual.
J.P.: I really like this question! There indeed is a big evolution in our videos. The first ones, from 5 years ago till a year or two ago, were always made by different directors, most of 'em by Joris Rabijns. We're always really excited to work on new videos, which goes along with a close involvement. We created the idea together with the director, giving him enough room to work it out in his own personal way. After making a dozen videos with directors we wanted to try make them ourselves. We had loads of time to see their working methods and ask them tips and tricks. Lust or Love was our first self directed video. We made it with my girlfriend and a couple of friends. Amazing what possibilities you have with those current DSLR cameras. We make all our videos ourselves now. For Rattle My Heart we worked together with fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck, and for My Perception we had a cooperation with FC Bergman, a Flemish theater collective. When you write a song, you have certain visuals in your head and we try to bring those visuals to the listeners in our videos. There's no one else who can achieve visuals so close to your own fantasy than yourself. That's probably the reason why our videos differ so much to usual videos made by directors. I guess we look at it in a more musical way than non musicians.
TO: It’s going to be Black Box Revelation for life? Or are you looking forward for different projects?
D.V.D.: For now it's only Black Box Revelation. Maybe someday, who knows what the future brings? No plans yet! We just love what we're doing: making music, recording albums, touring around the world. We're working hard to get our name out there. We like jamming with some other musicians but in BBR we will always stay the two of us.
TO: Individual question. Jan, what or who influenced your guitar playing style and guitar choice?
J.P.: My main influences are blues singers like Howlin' Wolf, R L Burnside, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter etc. Next to those Mississippi legends I really dig the early Stones and especially Neil Young on his 'On The Beach' record. I guess the reason why I like all those guys is cuz they all play their guitars with so much attitude. It's not about the most fancy solo, but about the way they put soul and freshness in their music. It's all about attitude!
TO: Dries, what or who influenced your drum playing style?
D.V.D.:John Bonham is my biggest influence, the way he controls his drums, the way he grooves, amazing. Also Dave Grohl really inspires me. When I was young, I was always watching video's where he's hitting his drums so hard. I guess that made me do the same. The drummer from Yeah Yeah Yeah's also inspires. He also use his toms a lot, he created his own sound.
TO: Do you like to combine different guitars, different amplifiers and effects in search of a different sound or is it just always basically the same?
J.P.: I basically use 1 specific setup, a rig of 3 guitar amps running through 3 different effect channels on my pedal board, all controlled by foot and my guitar.. I must say that setup has changed a lot over the years. Always in search for a better or thicker sound. It kinda evolved together with my way of playing the guitar and playing concerts. More experience enriched my knowledge on effects and amps. Not that I am a guitar geek, not at all. Once I found that right sound I stopped looking for more. Funny thing, cuz the new pedals and amps keep on coming. We played together with so many bands already and there's always something that attracts your attention like a new sound or pedal.. In the early BBR days, I just played a Chinese version of the AC30, nothing more, no pedals, straight plugged into the amp. Nowadays, it's a 60ies Selmer Zodiac Thirty and two Dr. Z's, running through a pedal board with a dozen of pedals. Funny how things evolve, isn't it? Speaking of guitars, I just LOVE guitars. Always up for a new one.. I mainly play James Trussart's guitars, a French luthier living in Los Angeles and a good friend of mine. He's actually building a crazy new model for me right now, and I can't wait to play it.
TO: Having a band and published albums was a long-awaited dream come true or an unexpected and sudden thing?
D.V.D.: For me, playing in a band and playing shows was absolutely a dream coming true. I started playing drums when I was seven years old, from that moment I knew what I wanted to do the rest of my life. We started playing together when we were 12 and 14 years old. From the beginning, it was our dream to go on tour! Two years ago we headlined the marquee at Rock Werchter which is the biggest festival in Belgium. Seven years ago we couldn't even imagined this.
TO: How have you come up with the idea for the Lust or Love song, video and heart-shaped vinyl? Because it’s an unusual release.
J.P.: I'm really happy this release drew your attention. The song was recorded during the 'Silver Threats' sessions, but we didn't want to put it on the album cuz of the different vibe. We thought the theme of this song was great to release it on Valentine's day. Wouldn't you like to get a Valentine's gift like that from your girlfriend? That's why we pressed the vinyl heart-shaped. Super cool isn't it? It was the perfect opportunity for us to try shooting the video ourselves. A no-budget production which is one of my favorite BBR videos.. The blue beard idea in the video came from my girlfriend, referring to the Bluebeard fairytale. What a hassle to paint that beard blue, hahaha. We had great fun shooting the video, but it was super cold. I even remember it was the coldest night of the year.. about - 15 degrees celsius. But hey, we needed the snow landscape!
TO: Are you planning on playing in Portugal someday?
J.P.: We'd LOVE to play Portugal this summer. We've been touring around Europe for 5 years now, played great shows in nearly every European country except Portugal. We had super cool shows in Spain with the Raveonettes. We just can't wait to play some Portuguese festivals. That would be so exciting. I think the Portuguese crowd would love our music, especially live on stage.
The Taste Of Orange would like to thank The Black Box Revelation for giving us this great interview so kindly. We would also like to give our thanks to Christen for allowing the contact with BBR and for the photos. Thank you very much!
(Nota para leitores portugueses: Podem ler esta entrevista em português AQUI.)
In 2007 they released the EP Kill For Peace (And Peace Will Die) and started playing regularly live shows in Belgium. In 2007 they also released their first LP, Set Your Head On Fire. A presentation of a band featuring pure, simple and fun Hard Rock. I Think I Like You, Love, Love Is On My Mind and Never Alone Always Together were some of the singles that came out of that first album.
BBR made some tours as supporting act with bands like dEUS, Iggy Pop, Eagles Of Death Metal, Raveonettes and others, also playing in some important Summer Festivals as Werchter, Pinkpop and Pukkelpop.
2010 saw the release of a new record entitled Silver Threats, showing psychedelic influences in songs like Love Licks and keeping the Hard Rock vein in songs like High On A Wire.
On February 2011 BBR released a single in a heart-shaped red vynil. The single was Lust Or Love, a song that isn't featured in any of the records of the band.
Rattle My Heart was released in June 2011 and was the single of the fortcoming album My Perception, their newest one, which was published in September 2011. A very consistent album (maybe the more consistent of the three) with a lot of ambience methamorphoses, that promise to make you listen again and again.
What more can we say? Jan Paternoster is the guitar player, singer and songwriter, and Dries Van Djick is the drummer. Yes, you read that right, they are only two, however, and despite being influenced by bands like The White Stripes and Black Keys, BBR deconstructed the idea that being a two piece band means having a thin and (too) simple sound. BBR songs are well constructed and sound thick and anyone who listens will be convinced that they are a "complete" band. BBR is a band willing to cross barriers. Tours with other bands through the USA have granted them good reviews and acclaim from the American audience, rare thing for minor European bands mainly coming from outside of the UK.
Assuming themselves as a genuine live band, BBR don't lack energy whatsoever and they look like they want to conquer the world. And Jan has only 22 and Dries 20. Fantastic, right?
For more information about BBR go to the Official Site, and to see their videos go to their Official Youtube Account.
It is with pleasure that we present you here on The Taste Of Orange the first and exclusive interview to a Portuguese site, in English so everyone can enjoy.
Taste Of Orange: According to the CD's leaflets, Jan writes all the songs, so how is the creative process when the two get together to actually build the song?
Jan Paternoster: As you mentioned already I'm the one who comes up with new songs in demo version. I record new ideas, vocals, guitars, riffs, whatever, .. on electric or dobro guitar via a 4 track cassette recorder. Once I have enough bricks to build our wall of sound, I go to Dries and most of the time I just try to introduce those new tunes without mentioning them. Our rehearsals mainly exist out of long jams and improvisation. In between I shoot some new tunes or ideas in there and we just see what kind of results it brings. When we like it, it most of the times turns out into a very long stretched jam. It's all about gut feelings and 'magic' then.
TO: What’s your main inspiration when writing songs? Do you get it from books, real life or any other thing?
J.P.: I always get inspired by loads of things while traveling. You see so many places and meet new people, and if we compare our lives to that of our friends it just differs so much. Love and Death are the two most fascinating things in life. Without life we couldn't even die or make love, haha. Fear can be an influential factor in writing as well, mainly cuz those themes are all so fascinating. While writing our new album 'My Perception' I got influenced by a lot of art as well. In particular by the New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. You'll see the same themes coming back, and I just love to try translating paintings into words. Exactly the reverse of what happens with books, where the reader tries to translate words into fantasy and visuals.
TO: Since most of the generally heard bands are from the UK and USA, being from Belgium do you feel any difficulty taking your music abroad? Why?
J.P.: Since English isn't our mother tongue there will always be a small language barrier. But this doesn't have to be a negative thing. We're proud of our music and we've played loads of concerts and tours for English native people already. Reactions couldn't be better, Americans like it so much we almost can't believe it. We toured the States with Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye, toured with Eagles of Death Metal, and are going back to the States next month with Jane's Addiction. I bet people's reactions are different then when they hear American bands, it might give 'em a more exotic feeling, which they like in a more curious way I guess.
TO: In 2008 you toured with dEUS. Do you feel influenced by those 90's bands, dEUS, Evil Superstars and others, that took Belgian music throughout Europe?
Dries Van Djick: We like dEUS and Evil Superstars, but we're not really influenced by Belgian bands, but we are influenced by some bands like Nirvana from the 90's. We're really thankful that dEUS took us on tour with them, this was the first European tour for us. In general we're more influenced by bands from the sixties and seventies like The Rolling Stones and Neil Young.
TO: What made you begin a band without any other instrument besides drums and guitar?
D.V.D.: Before Black Box Revelation we were both playing in a four piece band with Jan's younger brother and another friend. The genre was rather pop rock. After a while, Jan wrote a song ("Love In Your Head" from our first album "Set Your Head On Fire") which didn't really fit with the music of that band so we tried that one with just the two of us, and it worked out well! After writing more bluesy songs and some rehearsals we decided to go on with the two of us and started a new band: Black Box Revelation.
TO: Do you feel any restriction in songwriting and construction because of the limitation to those two instruments?
D.V.D.: Not at all, being just the two of us gives us a lot of freedom! When we're jamming we don't miss any other instruments. With Jan's three amp's and different guitar pedals, he brings a lot of dimensions into solo's, riffs and gives an extra boost in certain parts. I'm always trying to combine a groovy pattern, with my two floor toms and tom instead of the basic hi-hat, snare, kick beats, in that way it replaces a bass guitar. While recording we do use some overdubs, for example in "Sealed With Thorns" there's a small piano part that fits so good at that moment. Overdubs are making some parts more interesting for sure, but you won't miss those when you see us live!
TO: How do you feel when playing live and what do you like most about it?
D.V.D.: It feels great to play live shows! We agree that we're more a live band, and we really convince people when they see us live, because when people hear our albums, most of them can't believe we're a duo. What we really love about it is the interaction between us and the crowd, especially in the smaller venues. We always give as much energy as we can, once we see the crowd is getting wilder and crazy, it gives us even more energy. Sweaty basements, always fun! On the bigger stages it's quit different. Then it's more the huge crowd which gives us adrenaline and a lot of energy.
TO: Do you feel amazed when you look back and realise you already have three well accomplished albums under your belt? Especially when you are such young people?
D.V.D.: We never really think about it because we're always on tour, making new songs, videoclips,... But sometimes when we do think about it we're proud of what we've already accomplished the past six years. Our ambition is always growing. Now we're touring a lot in the States, It's amazing that bands like Beady Eye and Jane's Addiction want to take us on tour with them. Our ambition: Beady Eye and Jane's Addiction supporting for BBR:)! When an album is finished and we're back home, putting the record on is really satisfying. That moment we're really proud and happy with our brand new album!
TO: Do you have any influence on the video’s conception or you just let the directors take care of it? Because they are very cool, being quite different from the usual.
J.P.: I really like this question! There indeed is a big evolution in our videos. The first ones, from 5 years ago till a year or two ago, were always made by different directors, most of 'em by Joris Rabijns. We're always really excited to work on new videos, which goes along with a close involvement. We created the idea together with the director, giving him enough room to work it out in his own personal way. After making a dozen videos with directors we wanted to try make them ourselves. We had loads of time to see their working methods and ask them tips and tricks. Lust or Love was our first self directed video. We made it with my girlfriend and a couple of friends. Amazing what possibilities you have with those current DSLR cameras. We make all our videos ourselves now. For Rattle My Heart we worked together with fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck, and for My Perception we had a cooperation with FC Bergman, a Flemish theater collective. When you write a song, you have certain visuals in your head and we try to bring those visuals to the listeners in our videos. There's no one else who can achieve visuals so close to your own fantasy than yourself. That's probably the reason why our videos differ so much to usual videos made by directors. I guess we look at it in a more musical way than non musicians.
TO: It’s going to be Black Box Revelation for life? Or are you looking forward for different projects?
D.V.D.: For now it's only Black Box Revelation. Maybe someday, who knows what the future brings? No plans yet! We just love what we're doing: making music, recording albums, touring around the world. We're working hard to get our name out there. We like jamming with some other musicians but in BBR we will always stay the two of us.
TO: Individual question. Jan, what or who influenced your guitar playing style and guitar choice?
J.P.: My main influences are blues singers like Howlin' Wolf, R L Burnside, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter etc. Next to those Mississippi legends I really dig the early Stones and especially Neil Young on his 'On The Beach' record. I guess the reason why I like all those guys is cuz they all play their guitars with so much attitude. It's not about the most fancy solo, but about the way they put soul and freshness in their music. It's all about attitude!
TO: Dries, what or who influenced your drum playing style?
D.V.D.:John Bonham is my biggest influence, the way he controls his drums, the way he grooves, amazing. Also Dave Grohl really inspires me. When I was young, I was always watching video's where he's hitting his drums so hard. I guess that made me do the same. The drummer from Yeah Yeah Yeah's also inspires. He also use his toms a lot, he created his own sound.
TO: Do you like to combine different guitars, different amplifiers and effects in search of a different sound or is it just always basically the same?
J.P.: I basically use 1 specific setup, a rig of 3 guitar amps running through 3 different effect channels on my pedal board, all controlled by foot and my guitar.. I must say that setup has changed a lot over the years. Always in search for a better or thicker sound. It kinda evolved together with my way of playing the guitar and playing concerts. More experience enriched my knowledge on effects and amps. Not that I am a guitar geek, not at all. Once I found that right sound I stopped looking for more. Funny thing, cuz the new pedals and amps keep on coming. We played together with so many bands already and there's always something that attracts your attention like a new sound or pedal.. In the early BBR days, I just played a Chinese version of the AC30, nothing more, no pedals, straight plugged into the amp. Nowadays, it's a 60ies Selmer Zodiac Thirty and two Dr. Z's, running through a pedal board with a dozen of pedals. Funny how things evolve, isn't it? Speaking of guitars, I just LOVE guitars. Always up for a new one.. I mainly play James Trussart's guitars, a French luthier living in Los Angeles and a good friend of mine. He's actually building a crazy new model for me right now, and I can't wait to play it.
TO: Having a band and published albums was a long-awaited dream come true or an unexpected and sudden thing?
D.V.D.: For me, playing in a band and playing shows was absolutely a dream coming true. I started playing drums when I was seven years old, from that moment I knew what I wanted to do the rest of my life. We started playing together when we were 12 and 14 years old. From the beginning, it was our dream to go on tour! Two years ago we headlined the marquee at Rock Werchter which is the biggest festival in Belgium. Seven years ago we couldn't even imagined this.
TO: How have you come up with the idea for the Lust or Love song, video and heart-shaped vinyl? Because it’s an unusual release.
J.P.: I'm really happy this release drew your attention. The song was recorded during the 'Silver Threats' sessions, but we didn't want to put it on the album cuz of the different vibe. We thought the theme of this song was great to release it on Valentine's day. Wouldn't you like to get a Valentine's gift like that from your girlfriend? That's why we pressed the vinyl heart-shaped. Super cool isn't it? It was the perfect opportunity for us to try shooting the video ourselves. A no-budget production which is one of my favorite BBR videos.. The blue beard idea in the video came from my girlfriend, referring to the Bluebeard fairytale. What a hassle to paint that beard blue, hahaha. We had great fun shooting the video, but it was super cold. I even remember it was the coldest night of the year.. about - 15 degrees celsius. But hey, we needed the snow landscape!
TO: Are you planning on playing in Portugal someday?
J.P.: We'd LOVE to play Portugal this summer. We've been touring around Europe for 5 years now, played great shows in nearly every European country except Portugal. We had super cool shows in Spain with the Raveonettes. We just can't wait to play some Portuguese festivals. That would be so exciting. I think the Portuguese crowd would love our music, especially live on stage.
The Taste Of Orange would like to thank The Black Box Revelation for giving us this great interview so kindly. We would also like to give our thanks to Christen for allowing the contact with BBR and for the photos. Thank you very much!
Limited Edition of Lust Or Love as referred in the interview, offered to João X by his girlfriend :)
Etiquetas: Black Box Revelation, entrevista, interview
