Brant Bjork

By Cara Williams
9 January 2007

Brant Bjork is a man that needs no introduction. Born in Palm Desert California, Bjork formed the band Kyuss with friends Josh Homme, Chris Cockrell (later Nick Oliveri) and John Garcia. Kyuss was the first desert rock band to achieve international success and was a band that people say revolutionised the stoner-rock movement.

A few years on and Bjork and Homme created the ‘Desert Sessions’, the beginning of what would eventually become ‘Queens of the Stone Age’. Bjork then took an offer to rock with his old surf buddies Fu Manchu, a rock adventure that took him into the studio for five records and around the world in four years.

In 1999 Bjork released his first solo album, and had released his fourth in 2004. Now Brant Bjork has teamed up with ‘the Bros’, Dylan Roche on bass, Mike Peffer on drums, and Cortez on guitar and recorded the psychedelic album ‘Save by Magic’. Brant Bjork and the Bros will be playing the Pyramid Rock Festival and are a set not to missed. You’ve been playing live since you were 13… Was music one of those things that you were drawn to as a child? Definitely. I was beating on pots and pans to the radio and then my folks got me a snare drum. And then I beat the crap outta that Did you ever have a clue that becoming a professional musician would someday be your destiny? As soon as I got into highschool I said that’s what I’m gonna do. You have played in countries all over the world. What do you like about Australia? Australia is comparable to the great things about California which I love, big skies, open roads, positive people, lots of sunshine, rock and roll, beer, the no brainers. I’m from that trip so when I’m in Australia I feel really comfortable. I dig it. I believe I’ve been to Australia.. this will be probably my 7th or 8th timeYou don’t really have to twist my arm to come down to Australia. So you are a drummer, a guitarist, you play bass, you write songs- when you were drumming in bands did you ever feel as though you had more to offer musically than the drums? I always thought that I had more to offer only because I had passion for music that didn’t just begin and end with the drums. I like other instruments I like all kinds of other music. So at an early age I always thought that I had more to offer and I started writing songs and playing guitar not long after I got into drums. I just love music and I see myself as a musician I create music so I’m not a drummer and I’m not a guitar player. I heard a quote from you in an interview that you did which I really liked, “playing guitar instead of drums for me is like painting in purple instead of orange”. I was probably just trying to express that I look at music as just rhythm and emotion and feeling and if you put me on a set of drums im going to be playing the drums at the same time and feel as I would a guitar. To me its just all rhythm and feel- you just gotta get into the instrument. And its just gotta have that style and that flavour that I have regardless of the instrument. And I think that goes for any musician. You have done both the band thing and the solo thing- do you have a preference out of the two? No. I enjoy solo, I enjoy working by myself but I also enjoy collaborating with other people and being in a band, I like both. You seem like a relatively laid back sort of guy- I can see you touring in a van rather than a tour bus- do you think that being chilled out and relaxed is an aspect of music that has long been forgotten? Outside of my click of friends and family and musicians I really don’t hang out with any other musicians so I really don’t know. You talk to some reggae musicians and they probably don’t have a hard time relaxing but if you’re talking about Slayer then those guys have a lot of intensity. Maybe that’s really an asset to their trip so I guess it depends on what type of music you play and what you are trying to accomplish as an artist. I dunno I’m just who I am and its how I am and of course it’s reflected in my music. I read a quote about you: “Cheech and Chong and the Cars must’ve had a love child named Brant Bjork.. how does it make you feel when people say that you revolutionised the stoner rock movement? My first reaction is.. I’m just doing what I do man. There’s certain things people say that are very flattering but I have to take those with the same grain of salt that I would with any kind of comment of what I do, I love music but I’m just doing my trip man. Do you ever feel uneasy when people over compliment? Yeah, I think criticism and compliments make me equally uncomfortable. I’m not playing music to be criticized but I’m not playing music to be praised either, I’m just doing it because I love doing it, and I certainly enjoy it when people enjoy it. But you know, lots of people enjoy my music and that’s a great thing but you know, being compared to Jimmy Hendrix isn’t something I can be comfortable with. That’s pretty crazy but it all depends but what are you gonna do I’m just gonna go my thing. You have been a very busy person for a long time.. what do you do during your time off? I do a lot of writing and reading and I like to spend time with friends, drink, eat food. I only read biographies and real stories, I read a lot of history, I like history books. I read a lot on the Vietnam war, I’m interested in sociology and things like that and if there’s certain people that I find fascinating then I’ll read a book about them. I don’t read fiction at all. And I just write you know? Songs, ideas, rhymes, stories, put down things that I’ve been through kinda like a journal- I just write. Do you think that one day someone will write a biography on yourself? Absolutely!