THE BROUGHT LOW "Ben Smith: Like a lot of Brought Low songs, 'A Better Life' was written on acoustic guitar and then brought to the band who blew it out and turned it into the rock opus it is. Knew pretty early on I wanted to open the album with this even though Bob wanted to open with 'Vernon Jackson.' A pretty personal song I guess. There's a lot of shit in there that would be redundant for me to spell out. I'll just say it was written after September 11th, and yes, my Father's dead." Small Stone Records have an unerring talent of unearthing firebrand rock bands with a protean ability to blow ones socks off with all the robust force of a typhoon and recent signings The Brought Low are no exception. These sticky fingered New Yorker's are a euphoric rock n' roll rebirth somewhere betwixt the incorrigible scuzz bag blues of Johnny Thunders and the anthemic, exultant pissed up boogatron of Humble Pie, and their latest album, "Right on Time" will shake more than your moneymaker, daddio! Words | Ben & Bob 'Right on Time' was a funny record to make in that the basics were cut in 2 sessions, nearly a year apart. The first recordings ['Vernon Jackson', 'Blues For Cubby', 'Shakedown', and 'A Better Life'] were cut before we even knew who was going to put it out. There was a chance that these first recordings were going to be on a split CD with Dixie Witch but when that project got pushed back, and we subsequently hooked up with Small Stone, we just decided to use what we had and go in and record another batch of songs. Both sessions were pretty similar, in that we were going for a very old school live recording feel -I felt that the production on the first record, while great, was a little overcooked and I wanted these recordings to have a little more character and leave the rough edges in. There were a few notable differences between both sessions though. The early sessions were cut onto 1/2" 8 track, completely live with the 4 of us all in the same room, amps, drums and all. For the 2nd session [summer 2005] we recorded onto 2" 16 track and cut basics with just me, our bassist Bob and drummer Nick, with the drums completely isolated and Kevin overdubbing his rhythm guitar track at a later dates as was his preference. All the vocals, guitar solos and keyboards were overdubbed though something cool we did the 2nd time around was cut the vocals before the guitar solos. That way we could make sure they didn't step on the vocals and in some cases could follow the melodies. The following track-by-track breakdown of "Right On Time" also appeared on Stonerrock.com... A Better Life Robert Russell [bass, backing vocals]: Bam bam bam bam bam. Bam bam bam bam bam. A-shunk shunk shunk shunk shunk shunkashunka. A stompfest played out on your floorboards, and on your face. Benjamin Howard Smith [lead vocals, guitar]: Like a lot of Brought Low songs this was written on acoustic guitar and then brought to the band who blew it out and turned it into the rock opus it is. Knew pretty early on I wanted to open the album with this even though Bob wanted to open with 'Vernon Jackson.' A pretty personal song I guess. There's a lot of shit in there that would be redundant for me to spell out. I'll just say it was written after September 11th, and yes, my Father's dead. Hail Mary Ben: This song started with the chorus which I ripped off of Humble Pie and I thought "Hail Mary" would make a great vocal hook. Some of the characters in the song are real and others are composites. The guy who played piano on the new record is an Irish guy, like from Ireland, who Bob met at a bar and he did a great job. Speaking of micks, a lot of my songs take place in this mythical Irish New York which is quickly disappearing and the irony of me writing this song is I ain't even Catholic. Bob: As all good Irish-American Catholic boys know, since we wrote a rock n roll song about Mary she is sending us straight to hell. Except for Nick, who is a Jew, and thus is already in hell. This Ain't No Game Bob: No, it isn't. And if you listen to the lyrics I think that you will see this is clearly not a 'game. So take ' your fucking playing cards, dice, and dominoes and get the fuck out of here before I break your face with Bon Scott's ballsack. Ben: Originally I wanted this song to have a MC5-meets-Motown vibe but somewhere along the way it turned into an AC/DC song. Lyrics are just your basic "I've got a big dick and I'm bad" blues rant but also using catchphrases which is a very Smokey Robinson thing to do. Both Bob and I did really terrible tambourine tracks before our engineer Josh did just a remotely bad one If Tell Me Ben: Along with 'Shakedown', this is one of the oldest songs on the new record, written in fact back when [original bassist] Dean was still in the band. Sort of a tome of spiritual quandary, I guess. I used a Telecaster for a lot of my rhythm guitar tracks on this record though this is the only song where I used it for the guitar solo and it sounds so good I wish I used it more. Bob: Somewhere in this song we stole something from Led Zeppelin. I don't know what it is, but it's probably got LoJack up its ass. Bonham's the only one who would have kicked our ass over it, John Paul Jones wouldn't care 'cause he's cool, and the other guys are fairies. Dear Ohio Ben: One of the centerpieces of the record for me and very much a band composition. Lyrically inspired by all the good times I've had, great shows I've played and long drives I've done out to the Buckeye state and back. Ohio's been very good to me. Finished writing it sometime after the 2004 Presidential election when Ohio had a different connotation. When I wrote the main lick I was very consciously trying to write a "stoner rock" riff but then we recorded it I wanted it to sound like Steve Miller, which it doesn't. Also, love Bob's bass playing on this song. He's really laying down some shit. Bob: Shum bowdy bee dah lum bow, bee dow, skee dow, skum bee dah lum bo. Means "I tripped my balls off in a Columbus basement and thought I was going to die" in scat. Throne Bob: We definitely ripped off Motorhead, Fastway, or both. At least we changed the chorus to 'take my throne' from "Jailbait." Ben: Kevin wrote a lot of this one. He brought in the intro and the basic chorus idea, I wrote the verses and then we all arranged it. Kevin also does the guitar solo, a real face melter, which is very indicative of his style. I basically only write lyrics about 4 basic subjects; New York City, religion, death and hating work and this is the "I hate my job" song on the new album, just like 'Hot N'Cold'was on the first album. Vernon Jackson Ben: Your typical Brought Low song about New York City. Vernon Jackson is a Subway stop in Queens and my buddy who works for the MTA once said he wanted to do a stand-up routine at the MTA Christmas Talent Show under the name 'Vernon Jackson.' At the end I sing a line from the New York Dolls song 'Subway Train', which is a tribute of sorts to Johnny Thunders. I almost had dinner with him and his mother once but didn't go because I had to write a term-paper. How fucking lame is that? Good Keith Moon impression by Nick as well. Bob: This song rules. It is a great rock and roll jam that should rule the FM airwaves. Why is it so good, you ask? Because I didn't have a god damned thing to do with it. Shakedown Bob: 'Shakedown' forcibly enters your house uninvited reeking of whiskey, knocking over expensive furniture and things. 'Shakedown' then punches your wife in the thigh as hard as he can and bites your forehead, drawing blood. When the police arrive, 'Shakedown' is killed in the ensuing gun battle, finally ending one crazy night. Ben: Another really old one that has gradually slowed down over the years to it's current slug-like crawl. Basically a re-write of 'Ventilator Blues' by The Stones with a 'Mean Streets' lyrical motif. Kevin always wanted me to change the first line, 'Old man Murphy runs the corner bar' 'cause his grandfather's last name was Murphy and he owned a bar in The Bronx. I didn't. Blues For Cubby Bob: This song sometimes makes my fingers hurt. Ben: The funny thing is this started life as a Bad Wizard song. Steve Tanner of Harvey Milk fame wrote the main riff and they played a very different version of it back when was playing with them. Then when he was playing with us, from fall 2002 to fall 2003, I re-wrote it to fit vocals, added the turnaround and choruses and Kevin wrote the ascending guitar solo thing. When we were working out the bridge, Tanner said "Let's just go into a 10-minute guitar solo and show all these motherfuckers what the fuck is up." My friend was saying the other night how the lyrics sucked because they're not about anything. I then explained that it's actually an anti-protest song, protesting protest songs while still in some way being a protest song about the War in Iraq. Having said that, perhaps he was right. There's A Light Ben: My attempt at writing a gospel song. Had the chorus for a while and couldn't figure out what to do with it and then my friend Melanie Moser said "Just make it one big chorus," which is basically what I did. Unlike most of the songs on the record, this was mostly created in the studio and I was still writing the lyrics up until the day before I cut the vocals. I always like records that end with a ballad or something elegiac and I thought this was a good way to go out. Inspirational albums> THE ROLLING STONES | "Sticky Fingers" If I had to pick one favorite band, it would have to be the Stones. I love the sounds on this record, very natural and loud, and it's got vibe out the ass. Also really dig the breadth of material and most importantly the sequencing. I can't stress enough how important sequencing is in the making of an album, especially nowadays when people just download the 4 songs they like. We approached this record as an album, where every song adds to the whole picture, which is the way all the great classic rock albums of the past were made, at least the ones that people are still listening to after 30 years. AEROSMITH | "S/T" / LYNYRD SKYNYRD | "Second Helping" Really, I could just say any classic hard rock album from 1969 – 1974 though these are two albums Josh Clark [Right On Time engineer and co-producer], and I were both into that had a sound and production style we wanted to emulate. The early 70s was a great time for making records and this is a perfect example of what I like about that era; a warm, clear, uncluttered recording of a band playing mostly live in the studio. THE BROUGHT LOW | "S/T" Kind of an anti-influence in that there were a lot of things about the first Brought Low I wanted to do differently. I firmly believe that if given a second chance you should always do things completely differently. Repeat yourself is creative death [unless you're AC/DC]. I think the first record sounds great but it's a little over-cooked for my tastes. This time around I wanted to leave in some of the rough-edges, missed notes, amp buzz and banter. MULE | "If I Don't Six" Included this just because Mule and the other Detroit bands they're related to [Laughing Hyenas, P.W. Long] were / are a huge influence on me and what I do with The Brought Low. They were the first new bands to me after the punk rock wars that were playing contemporary rock in a modern way, not punk or metal or post-punk, but meat and potatoes rock music with good songwriting, a lot of heart and an over-flowing ashtray full of soul. WILCO | "Being There" Another anti-influence. I'm always interested in hearing what these guys do though don't love all their creative decisions. This record has some great rock n'roll songs like 'Monday' and 'Outta Sight' but the way they're played and recorded is way too polite and adult, as if they're afraid people won't take them seriously if the rock too hard. Fuck that. Rock n'roll should be nasty, loud, exuberant and most of all, ROCKING!!! BLACK MOUNTAIN | "S/T" I wanted to include a record that wasn't 20, heck 30 years old in this list. Maybe it wasn't that much of an influence but I was listening to it a lot while we were recording and definitely A/B'ed it with our record to make sure the mixes could compete with a recently recorded album. I dig this record lots and can't wait to hear what they do next.