Anton Alfred Newcombe, who fronts the fierce neo-’60s rock band Brian Jonestown Massacre, muses about the music, art and the written words that inspire him.
Music: I was flown out to Denver to DJ, and I saw Bright Channel and was struck with awe. I told them I would quit my own music to join them.
Art: Bill Viola is one of the most important video artists in the world. He creates videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances. He has a few works that cannot be described. Do a Google.
Music: Our world has become dirty with distraction, almost to the point that creating space for calm is a form of brainwashing or self-hypnosis. I thought it would be interesting to create an album (“We Are the Radio,” the new Brian Jonestown Massacre EP) to undo all of this lowest-common-denominator beta-wave nonsense. This is high art and a mystic place of refuge. These are whispers from the underworld and tears of joy from heaven. Anthems for all time.
Poetry: Hafiz Kabir is a Sufi poet born in Persia in the 16th century. He is known as the “Tongue of the Invisible.” This person personifies love/man/art/word. I encourage everyone to try to see what I see in these words.
Playwright: Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is my hero. The German poet, playwright and theatrical reformer is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century theater. He and his friends stood up to the Nazis. We could use 100,000 like him today.
Music: Delia Derbyshire is a hero and a woman supreme. This person needs to be thanked on many levels. She would have been a role model to so many if anyone knew her work or name. A recent Guardian article called her “the unsung heroine of British electronic music.”
Art: Jan Bas Ader was born in Holland and has been missing since 1975. You have to Google him. He was awesome, and he did all of this a few miles from my childhood home.
Music: The La’s are a great band. A lot has been said about the La’s and Lee’s abandonment of the throne. Well he’s back, and I for one don’t hold grudges. I wish him all the very best. In fact I would love to ask the La’s and Dungen out for a tour. That would be great fun for everyone, don’t you think?
Brian Jonestown Massacre plays Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Larimer Lounge with The Warlocks and The Quarter After. Denver band Bright Channel plays the bill Wednesday. Tickets, $10, are available via BigMarksTickets.com.
