The Brian Jonestown Massacre was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The band … Read Full Bio ↴The Brian Jonestown Massacre was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The band has had over 40 members since then, but its driving force and main songwriter is Anton Newcombe. Other prominent members have included Matt Hollywood, Dean Taylor, Jeff Davies, Brian Glaze, and Joel Gion. Their sound is heavily influenced by the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s, but also carries influences from shoegaze, jangle pop, garage rock, and lo-fi genres.

Over its decade-long history, the band has undergone a large number of personnel changes. Multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter Anton Newcombe is the only member who has stayed with the Brian Jonestown Massacre since its beginning, when it was founded by Newcombe, tambourine player Joel Gion (who stayed with him the longest), and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Matt Hollywood. There are at least two dozen musicians who have been in the BJM at one point or another.

Ex-members include: guitarist Jeff Davies; Matt Hollywood, a founding member of Portland band The Out Crowd; Peter Hayes, founding member of San Francisco rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; Joel Gion, a founding member of San Francisco band, The Dilettantes; Rob Campanella, a Los Angeles producer and engineer who has worked with The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks, Dead Meadow, Mia Doi Todd, Frausdots, Scarling., and his band The Quarter After; Bobby Hecksher, founding member of Los Angeles band The Warlocks; solo recording artist Miranda Lee Richards; Matt Tow, founding member of the Australian band The Lovetones.

Current long-term members include Collin Hegna (bass), Frankie Teardrop (guitar,noise,etc), and Dan Allaire (percussion). Long-time guitarist Ricky Rene Maymi was recently replaced by Irina Yaikowsky for a short tour, who was in turn, replaced by Ricky Rene Maymi.

Much has been made of the fact that Newcombe is head strong and has just one vision in mind: his own. However, many of the musicians who quit his band have stayed in his orbit and continue working with him in some capacity. Newcombe was, at one point, a drummer in Hecksher's Warlocks. Campanella produces or engineers many of the records on Newcombe's record label, the Committee to Keep Music Evil and has also been on the last 2 highly successful European tours, playing keyboards and on occasion, guitar. Gion is forever showing back up shaking the tambourine at BJM shows. Even the Dandy Warhols appear to have buried the hatchet with Newcombe, as he joined them onstage at Lollapalooza in July of 2005.

In 2005 the band released the EP We Are the Radio, on Newcombe's record label The Committee to Keep Music Evil.

The band announced the release of a new studio album, tentatively titled My Bloody Underground, which was released in 2008. On September 3, 2007, the band released rough recordings from the album for download from their website. Music videos of the songs on the album have also been released, including a music video compilation DVD entitled 'Book of Days'. Songs from Brian Jonestown Massacre were specially adapted for use in the score to the critically acclaimed independent film, "Four Eyed Monsters."

Cold To The Touch
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wanna see your face, girl
I wanna touch your skin
I've been out of place now
I don't care where you've been
Let's go again

I wanna see your face, girl
Right when I'm stepping in

Sliding around your place, yeah
Baby, your Devil's grin

I wanna feel you
When you got really well
(?) sin

I wanna feel your kiss
Right underneath my chin
Maybe (?)
But come on let's go again

I wanna feel you
(?) real, yeah
(?)

I wanna feel you
I wanna see it
(?) your skin

I would've told you
(?) I hold you

(?)
Here we go again

Overall Meaning

The Brian Jonestown Massacre's song Cold to the Touch is a love song that expresses longing and desire between two people. The singer wants to be with the woman he loves and touch her, despite being separated from her. He doesn't care about her past or where she's been, and just wants to experience their love again. The singer describes the woman's "Devil's grin" as he feels drawn to her irresistible charm. He desires to feel her embrace him and her kiss, and reminisces about past experiences of being together. Despite the disconnect between them, the singer wants to rekindle their love, indicating a desire to come together once again.

The lyrics serve to convey the importance of love and the strong emotions that come with it. The singer yearns for their connection and remembers fondly the moments they shared. The woman's presence in his life is something he can't function without, and he wants to relive every moment with her. The refrain "here we go again" further amplifies the desire to go back to what once was between the two. Overall, the song conveys deeply emotional themes of love and desire that the listener can relate to.

Line by Line Meaning

I wanna see your face, girl
I want to catch a glimpse of your visage, my lady.

I wanna touch your skin
I desire a sensation of physically tapping into your epidermis.

I've been out of place now
I feel lost and disoriented at the moment.

I don't care where you've been
I'm indifferent to your past ventures.

Let's go again
Let us repeat the cycle previously shared.

Right when I'm stepping in
As I enter your abode, at that precise moment.

Sliding around your place, yeah
Gliding across your domicile, oh yes.

Baby, your Devil's grin
Your impish smile, my dearest one.

I wanna feel you
Experiencing your essence would be lovely.

When you got really well
When you undergo a positive transformation.

(?) sin
Undecipherable or unclear lyric.