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."
Days Weeks and Moths
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hmmm, aint got the time to cry.
We got to keep our fortune, baby
Until you let me down to die!
Mark my . so long ago
Dont let nobody fuck you over,
Dont let nobody lay you low.
I havent got the time to mourning
See, I do have this child here, uh
Enough to be ...
And it aint none to think it over
To see what you see
But... you keep up with
What must be, must be!
The opening lines of the song "Days Weeks and Moths" by The Brian Jonestown Massacre reveals a person who's in a hurry as they cannot afford to "mourn" or "cry." Their time is too precious for them to spend it on despair, as they have to maintain their fortune until they die. The next set of lines point to their knowledge that time indeed passes quickly, as they mention a person named Mark, whom they haven't seen in a long time. They offer Mark some advice by telling him not to let anyone deceive him or prevent him from achieving great things.
The final set of lines expresses an internal conflict that the singer is attending to. They admit having a child and being responsible for them, yet they also feel it isn't time to think through a few things that need considering. They urge themselves to keep up with what has to happen and accept the fate that will come. Overall, "Days Weeks and Months" depicts a person at a turning point, juggling different responsibilities and aware that the clock's ticking, but they cannot take the time to analyze everything in detail.
Line by Line Meaning
I haven't got the time to mourning
I cannot spend time grieving
Hmmm, aint got the time to cry.
There's no time to shed tears
We got to keep our fortune, baby
We need to maintain our wealth
Until you let me down to die!
Unless you betray me to my death
Mark my . so long ago
This has been in the making for a while
Dont let nobody fuck you over,
Do not let anyone take advantage of you
Dont let nobody lay you low.
Do not allow anyone to bring you down
I havent got the time to mourning
I still cannot mourn my losses
Just got no time to cry.
I simply do not have time to weep
See, I do have this child here, uh
I am responsible for a child
Enough to be ...
Enough to manage
And it aint none to think it over
There's no time to hesitate
To see what you see
To understand from your perspective
But... you keep up with
You keep up with
What must be, must be!
Accept whatever will happen
Contributed by Matthew R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.