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."
Goodbye
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And held your heart so true
Oh you butterflies
You turn my eyes
Size of you in my hand
It's ... I wish you there
My how time flies
It's you until I die
The lyrics to The Brian Jonestown Massacre's song "Goodbye" appears to be describing an intense love or infatuation that the singer has for a person they are saying goodbye to. The opening line "I give my soul to you" sets the tone for the rest of the song, indicating that the singer is completely devoted to this person. The second line "And held your heart so true" suggests that they have been in a romantic relationship and the singer has been true to their partner's heart.
The lines "Oh you butterflies / You turn my eyes" could be interpreted in a couple of ways. It could be referring to the feeling of butterflies in one's stomach when they are in love or excited, or it could be suggesting that the person they are saying goodbye to has something special about them that captures the singer's attention. The line "Size of you in my hand / It's... I wish you there" could be referring to a shared memory, a gift that the person gave to the singer, or a physical attribute that the singer finds attractive.
Line by Line Meaning
I give my soul to you
I am devoted to you completely.
And held your heart so true
I have always been honest and sincere with you.
Oh you butterflies
You make me feel excited and nervous at the same time.
You turn my eyes
You are the center of my attention.
Size of you in my hand
I have the power to protect you and keep you safe.
It's ... I wish you there
It's difficult to be away from you, I wish you were here with me.
My how time flies
Time passes quickly when I am with you.
It's you until I die
I will love and cherish you until the end of my life.
Contributed by Elizabeth D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
anton newcombe
nobody know how sad some songs actually are.
Lawrence Frauens
That is the beauty of it.
Andrés Loza
Its our hands they should bear :'(
julian schulz
Probably my favorite song of all time, on my all time favorite album.
"Revelation" is a masterpiece.
Mike Kunes
julian schulz I don’t blame you. Revelation really is a masterpiece...each song on it is so unique, but it all comes together so perfectly, and then this as the closer...10/10 album for me, too.
razorjules
This song just slays me.
Not only do i love the chord progression, but i love the soundscapes
playing underneath the progression (those melodic swells).
Love the melody the flute plays, as well.
"Revelation" will forever be my favorite BJM album, it just stirs
something within my soul.
I love every song, and i love how they are arranged.
Anton's creative well never seems to run dry....
razorjules
I always knew the band name (it's a great name, btw), but had no idea who
they were or what their music sounded like UNTIL i ventured out and saw, Dig!
My initial reaction was, WHAT is this? This band is great!
I spent the next day at HMV sorting through all their CD's, not knowing where to
begin.
Saw them live soon after at a tiny club in Cambridge (TT the bears), and was floored.
They did like a 15 minute version of "Hide & Seek" and ended with "Swallowtail."
Even the Anton hecklers were blown away that night.
Diego Garcia
We should be friends, I fucking love this band. I have yet to meet another BJM fan in person, and there is a really good Facebook group full of us.
razorjules
I saw them this past May in Boston, brilliant as always (i never miss a BJM show).
They did not do this song, though Anton teased with the opening chords to "Food
for clouds" (another favorite of mine).
GB is so perfectly captured on album, that i almost don't need to hear it in
a live setting.
rachel
so good, seriously. my heart aches everytime. it's got so many layers to it. it's like capturing fleeting melancholy beauty