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."
Oh Lord
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To live my life this way
I gotta stay up every night and feel this feeling till it goes away
You know I had my crime
And I paid my dues
I've seen the best of times
I had the best of friends
But now I've seen the light
I'm gonna show it to you
You gotta lay right down
You gotta close your eyes
You'll never flow right though you
'Cause I, I believe in my soul
And I always wanna feel this way so honey let the good times roll
Oh baby all night long I've been sitting beer drinking
How come it took so long
For me to change my mind
Don't know what I was thinking
But now I've seen the light
I'm wanna keep it to you
You gotta lay right down
You gotta close your eyes
You gotta let me heal you
'Cause I, I believe in my soul
And I always wanna feel this way so honey let the good times roll
The Brian Jonestown Massacre's "Oh Lord" is a reflective song about past mistakes and redemption. The opening line, "Oh Lord you know it ain't right, To live my life this way," suggests a sense of guilt or unhappiness about the singer's current way of living. He goes on to say that he stays up every night, trying to ignore this feeling until it fades away. It's unclear what exactly is causing this feeling, but it could be a combination of regret, guilt, or simply feeling lost in life.
The second verse, "You know I had my crime, And I paid my dues," indicates that the singer has done something wrong in the past and has since taken responsibility for it. He also acknowledges that he's had good times and good friends in the past, but he's still dissatisfied with his current situation. The lines, "But now I've seen the light, I'm gonna show it to you," could be interpreted as him having an epiphany about what he needs to do to feel better and wanting to share that with someone.
The chorus, "'Cause I, I believe in my soul, And I always wanna feel this way so honey let the good times roll," highlights the importance of living life to the fullest and enjoying the good moments. The final verse, "Oh baby all night long I've been sitting beer drinking, How come it took so long, for me to change my mind, Don't know what I was thinking," suggests that the singer has been stuck in a rut, possibly using alcohol to numb his feelings. However, he's now seen the light and wants to share it with someone else.
Overall, "Oh Lord" is a song about finding redemption and wanting to live life fully. It acknowledges that mistakes will be made, but it's important to learn from them and move forward with a positive attitude.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Lord you know it ain't right,
Addressing the Almighty, the singer admits that his way of life is not correct
To live my life this way
He acknowledges that his lifestyle is not ideal
I gotta stay up every night and feel this feeling till it goes away
He confesses that he indulges in self-destructive behavior to numb the pain
You know I had my crime
He admits to having committed a wrongdoing
And I paid my dues
He faced the consequences of his actions
I've seen the best of times
He had experienced great moments
I had the best of friends
He used to have great companions
I'm pretty all to do
He is content with his current situation
But now I've seen the light
He has had an awakening
I'm gonna show it to you
He intends to share his newfound knowledge with others
You gotta lay right down
He advises others to relax and let go
You gotta close your eyes
He suggests that closing one's eyes helps with relaxation
You'll never flow right though you
He implies that one cannot achieve inner peace without first letting go of negativity
'Cause I, I believe in my soul
He strongly believes in his inner self
And I always wanna feel this way so honey let the good times roll
He wants to continue feeling positive and advises others to do the same
Oh baby all night long I've been sitting beer drinking
He admits to spending nights drinking beer
How come it took so long
He questions why it took him so long to realize the importance of positivity
For me to change my mind
He admits to having undergone a change of mindset
Don't know what I was thinking
He is baffled by his previous negative mindset
But now I've seen the light
He reiterates his newfound knowledge
I'm wanna keep it to you
He urges others to adopt positivity
You gotta let me heal you
He implies that positivity can have healing effects
'Cause I, I believe in my soul
He reaffirms his strong belief in positivity
And I always wanna feel this way so honey let the good times roll
He concludes with a call to embrace positivity and good times
Contributed by Nolan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
J Bar
Great!
Tony Hinton
Classic
Marc-André
BON SANG
sourasta
Marc-André my ex fainted at their show in Montreal