Drummer Nick Jago was the last to join the band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. "By the time I joined, the other two already had an idea of what the band was going to sound like. It was just a matter of me fitting in, and how we sounded together."
Jago fit, and the others — guitarist/vocalist Peter Hayes and bassist/vocalist Robert Tuner — knew they could throw away the drum machine.
"The music they played had a used quality to it," Jago said during a telephone interview from Toronto, Canada. "It was dirty, distorted and loud — kind of like a comfortable leather jacket."
When the three began playing venues on the East Coast, people started paying attention. "Whenever we played there would be a huge response. And the sound hasn't changed that much since 1998."
Keeping true to their original sound, the three band members knew they would be up against a wall when it came to radio play. "We don't conform to the game. We fall short of it and still believe in the old-school attitude of how music should be played on the radio — because it sounds good, not because DJs are getting paid to play certain records."
Another barrier that kept the band from certain gigs was its name, which was taken from the Marlon Brando film "The Wild One." "I mean, 'Black Rebel Motorcycle Club' just rolls off the tongue. But people didn't quite get it. When it was on club marquees, people felt we were a bike gang."
However, Jago said that didn't stop the band from playing its own brand of rock. "People started coming to our shows. And we've even got a following in England. In fact, we have a larger following over there than here."
That bodes well for Jago, who is the only Brit in the trio; the other two are from the United States. "But it's all good, because the fan base is getting larger here and in Canada, too. We're able to play bigger places."
As for the new album, "Take Them On, On Your Own," the band decided to whittle down its production a tad. "We chose a more direct sound on this one," said Jago, who cited the Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses, the Beatles and "a lot of techno and Spanish music" as his major influences. "It's more in your face, and we also upped the tempo. But we didn't go too far with the changes. We didn't want to make a total change. It still sounds like the same band, just better."
Jago said he's happy the band is coming back to Salt Lake City. "We've played there quite a few times, actually. It's a great place to play. In fact, we're lucky to be coming back so soon. We had a gig in Washington that was canceled. So we rescheduled this show."
If you go
What: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Where: DV8, 115 S. West Temple
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
How much: $10-$12
Phone: 467-8499 or 1-800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com