The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American psychedelic rock band formed in San Francisco in 1990 and led by frontman Anton Newcombe. The band began as a shoegaze group in San Francisco in 1990. Following their debut album, the group quickly turned to a broader style of psychedelic rock, incorporating styles such as garage rock, folk rock and, later, electronica into their sound. The band was the subject of the 2004 documentary film Dig!, and have gained media notoriety for their tumultuous working relationships and the drug use of their leader Anton Newcombe. (More from Wikipedia)
Wikipedia has a brief mention of the Richmond Sluts in the article on their drummer Brad Artley, who also performed from 1995 to 1996 with a fairly prominent neo-psychedelic outfit called the Brian Jonestown Massacre. BJM has 14 albums listed in Allmusic, though Artley did not perform on any of them. Brad Artley is also featured in a documentary on the Brian Jonestown Massacre and another band, the Dandy Warhols called DiG!. (The former band name is a portmanteau of Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones with Jonestown Massacre, the notorious mass suicide of the flock of Rev. Jim Jones in their compound in Guyana after assassinating Congressman Leo Ryan – the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” arose from what happened there).
The Richmond Sluts were founded by Chris B (Chris Beltran, on bass guitar) and Shea Roberts (guitar and vocals) in 1998; they shared similar tastes in music, such as the Clash, the Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, and the Stooges. After adding Justin Lynn (keyboards), the Richmond Sluts developed a distinctive sound and began performing with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Their sole album, The Richmond Sluts – released in both vinyl and CD – came out in 2001 on Disaster Records; the musicians for the album included Brad Artley (drums), whom they probably met while performing with the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
(June 2014)
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Brian Olive regained his name and sought to be in a band where he was the one calling the shots; that normally means a solo career. His debut album, Brian Olive came out in 2009 on Alive Records (the same label as the last album by Soledad Brothers). Brian Olive provides lead vocals and plays guitar, piano and woodwinds. Backing musicians include his old friends Jared McKinney and Craig Fox of the Greenhornes, Mike Weinel (formerly of Heartless Bastards), and Dan Allaire, who has been the drummer for the Brian Jonestown Massacre since 2002. Also there was a vocal trio assembled for the sessions composed of the Kadish Sisters and Donna Jay.
(February 2015)
