"All About The Album - 15 Questions" - a brand new section at the RockUnited site where a recording artist with an recently released CD is confronted with 'album'  questions (15 of them, duh!). If you'd like to have your material up here, email: urban "at" rockunited.com (simply replace "at" with your standard @ )

BOMBAY BLACK: "Bullets and Booze"

BOMBAY BLACK's 5th album 'Bullets And Booze' is right around the corner with a May 2012 Triage Records release. Those familiar with BOMBAY BLACK know the previous albums were often centralized around the core theme of "Get Mad Get Even". BOMBAY BLACK's new album is instead a reflection of the partying mayhem that happens on their tour bus. The fans and fellow musicians who have walked on (and crawled off) the "Rock 'N Roll Pain Train" know well that the band does not mess around when it comes to cranking up the music and matching you shot for shot. 'Bullets And Booze' invites fans to live life to the fullest all wrapped up in one rowdy and raunchy package. Find out more about the album, here yto answer the q's are singer Erik Johnson and bassist Ty Sims, its... BOMBAY BLACK...

How has the reaction to your latest CD been?

TY: We're at the very beginning of promotion but so far response has been  great! I think this album is as fun to listen to as it was to make.
ERIK: Advance response has been really great. We've got a ton of packages to ship 

How long did this CD take to make from start to finish, recording-wise?

TY: Well, I own a recording studio and we self produce all of our own  records so the recording process for a new album usually starts shortly  after the last one was released. We're lucky enough to not have to worry about how long we are in the studio so we've been working on this for almost 2 years. 

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind, prior to entering the studio?

TY: All we knew for sure was that we wanted this to be a party record. That is the inspiration for most of the songs and we wanted that vibe to  come through. This album has a more "live" feel than our previous  records and I think that helps add to the spontaneous tone of the record.
ERIK: I really dug Shinedown's “Sound of Madness” and Vince Neil's “Tattoos  and Tequila” albums not just for the overall in your face mix of both  but also Jeff Blando's guitar tone on the Vince Neil record. I switched  pickups because of that album.

What kind of input did the producer have during the process?

TY: Erik and I co-produce the Bombay Black albums together so we don't have to worry about a producer understanding where we are coming from artistically. We've only worked with an outside producer one time and that was on 2008's "Psycho Magnet". It was produced and mixed by mega platinum producer Beau Hill. Beau is a great guy and we had a blast working with him.

ERIK: Considering he's also the bass player, entirely too much. 

And are you pleased with the final outcome? (sound - production wise)

TY: I'm very pleased with the way this album turned out! This is my favorite Bombay Black record to date.
ERIK: Absolutely! It's the best sounding album so far and the fact that we did it ourselves makes me that much more proud of what we ended up with.

Did the producer (you) use any (weird) experimental miking and/or recording techniques?

TY: We always try to do something new on each album. If you listen close on "Let Me Be" there is a vocoder doing a harmony with the lead vocal.  It's low in the mix but it's there. We got a lot more experimental with the drum recording this time. There are no artificial or digital reverbs used on the drums. All of the ambiance comes from Eq'd and compressed (and sometimes gated) room mics. In most cases there are 3 sets of room mics, close, mid and far and all 3 sets were treated differently.

How did you go on about capturing your 'live sound' in the studio, or perhaps you didn't

TY: This is the first time that we've really tried to capture a live sound  in the studio. I think it mostly comes from working closer together and  letting things happen naturally. Capturing a performance more than trying to make things perfect.

Please inform us about your favourite songs and lyrical highlights and why?

TY: One of my favorite lines on the whole album is "You'll lose more than just your pride on The Rock 'N Roll Pain Train". We named our tour bus "The Rock 'N Roll Pain Train" and that song is about some of the after show parties that happen on, around and sometimes under the bus.
ERIK: I don't really have any fave lyrics but I like the groovier styling of  the music this time around. I think this album turned out to be more about rhythm as opposed to colorful chords, although “Let Me Be” has  some interesting chord changes in the verses and solo section. 

Any overall theme of mood that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

ERIK: Not consciously. At first, the album was of a dual mindset and we started to realize that there were too distinct themes at work. We culled the songs into separate blocks and kept writing and found that the theme of “Party songs that sound good live” tended to win out over the other. “Let Me Be” was the last song written and mood was very 
important , for whatever reason, “Let Me Be” became this gothic romance tune. Pretty but also predatory a la “Red Riding Hood”. 

Does your vision for coming up with music get affected at all by time?

TY: I think so. As you collect new influences over time it changes the way you do things. Lyrically there are a few songs on this record that are affected by current events and trends, "All The Same In The Dark" mentions the TV show Jersey Shore and "Take Another Picture" is about texting nude pictures back and forth with your girlfriend.

ERIK: It's affected by everything, really. Late nights are often the most productive because the stress level is low and you can just relax and let the tunes happen. I often get ideas during the day as well, so I keep a computer nearby with a good scoring program so I can keep a record of whatever hits me on a given day.

Did the record company interfere with anything on your "sound" and songs?

TY: We started our own label a couple of years ago so we don't have to worry about things like that happening.

Are there any 'crazy' behind the scenes anecdotes from these sessions that you can share with us?

TY: Most of the crazy behind the scenes stuff happens at shows. I remember (well, I don't actually REMEMBER, but there are lots of pictures and video) one night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We were playing with Bret Michaels and Lita Ford and the weather had gotten bad so the promoter  had moved the show times up to beat the storm. When Lita was done with her set her and the band loaded up on our bus and we started drinking Jagermiester ( we have our own Jager machine on the bus). In less than 2 hours we went through a gallon of Jager and half a gallon of whiskey and it was still daylight.

ERIK: There's a lot of vocal tracks that have long since been deleted where I'm just making up stupid nonsense. At one point, we got into a bottle of expensive tequila. I'm still terribly lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so it didn't take long for everything to go downhill fast.

How would you describe the sound of your new CD to any potential new fan? 

TY: I think the easiest way to sum it up would be "Modern Rock in the Old School Tradition".

ERIK: Loud, rude, aggressive, and fun. Four descriptions that in combination seem to be missing from most mainstream rock albums these days. Everyone's too serious. Life is good.

Who are your influences and heroes? (music-wise)

TY: I've been a huge fan of KISS since I was 5 years old. I'm also a big Mötley Crüe fan. There's just nobody cooler than Nikki Sixx. As far as newer music goes I like Nickelback and I love Hinder's "All American Nightmare" album.

ERIK: Kiss, Mötley Crüe, and Journey are my mainstays. I've been getting into newer stuff like Shinedown, Butch Walker, and The Pretty Reckless but  I've also been getting back into studying music theory, particularly with chords. Steely Dan's catalog has become required listening as a result. I like the big jazz chords. They don't always work in the context of what we do, but I like knowing that I've got them in my musical vocabulary.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do:

Thank you to the guys at Rock United for taking the time to listen to and review our album and do this interview, and thank you for taking the time to read it. If you want to find out more about Bombay Black visit us at www.bombayblackmusic.com
Ty & Eric / BOMBAY BLACK

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's websites   http://www.bombayblackmusic.com/
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