Interview with Bean conducted by Donny Mutt.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Bean. I play guitar for Blacklisted.
How long have you been playing guitar and what made you decide on playing the guitar as your musical instrument?
I have been playing guitar for around 13 years on and off. I went through a period in my life when I didn't want to touch a guitar. It was a depressing time. I started playing guitar after I heard a song called "Drain You" by Nirvana. The middle of the song right before it starts to build up when there is all those weird noises, that sounded to me like something I could recreate. I couldn't then but it’s still something in my life that drives me.
What was the first guitar you ever owned and what are you currently playing?
The first guitar I ever owned was like a half real, half toy guitar with a built in speaker. My mom and my aunt chipped in to buy it for my 13th birthday. I broke it soon after and bought a Mexican Strat. Since then I've owned many different guitars. Some got stolen or traded or broken. For the last couple of years I have been a loyal fan of Gibson guitars. The first one I owned was a 91 Tobacco Burst Les Paul Standard. It’s my favorite guitar and probably always will be. It’s been with me about 8 years now. It looks like it’s been lit on fire and run over by a tank. I absolutely adore it.
How is your amp setup looking these days?
Right now I am running a Marshall JMP 100 watt master lead through a late 90s 800 cabinet.
Are you a self taught musician or have you taken lessons before?
I took 2 or 3 lessons when I was a kid to learn how to tune my guitar. I quit soon after and learned Nirvana’s “Nevermind” back to front. I felt at the time that was all I needed to know.
What bands did you play in previously that led you to your current position playing guitar in Blacklisted?
I was in a street punk band called No Authority back when I was in high school that did some minor touring with The Unseen and The Casualties. I think that’s around the time when you and I first met, right? After that I was in a band called No Roses for a couple of years. We recorded a demo and an EP on State Of Mind Records. The demo was way better than the EP.
When you joined Blacklisted, they were already an established touring band. How would you describe being offered an opportunity like that as opposed to starting your own band from the ground up?
I was actually offered a spot in Blacklisted when they first started, but I had too many financial obligations at the time to be on the road full time. Later, after The Beat Goes On came out I got in touch with George about playing bass. That was a little over two years ago. After we released "Peace on Earth... " I feel like we became a completely different band anyway so I have had the best and worst of both worlds. Sometimes the forest has to burn down to keep growing.
When you are playing live or recording with Blacklisted do you use any effects other than straight from the amp distortion?
As of late I use everything live that I used to record “Heavier Than Heaven” with. I use a modified Ibanez TS09 Tube Screamer to add weight to the front end of the JMP. For effects, I use a vintage Electro Harmonix Flanger, a Boss Digital Delay, and from time to time a Holy Grail Reverb unit.
The newest Blacklisted record "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" was just released. What was the writing process like for that record?
The process ranged from elation to frustration and many rewrites. Shawn and I always start with bare bones riffs and build from there. Some songs were written to express a certain emotion. We wrote a lot of songs that didn’t make sense together but at the time that was the muse we were feeling, so we kept them and boombox demoed pretty much every riff or full song. After we felt we had enough material to choose from we edited and fine tuned. Every last note of this record was premeditated and placed the way we felt best represented the mixed emotions we had leading up to the process of putting this record together. From song placement to interludes to the length of the album, we produced a record we wanted to hear.
Out of all the songs you helped write with Blacklisted, what song or riff are you the proudest of writing or just being a part of?
“Circuit Breaker” is a song we wrote that I feel sonically wears our influences on its sleeve and at the same time speaks for us as a band. Writing-wise it felt the most natural to me and I feel like it helped give me my own voice among my peers. No mosh part and still as hard as the Cro-Mags. But when you really listen to the nuances it’s as pretty as Hope Sandoval.
What are some interesting influences on the band that you think most people would be shocked to find out?
David Bowie, John Bonham, Jeff Magnum, Belinda Butcher... You know, just wild people out there who have had the balls to be passionate about their demons.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Bean. I play guitar for Blacklisted.
How long have you been playing guitar and what made you decide on playing the guitar as your musical instrument?
I have been playing guitar for around 13 years on and off. I went through a period in my life when I didn't want to touch a guitar. It was a depressing time. I started playing guitar after I heard a song called "Drain You" by Nirvana. The middle of the song right before it starts to build up when there is all those weird noises, that sounded to me like something I could recreate. I couldn't then but it’s still something in my life that drives me.
What was the first guitar you ever owned and what are you currently playing?
The first guitar I ever owned was like a half real, half toy guitar with a built in speaker. My mom and my aunt chipped in to buy it for my 13th birthday. I broke it soon after and bought a Mexican Strat. Since then I've owned many different guitars. Some got stolen or traded or broken. For the last couple of years I have been a loyal fan of Gibson guitars. The first one I owned was a 91 Tobacco Burst Les Paul Standard. It’s my favorite guitar and probably always will be. It’s been with me about 8 years now. It looks like it’s been lit on fire and run over by a tank. I absolutely adore it.
How is your amp setup looking these days?
Right now I am running a Marshall JMP 100 watt master lead through a late 90s 800 cabinet.
Are you a self taught musician or have you taken lessons before?
I took 2 or 3 lessons when I was a kid to learn how to tune my guitar. I quit soon after and learned Nirvana’s “Nevermind” back to front. I felt at the time that was all I needed to know.
What bands did you play in previously that led you to your current position playing guitar in Blacklisted?
I was in a street punk band called No Authority back when I was in high school that did some minor touring with The Unseen and The Casualties. I think that’s around the time when you and I first met, right? After that I was in a band called No Roses for a couple of years. We recorded a demo and an EP on State Of Mind Records. The demo was way better than the EP.
When you joined Blacklisted, they were already an established touring band. How would you describe being offered an opportunity like that as opposed to starting your own band from the ground up?
I was actually offered a spot in Blacklisted when they first started, but I had too many financial obligations at the time to be on the road full time. Later, after The Beat Goes On came out I got in touch with George about playing bass. That was a little over two years ago. After we released "Peace on Earth... " I feel like we became a completely different band anyway so I have had the best and worst of both worlds. Sometimes the forest has to burn down to keep growing.
When you are playing live or recording with Blacklisted do you use any effects other than straight from the amp distortion?
As of late I use everything live that I used to record “Heavier Than Heaven” with. I use a modified Ibanez TS09 Tube Screamer to add weight to the front end of the JMP. For effects, I use a vintage Electro Harmonix Flanger, a Boss Digital Delay, and from time to time a Holy Grail Reverb unit.
The newest Blacklisted record "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" was just released. What was the writing process like for that record?
The process ranged from elation to frustration and many rewrites. Shawn and I always start with bare bones riffs and build from there. Some songs were written to express a certain emotion. We wrote a lot of songs that didn’t make sense together but at the time that was the muse we were feeling, so we kept them and boombox demoed pretty much every riff or full song. After we felt we had enough material to choose from we edited and fine tuned. Every last note of this record was premeditated and placed the way we felt best represented the mixed emotions we had leading up to the process of putting this record together. From song placement to interludes to the length of the album, we produced a record we wanted to hear.
Out of all the songs you helped write with Blacklisted, what song or riff are you the proudest of writing or just being a part of?
“Circuit Breaker” is a song we wrote that I feel sonically wears our influences on its sleeve and at the same time speaks for us as a band. Writing-wise it felt the most natural to me and I feel like it helped give me my own voice among my peers. No mosh part and still as hard as the Cro-Mags. But when you really listen to the nuances it’s as pretty as Hope Sandoval.
What are some interesting influences on the band that you think most people would be shocked to find out?
David Bowie, John Bonham, Jeff Magnum, Belinda Butcher... You know, just wild people out there who have had the balls to be passionate about their demons.
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