Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

For a select few, rock'n'roll is a life sentence. It's in every muscle in your body, it's in every thought you have, it's written all over your face. When you arrive at Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's headquarters in East Hollywood, you know you're sidling up to the home of some of rock's most primal prisoners. In the driveway there are motorcycles. In the living room there is gear splayed everywhere; random bits of drum kits, a pedal steel guitar, stacks of vinyl. Answering the door is a bleary-eyed, chain-smoking Peter Hayes (guitar, vocals) and his co-habiting bandmate Leah Shapiro (drums). In walks bassist Robert Levon Been too, Hayes' BRMC co-founder, dark shades on, an even darker all-black ensemble. As a trio, they seem forever unsettled, even in the safety of each other's companies. They take time over answers, seeking for perfect responses. It's the same approach they have to rock'n'roll. If the end result is not flawless, they're not interested.