Meet Jonathan Brightman and some of his accomplishments? How hard have you find it to get Black Robot noticed and do you have any advice for young bands out there starting out in the industry? Jonathan Brightman: It’s very hard. It feels like carrying a load of boulders on your back uphill in the rain both ways!!! My advice to new bands: Be relentless. After all this time, do you still keep up to date, with what Buckcherry are doing? Jonathan Brightman: Actually, I heard one of their new songs on satellite radio recently. I think they released a few records after my departure. But the song was really good. Everything was in key.
Jonathan Brightman and Buckcherry: Josh Todd grew up in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood of Anaheim, California and later moved to Lake Forest, California. Early on, Todd fronted the Hollywood glam rock band Slamhound. He eventually met lead guitarist Keith Nelson through their tattoo artist (Kevin Quinn). The duo made a few demos before being joined by bassist Jonathan Brightman and drummer Devon Glenn, calling themselves Sparrow. Sparrow began performing around the Hollywood club scene, receiving a strong, local following due to their old school rock and roll vibe, and were signed to DreamWorks Records shortly after. The group changed its name to Buckcherry after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a record label called Sparrow (owned by EMI). Although the band’s name is a spoonerism of the late Chuck Berry, the group said it was inspired by a drag queen acquaintance of theirs named Buck Cherry.
Black Robot is a California-based hard rock band formed in 2008 by bassist Jonathan Brightman (JB). The band released their first music video for the JJ Cale classic “Cocaine” on May 5, 2010,[4] debuting it exclusively on top rated gaming website IGN.com. The video features a comical cameo appearance by former The Kids in the Hall and NewsRadio star Dave Foley and was filmed at the legendary burlesque club Jumbo’s Clown Room.[5] A commercial for the debut album featuring outtakes from the video aired exclusively during episodes of VH-1 Classic’s That Metal Show.
You sound like all of my favourite bands mashed up; there’s AC/DC, Zeppelin, Black Crowes and The Stones. How would you describe your sound? Jonathan Brightman: I like to just call it Modern Classic Rock. Imagine intercepting rock and roll right where it was before things got awful in the music business and continuing from that point. Right before Nirvana perhaps. All though I love Nirvana it spawned some real shit. And I am still baffled about how Limp Bizkit sold millions of records. Hahahaha.
Over the past years Brightman Music has been a premium Producer Management firm located in Southern California with a presence in New York City and Nashville, Tennessee and London, England. We represent some of the recording industry’s most highly recognized award winning producers, mixers, songwriters and engineers as well as tomorrow’s game changers. We hold a unique emphasis and proven track record on the discovery and development of groundbreaking chart-topping new artists. Our clients work with artists and record labels, big and small from every corner of the globe. We celebrate musical diversity and support artists of all genres. Discover extra info at Jonathan Brightman.
In 2010, he will unleash the fruits of his labor with a re-release of Black Robot’s debut album. Black Robot are an eclectic band that culls from genres such as classic rock of the 70’s, punk, jam bands, no-frills hard rock and power-pop. Their self-titled album is sure to make many top 10 lists at the end of the year. Sleaze Roxx’s Ruben Mosqueda caught up with JB a couple of weeks ago and talked about the band and the album.