The ascent of an American singer : Jonathan Brightman? What inspires you to write? Jonathan Brightman: I get inspired by seeing other great bands. We write together as a band. That’s really fulfilling. Collaboration is much more fun. I was hoping to catch you in LA last year, but you weren’t playing a lot of dates. Will you be touring this year? Jonathan Brightman: We hope to at least hit some territories in Europe this summer. Touring in the U.S. has gotten really political. For example, bigger bands are now doing this thing called “buy ons”, which is basically charging their opening band to get added to the bill. It’s rotten.
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). Brightman recruited Detroit-bred front man Harold Johns on vocals and Black Robot recorded their debut in 2008 with Grammy winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Shooter Jennings, Rival Sons). Former Buckcherry alumni Devon Glenn & Yogi Lonich and legendary keyboard session player Fred Mandel (Queen, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd) make guest appearances on the album. In 2009, guitarists Andy Andersson & Staffan Österlind and former Hot Sauce Johnson / Rumblefish / Earshot drummer Possum Hill were added to the line-up. The band has been described as a “new powerhouse” and “good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll influenced by acts like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Crowes and the Rolling Stones”
Tell us about the whole ‘Black Robot’ concept? Jonathan Brightman: The concept is to return to the time when bands were making albums and exploring the music with no concern whether it’s cool or appropriate for the radio. We like giving the audience a chance to use their imaginations with our Robot. We’d like to see the Robot come to life one day.
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. Find extra details at Jonathan Brightman.
The name is something that I had been holding on to for some time. I conceptualized the figure which you see on the album cover and I wanted that figure to represent the band. I think it’s a strong, menacing figure that isn’t too far from something Iron Maiden would use. Like their mascot Eddie, I think as we begin to gain a fan base and get bigger we’ll be able to have our own identifiable figure that can progress as the band does. We wanted the focus to be on the visuals, we didn’t want the focus to be on the traditional thing, band members; four or five guys in the band. There’s nothing original about five guys lining up in a photo, of course we do that too, but that’s not the focus. We wanted to have a powerful figure that would represent the music and what we stand for.