Communion A
Second
nglo American quartet Black Country Communion raised several eyebrows when they made their debut in the spring of 2010. Fronted by former Trapeze and Deep Purple vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes, joined by fellow Midlander Jason Bonham on drums the lineup is completed by Americans keyboard player Derek Sherinian
(Dream Theatre) and guitarist Joe Bonamassa. Shrugging off the quaint but also vaguely irritating so-called ‘supergroup’ tag, the band quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, their eponymous debut LP scoring a resounding the Top 20 in the US and UK.
Black Country Communion return with a prosaically titled second LP 2. BCC bassist and lead vocalist Glenn Hughes talks to TIM SLATER about the band’s heavier new sound…
With a full year under their belts BCC are on the brink of releasing their second LP, 2 and compared to its solid but somewhat tentative predecessor the new sounds altogether tighter, darker and much, much heavier. Glenn Hughes nods in agreement… “In the short time that we’ve been together we’ve actually bonded as friends. The ‘supergroup’ thing was overused so much by the press that we wanted to establish Black Country Communion as our brand, that’s a lot more important than the supergroup tag!” One of the most striking elements of the new BCC album is Hughes’ bass sound, which is much deeper and more rounded than the brighter tone he used on the first BCC album. “You’re the first person in the UK to ask me about that! We rolled on a lot more bottom end this time. I played the same style but used this new bass sound to enhance the low-end because we felt it was the appropriate bass sound for this album. My bass is still my favourite Bill Nash 57-P, but we just wanted a different sound. At first I was unsure but now I know that we did the right thing. I’ve been with Laney for a year now and they are making what I think is an amazing tube amp (The Nexus-Tube series. Ed.) I think that this Laney is the sound I need for my sort of music. I need my bass to sound as organic as possible and as tube sounding as possible, I need it sound like it was back when I had my old Hi-Watts. I need that sound, it is the signature Glenn sound.”
Bearing in mind that Glenn Hughes has pretty much been there, done it and
got the rockin’ T-shirt insofar as he has been performing in top flight band for four decades, how does he keep himself fit? “I warm up and do my stretches and stuff, I think that it’s very important to
prepare. For me, the warm up is very important. I always like to do a warm up before sound check and then I don’t eat a lot before I sing, I don’t drink a lot, just a little lemon and honey and I’m good to go. I try to get eight hours sleep every night. They say that you don’t need so much sleep as you get older but I gotta get eight hours, whether it’s on the tour bus or at home. If I don’t get enough sleep I’m not gonna be able to hit the notes that I want to hit, so sleep rules! I really believe in taking care of one’s self. I’ve been blessed that I don’t drink or smoke. That’s really helped me.” It’s no secret that despite his great success Glenn Hughes has endured his
fair share of ups and downs, emerging as the relaxed and focused individual chatting happily to Playmusic today. Any tips for younger – or older – musicians reading this who yearn to follow in his footsteps? “If you want to succeed in this industry you’ve got to have a desire like no other!” Hughes says, sagely. “If you go to college for six years you’ve got to finish the course, you know? This is like being at college, you’ve got to have the will and desire to have the best possible training and best possible incentive to continue. I would also add that you need to be very careful as far as drug culture. Drug addiction is a sneaky thing, it kind of creeps up. It’s very cunning and baffling and before you know it you are caught up in this dark side, which I was. I was very fortunate to have the ability to stop. Let’s just say that Lemmy and Keith Richards – who until two years ago continued that lifestyle – were able to work on that and more power to them. Lemmy is a dear friend, but for me I would advise anyone to stay away from drugs and don’t get involved with them!” PM
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION UK TOUR DATES
Llandudno Cymru Arena (Saturday 23rd July) Leeds O2 Academy (Tuesday 26th July) Newcastle O2 Academy (Wednesday 27th July) Glasgow O2 Academy (Friday 29th July) Manchester Academy (Saturday 30th July). Special guests on these dates are the legendary Michael Schenker Group.
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