Meet Jonathan Brightman and some of his achievements
Jonathan Brightman or the rise of an American songwriter? What music are you listening to at the moment? Are there any local bands that we should be listening to? Jonathan Brightman: At the moment I have the Beatles Abbey Road playing. There’s a great local band called Goldsboro. A few guys from the band Orson’s new project. It’s great stuff. Did the album take long to put together, as I know that you had been planning Black Robot for some time? Jonathan Brightman: The main body of the record was done in a few weeks. We added a few songs to the second version of the record. But overall we don’t like to put too much time into over thinking things. If it rocks, you pretty much know right away.
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”
One of the best covers ever, in my opinion, is your cover of JJ Cale’s “Cocaine”. It seems to suit your sound perfectly; did you consider covering any other songs? Jonathan Brightman: We just stumbled into this cover and decided to include it on our record. It would be fun to do any number of Beatles songs…in our own way, of course.
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 information on 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.