Black Rebel Motorcycle Club On World Cafe

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has that quintessential rock and roll swagger. The band is celebrating its 20th anniversary, but to say that the members celebrate things seems inaccurate. They're fighters. They're defiant, even a bit skeptical. All the pomp and circumstance of a 20th anniversary would be overly indulgent.

The aura of BRMC is a pastiche of motorcycles, leather jackets, black outfits, and booze, matched with riffs, distortion, thuds, smashes and, of course, howls. On Wrong Creatures, the band's eighth studio album — and first in five years — explores some familiar territory in a new way. The soul of the band is intact, no question, but there is a different space that exists between the unmistakable sounds of the San Francisco trio. Perhaps it's patience.

Patience was a necessity for drummer Leah Shapiro, who had to stop playing because a rare neurological condition was preventing her from doing the thing she'd done her whole life. Thankfully, with surgery, treatment and time, Leah has recovered and is back behind the kit for the session today. She's joined by founding members Robert Been and Peter Hayes.

The members tell us what it was like to go through that difficult time and perform. Hear it all in the player.

Copyright 2018 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.