Music Interview: Back in Black

By Kate Foote

‘However, it will take a lot more than an acrimonious sock to bring down the tenacious Robin Black. According to Black, the world is in need of a truly great rock ‘n’ roll band.


“We’re one of the last great tight-pants-wearing, shirtless, long-haired motherfuckers out there,” boasts Black, citing the near-extinction of real rock and roll music over the last 20 years as his prime motivation.


Recent developments, however, include a journey from Radiohead, through nu-metal, to bands like the White Stripes which has begun to eke out a path for glam rockers everywhere. “It’s been really hard to make the kind of music we make, to look the way we look, to put on the kind of shows that we put on, for the last while,” complains Black. “But now, Green Day looks just like Robin Black.”


Billie Joe Armstrong’s recent affinity for eyeliner, however, is not quite the same calibre of glam decadence that Black prides himself in. “The description of glam rock seems to be someone really flashy and kinda cute with a nice tight ass wearing makeup. So if that’s what glam rock is, fuck, guilty as charged!” Black’s flashy style has not only garnered him attention from the media, but also affection from the opposite sex.


Before you boys go out shopping for makeup and tight pants to score some booty, keep in mind even Robin Black concedes that appearances aren’t everything when it comes to the ladies.


“Let’s be totally honest here. I’m 5ïž´6, I have bright blue hair, I have no eyebrows and I wear makeup. This is not your classically attractive man. This is not the dude that most girls wanna sleep with.”


Black cites his confidence as the trait getting him laid. Substantiating his claim, an impressive roster of nearly three hundred women had the pleasure of “knowing” him. And as for blowjobs? “Thousands of blowjobs,” says Black. “[But] come on, Mick Jagger is one of the ugliest men alive. Gene Simmons is the ugliest man alive and they’ve both had their share.”


The spirit of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll that is a tenet in the Robin Black School of Rock obviously works. Their latest album, Instant Classic, is presently a top ten album in Toronto. Even more impressive is the collaboration of legendary producer, Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Kiss’ Destroyer) on Instant Classic. “We’re a driven, focused rock ‘n’ roll band­–the last of the driven bands and we just made a record with the guy who produced The Wall, for fuck sake,” says Black of the dedication garnering them favor with Ezrin. “We had to become a truly great rock band before this man would work with us and that’s where we are now. That’s what everyone who comes to see us at the Underground is gonna see.”

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