BRMC Move Away From Joni Mitchell, Join Kings of Leon

Posted on Aug 8th 2007 3:00PM by Jolie Lash
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They only have handful of East Coast solo dates left, but for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, their upcoming two-week respite before their tour with Kings of Leon in Sept., couldn't come a moment too soon. For starters, during Tuesday night's stint in Buffalo, NY, singer Robert Levon Been told Spinner, he'd lost track of where they've been.

"They keep telling us [we've been on the road] a week-and-a-half, but it's really been going since February 8," a road-weary Been sighed. "We just came out and played Detroit, Cincinnati and where were we the other day? Um, Cleveland? Yeah."

While he may not remember where he was in recent days, one thing Been is aware of, is the beauty of his soon to be not-home, Laurel Canyon. Though he loves the Los Angeles suburb, Been will use his time off, to move out of his abode in the locale known for its '60s musical connections (The Doors and Gram Parsons, among others.)

"I live next to Joni Mitchell's old place where she wrote her big records," Been reveals of the place he's poised to vacate. "She won't rent it out. She keeps it empty."

"It doesn't feel like you live in LA at all [up there]," he added. "You drive five minutes from L.A. and eel like you're in the hills of Arkansas."

Following his move, Been's next chance to visit those Arkansas-esque hills will be on the Kings of Leon jaunt, which hits L.A.'s Greek Theatre on Sept. 7. It's definitely one trek -- which folks are dubbing 'The Black Tour' (due to both band's penchant for the color) -- Been is looking forward to. For starters, it'll be a chance for BRMC to get to know KOL. Surprisingly, the two groups only crossed paths very recently.

"The first time was two weeks ago at Benicassim in Spain. We've come really close a bunch of times," Been said. "They asked us. It was pretty simple. I guess they liked the new record. It's [going to be] a good balance."