“Blues is the teacher. Punk is the Preacher. It’s all about emotion and energy. Experience and raw talent, spirit and intellect. Exciting things happen when these things collide.”

That is the mantra put forward by the legendary Californian band The BellRays, who have defined and distinguished themselves by their non-wavering idiosyncratic brand of blues punk. “I think what we do, it’s just based on what we grew up on,” explains the band’s guitarist and founding member, Bob Vennum, to us. “So, you know, it’s sort of intrinsic that we sound the way we do, because that’s just the way we hear things, you know? I’m not always looking for new and creative ways to do things; I’m looking for, you know, new and creative songs, new and creative things to say.”

The band has been consistently recording and touring since their 1990 formation in Riverside, California. When asked what keeps them wanting to do it, Bob responds, “It’s just what we do. You know, I still wake up in the morning, hearing the muse. It’s just what we do, and I can’t imagine doing…having a life, not playing music, you know?”

For the band’s vocalist and founding member, Lisa Kekaula, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a culling of the artists who weren’t as dedicated to these pursuits and passions: “People had to really look and find out if this was what they were meant to do for the rest of their life, and once you solidify that, you just hope that it is to create a more fortified, richer experience for everyone involved. Because there was a lot of fodder. There was a whole lot of fodder going on that, I don’t know, I just wasn’t really behind and didn’t understand, but I think it’s definitely the game for the longtimers, now. Like, nobody is just going to go, put their toe in the water and give it a shot; like, you’ve really got to have something working for you to go do it, right now.”

Tomorrow, The BellRays release a new 7” single, as part of the Detroit record label I-94 Recordings’ series of singles featuring musicians covering Detroit artists. The A-side is a roaring and blistering take on The Temptations’ 1970 socially conscious soul track “Ball of Confusion.” For Bob and Lisa, this was a no-brainer when asked for a contribution.

“We started doing this show called ‘Cover Stories,’” says Lisa. “So, we started listening to a lot of songs and just trying to figure out ones that would make cool covers to do on this Instagram show that we’re doing, and that one came up. So, that’s kind of how that one got shortlisted and then we actually did a list of more songs, or other suggestions came up about Detroit artists, and that one still stuck as the one that made the most sense; it just felt like, ‘Oh, we could do something with it.’ That was before we had an idea how we were going to do it, as well. We messed around with it for a couple of hours and then kind of landed on where we landed.”

As an over-fifty-year-old song, which was written in a recently nonsegregated United States and deals with issues like the then-ongoing Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, nascent drug epidemics, and high taxation, the song remains shockingly relevant.

“It’s really crazy how relevant this song is still, today,” says Lisa. “I want to say that was one of the thoughts we had, going into, I want to say, the second year of COVID.” Bob adds, “I think the really coolest thing about it, that landed for me, was how relevant it still was. I can imagine, at the time – I think it came out when I was five or something like that – but, I can imagine people going,…‘This is really going to open up a whole bag of worms!’ and here we are, fifty years later, and you can sing, literally, you can sing the entire song, all the words, and it is still appropriate.”

Bob and Lisa did add some little additions to the track, to not only show how much of the qualms that were being sung about in 1970 are still an issue today, but also to highlight modern woes and concerns. “There’s more things that became appropriate that we tried to…tweaked the lyrics. We tweaked the lyrics to accommodate even modern stuff,” says Bob. “Those additions. Not because it’s a good thing to have to add those things!” laughs Lisa. “It’s not cool to have to add Big Pharma, it’s not cool to have to add active shooters, but it’s something that needs to be spoken to.” “Yeah, so, in another fifty years, somebody can mod what we did,” quips Bob.

Of the many artists who have covered “Ball of Confusion,” one was the late, great, Queen of Rock N’ Roll, Tina Turner, who passed away the day before our interview. “What a sad day,” says Lisa. “What a very sad day. And it’s not our first comparison to anything that has to do with Tina Turner; we’ve always been kind of lumped in there because of the way that I sing, and that it’s rock n’ roll. But, believe me, I don’t think she knew who we were! [Laughs] She might have! If she did, lucky us!”

The B-side on the single is an original number, penned by Bob, called “I Fall Down.” Bob explains what this song is about: “It’s about that, it’s about a lot of stuff that we’re talking about, it’s about letting it get to you – or not letting it get to you – but the fact that it does. It does. I mean, sometimes it’s just hard to stand up because there’s so much weight on everything. You know, every single thing has so much weight on it. I mean, just, you sign up for some online store thing and there’s like fifty emails a day, telling you that this is on sale, and that’s on sale, and, you know, that’s just for a stupid online store, you know? That’s not talking about any of the civil rights, or any of the music issues, or any of that stuff that we’re talking about. It’s that; it’s about your faith in something and having everything that isn’t that faith weighing on you and then having the faith…having to worry about that, too. So, that was the point I was trying to make, I think, in my oblique, lyricist fashion.”

To promote the single, The BellRays will conduct an extensive tour of North America, between June 28^th to August 9^th, comprised of support slots for Social Distortion on their dates, with some headline shows on off days. After a string of years with dates not materialising due to the pandemic, the band is looking forward to playing their first North American tour since 2018.

Over the years, the band have opened for a myriad of acts, like Pixies, The Damned, and Clutch. They feel that Social Distortion is a good pairing for a touring bill. “It always seems to work [touring in support of other acts], despite whatever reservations we have,” says Bob. “So, I’m really excited. And I know a bunch of our fans have come back to us, saying, ‘Man, you got…you’re going Social Distortion, man?! That’s just so great! That’s awesome!’ So, I think there’s a huge overlap from our fans and theirs.”

In addition to the tour, Lisa hints at a new album. “I don’t have any release dates or anything else like that for the new record,” she says. “The follow-up to this 7”, it’s coming! It’s coming! I’m threatening! It’s coming!”

The BellRays’ new 7” single, “Ball of Confusion”/”I Fall Down”, is out from tomorrow and you can purchase a copy here. The BellRays will tour the United States and Canada between June 28^th to August 9^th. You can see all dates and buy tickets on their website, where you can also find their social media accounts.

Our full interview with The BellRays is out now as part of our POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… podcast series, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.