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Robin Black's normal state of mind is excitable. Give him a Red Bull and a new album to talk about, though, and the energy level goes through the roof.
The Winnipeg-born leader of the notorious Intergalactic Rock Stars, a five-piece glam-slam rock band now known simply as Robin Black, is pumped, to say the least, about his new album, Instant Classic, which he justifiably sees as a major step forward.
"This record will change people's assumptions about us," he says. "Some people think of us as a mind-blowing live band, but others see us as a bunch of jackasses in tight pants who get drunk a lot and wear makeup. And we kind of were, but not now.
"I've always been driven and hard-working, but I never really focused. Now I'm focused. I'm not the same tight-pants-wearing loudmouth. My pants are still tight and I'm still opinionated, but we want people to realize that we are good songwriters and we made a good record."
Black and co. -- guitarists Starboy and Killer Ky, bassist The Creep and drummer Christopher Kidd -- worked their tight-pants-wearing butts off on the new record, co-produced by GGGarth Richardson and Bob Ezrin. And one of their biggest jobs was convincing Ezrin (KISS, Pink Floyd) to work on it.
"It took a long time, but the process of proving to Bob that we were the band he should spend his time on also proved to me that we were," says Black. "He'd set impossible tasks for us. He'd say, 'I don't like these songs. Write me 10 more and demo them in four days.' He sent me to vocal lessons. To him, you must be willing to lose your girlfriend or your job. He doesn't care. He wants to know whether you'll do what it takes -- otherwise, forget it.
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"And in the process of trying to make this record with our dream producer, we learned so much. I went from figuring out which hair colour to wear this week to taking piano lessons and thinking about alliteration. We were playing high school floor hockey, and he demanded that we play in the NHL."
Robin Black will display their hard-won new powers at the Opera House tomorrow. Be warned.