Ryan Bingham Black Country Communion

NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM SPOTLIGHT risman C hris C oodwin G hristie C BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION Luminaries from the rock world find their own chemistry together Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian, Jason Bonham BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION’S thought after doing two albums it would be First Underground Nuclear Kitchen the latest record, Afterglow, wasn’t even out best for me to do another project,” Hughes year before BCC formed. “I had a dream when reports began flying that tension says. “I haven’t made a record in five years about six months before we started between singer and bassist Glenn Hughes on my own, so I started to write what was making the first album that I would be and guitarist Joe Bonamassa could mean the going to be a Glenn album.” making rock music again.” end of the hard-rock supergroup. But in no Instead, producer Kevin Shirley The musicians have translated their time the dustup was quelled. “We’re really convinced Hughes to make a BCC album, respect for one another’s work into a good friends,” Hughes says. “It was just a along with a live DVD. “It’s pretty crazy,” says collaborative chemistry that allows them to small blip there for a moment, but we’re all Hughes. “At this point in my life, I thought work especially fast in the studio. “Joe calls back on track, and long may it continue.” I’d slow down a bit. I’m not really great at it the comet,” says Hughes, who wrote the The album is the third that Hughes and multitasking, so I ended up concentrating bulk of the tunes. “We go over the song Bonamassa have recorded with drummer on this band and fell in love with it.” and then we cut it. There’s no rehearsing, Jason Bonham and keyboardist Derek The group came together in 2009 no preproduction.” Sherinian. It’s full of relentless riffs on after Hughes and Bonamassa jammed Whether the members of Black songs showcasing sinewy, powerful vocals onstage at the NAMM music trade show Country Communion can find time to tour from Hughes, who fronted Deep Purple in in California, then recruited Bonham and in 2013 is a secondary consideration, the ’70s and sang with Tony Iommi in the Sherinian. Together, they comprised a band according to Hughes. The first is a bond ’80s, and has maintained a prolific solo dedicated to a hard-rock sound that wasn’t that is “like family,” he says. “Deep down career for decades. In fact, after releasing exactly in vogue at the time. “It wasn’t like inside, it really is about music. That’s what BCC albums in 2010 and 2011, Hughes we were following a trend,” says Hughes, brought us together.” intended Afterglow to be a solo release. “I who had released the soul-funk album –Eric R. Danton RYAN BINGHAM The roots rocker plugs in and discovers a new talent THREE YEARS AGO RYAN BINGHAM ROCKETED INTO THE limelight with “The Weary Kind,” the Grammy-winning theme song he co-wrote and performed for the acclaimed film, Crazy Heart. The L.A.-based singer-songwriter cherished the success, but the experience didn’t change him much. “Everything happened so NOVEMBERfast,” he says. 2012 “I just Mtried MUSIC to hang on & for MUSICIANSthe ride while it lasted. MAGAZINE It introduced me to a lot of great musicians and actors and opened a lot of doors. But I don’t think it changed my life significantly.” Bingham is accustomed to hanging on for the ride. Raised in rural Texas, he spent his teen years traveling the rodeo circuit 16 MARCH/APRIL 2011 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE M mag 23_cs6.indd 16 12/6/12 9:18 PM.

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