Robert Levon Been (born August 22, 1977), previously known by the stage name Robert Turner, is an American musician and singer. He is currently a member of the rock band

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (sometimes abbreviated to BRMC) is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The group originally consisted of Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocals, bass, guitar), and Ni ...

and was, for a time, a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player in a band known as The Beggars, going under the name "Robert Locke". He is the son of

Michael Been Michael Kenneth Been (March 17, 1950 – August 19, 2010) was an American rock musician who achieved critical attention and rotation play on MTV in the 1980s with his band The Call. He later released an album of his solo work and toured with hi ...

of The Call, and appeared as bassist on his father's 1994 solo album ''On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough''. His father suffered a fatal heart attack in 2010 while working as a sound engineer during the

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...

festival in Belgium, where BRMC were appearing. Robert Been used the pseudonym 'Robert Turner' on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's first two records, in an attempt not to be linked to his father. He later dropped this identity when promoting their third album, ''Howl''. In 2013, BRMC covered his father's song "Let The Day Begin" on their album ''Specter at the Feast''. Later that year, he appeared in two concerts with a reunited The Call, taking his father's place on bass and vocals.

Musical Equipment

Been is also known for his heavily distorted bass sound provided by his hollow-bodied

Epiphone Rivoli The Epiphone Rivoli was a semi-hollowbody electric bass guitar designed by Gibson and built by Epiphone in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1959 until 1970. From 1993 until 1999, the model was reissued as a part of the Korean-Japanese Epiphone line. Ori ...

basses. On how he acquired his first one, Been says "I got my first one because it was all I could afford. I couldn’t afford to go to Guitar Center! I found this pawn shop in San Francisco, and it was the only bass on the wall apart from modern plastic things. It was $800, and had loads of scars all over it. I complained to the guy that it was scratched and a bit messed up. He didn’t know basses at all, and I was “complaining” about the things I really loved about it! I knocked him down to 400 bucks." He has exclusively used variants of the

Ampeg SVT The Ampeg SVT is a bass guitar amplifier designed by Bill Hughes and Roger Cox for Ampeg and introduced in 1969. The SVT is a stand-alone amplifier or "head" as opposed to a "combo" unit comprising amp and speaker(s) in one cabinet, and was capab ...

amplifier for both guitar and bass live and in the studio. He also plays guitar on a number of songs, most popularly "Berlin" and "Beat the Devil's Tattoo" and piano on several tracks, most notably "Promise".

Playing Style

Been prefers to play with a pick and makes use of chords and open strings while strumming. His "booming," overdriven tone is a central part of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's sound. He achieves this sound through layering multiple distortion boxes and with a very aggressive playing style. He plays melodically and has cited

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings w ...

as the foremost influence on his playing, noting that "His parts seemed 'fightable.' And certain things from

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

and Verve records. I tend to be more aggressive than those though, that's my American side. Hendrix records, Nirvana… they all have bass that really inspires me."Profile
www2.gibson.com; accessed March 31, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Been, Robert Levon 1977 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock singers American indie rock musicians Black Rebel Motorcycle Club members Singers from California People from Felton, California Guitarists from California 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers it:Robert Levon Been