I never thought I would interview a band that has a name directly influenced by ‘Gramercy Riffs” from The Warriors movie! here is the one and only Black Mercy Riffs from sunny California to tell you their story!

TheNwothm: Greetings Black Mercy Riffs! Can you tell us who is in the band and where you are from?

Riot Rob: Hey dude, thanks for having us. I’m Riot Rob, I’m the rhythm guitarist and lead singer. And we also got Fabio on lead guitar and Uli The Tyrant on lead bass. And we’re from Los Angeles, California! Our drummer did recently leave due to a conflict of interest, but we do got a few dudes interested who we’re trying out!

Fabio- Sup man!

TheNwothm: You have been around since 2019 so how did you form?

Riot Rob:The shortest version of that story that I can give you is the former drummer and I were in a different band where we lost our lead guitarist and bassist. He ended up finding Fabio on craigslist (Fabio was on there looking for a drummer for a band HE was in at that time; WHAT WERE THE ODDS), we end up finding an old friend who could hop in on bass, and boom. Black Mercy Riffs was born. Fast forward to 2023, and our buddy on bass has to leave the band. And that’s alright, life happens, man. I think that’s when Fabio ends up finding Uli. Also through craigslist.…… Thanks, craigslist. 🙏

Uli The Tyrant: He didn’t find me on Craigslist dawg. It was through some musicians-looking-for-musicians group on Facebook

Fabio: I actually found both Kenny and Uli on Facebook. I found Kenny because I was looking for a drummer for my band at the time (Warchief) and ended up just jamming and coming up with different ideas. It was cool.

Uli The Tyrant: Fu*king Rob🤦‍♂️

TheNwothm: And how did you choose Black mercy Riffs as your band name?

Riot Rob: I actually love this question. You ever see the movie, ‘The Warriors’? The old drummer and I were casually talking about that movie one night.Fantastic movie. Anyway, if you don’t already know, there’s a whole bunch of cliques, or gangs, in the movie. The Warriors being one of them.And there’s a separate gang in the movie, called ‘Gramercy Riffs’. I remember the old drummer and I commenting that THAT sounded cool.And I mentioned I wanted to have the word ‘Black’ in our new band’s name. All the cool bands have ‘black’ in their name, like Black Sabbath! Why not us if it works? So we kinda just slapped it together and ended up with what you know us as now,‘Black Mercy Riffs’.

TheNwothm: You seem to mix hardrock and heavy metal together to create your hard- hitting sound? So where do you get your influences from?

Riot Rob: Dude, our influences come from everywhere. I’m particularly into Zeppelin, Motley Crue, Metallica, Motorhead, Ratt, a whole bunch of stuff.

Uli The Tyrant: Yeah Rob is more into the hair metal/glam metal section of influences which is badass. I bring more of that classic heavy metal style like Judas Priest, Ozzy solo stuff, Black Sabbath (Ozzy & Dio era), Rainbow, but even some Beatles & Fleetwood Mac thrown in there too👀

Fabio: yea we all pretty much have the same influences one way or another. I’m more on the hard rock stuff I guess, ac/dc, guns n roses, kiss etc.

TheNwothm: You guys are from Los Angeles, California in the US! There are so many famous bars and clubs there! What is your opinion of the current scene in your area and have you rocked any of those places?

Riot Rob: yeah there’s a lot.

Uli The Tyrant: I think what my boy is trying to say is that just like New York, LA is riddled with a bunch of famous, legendary venues. The beautiful thing about LA is that it’s just a big melting pot of different musical genres flourishing within the county. Of course every area has their most popular genre, for example the Harbor Area (San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Long Beach, etc) cater to more thrash/punk/hardcore bands whereas Hollywood caters to more rock ’n’ roll bands. 

San Gabriel Valley and downtown LA I’d say cater to NWOTHM and black metal. Inland Empire (Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino, etc) caters to more alt rock and goth. So on and so forth. We’ve been fortunate enough to have performed at the Viper Room, the Rainbow and Universal Bar & Grill so far!

Riot Rob: It’s true, there’s a lot of cool spots all over LA. On the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, you still got a lot of bands performing all the time. And now that summer is right around the corner, there’s always something going on every week. I think the scene is pretty cool. I’m still discovering a bunch of badass new bands who perform on The Strip.

TheNwothm: You put out your first single “Lean! Mean! LoveMachine” back in 2019! What is the song about and where did you get inspiration for it at the time?

Riot Rob: That song is pretty much about sex. When I wrote the main riff, I was listening to a lot of Motorhead at the time. But lyrically, I just asked myself, “Hmmm… What does everybody like?”I thought sex might be a safe bet, and I just had some fun with the lyrics… Nothing too vulgar or direct, like Steel Panther, haha!But I do love me some Steel Panther.

TheNwothm: When you guys write music do you do it in a room together or share ideas online? Who is the main songwriter of the band?

Uli The Tyrant: I’m not sure how the process was before I joined the band but so far, we just record riffs through our phones and send the recordings to each other. Then the other would add to it and we just collectively work on an idea together at our each individual convenient time. Then sometimes we meet at Fabio’s house where we have a laptop and interface and start fleshing out & structuring the song more.

Riot Rob: Yeah, dude. I was the main contributor to songs closer to 2019, just because the songs were already there. I just had a handful of songs from that band before Black Mercy Riffs, and everyone just added their own jazz over my rhythm guitar anyway. But now we’re trying out the interface approach to help us write things out more easily, and record badass riffs on the spot before we forget the riff! 

TheNwothm: And can you tell us a little bit about each of yourselves?

Uli The Tyrant: I’m a very passionately verbal, no filter-kinda dude who gives very little fucks lol I tend to speak my mind and that usually gets me in trouble. I try to translate that over into my songwriting and bass playing, as well as stage performance.

Riot Rob: Yep, I think Uli translates that passion on stage fairly well. As for me, when I’m not writing or rehearsing with the guys, you can probably find me working out. Not because I want to, but mainly because I HAVE to, thanks to that song you mentioned earlier, ‘Lean! Mean! Love Machine’. Think about it; it would not be cool if you saw me up on stage singing ‘I’m your Lean Mean Love Machine’, and you see me all fat and out of shape. People would be like “This dude is lying, he’s totally NOT lean, at all. Let’s leave.”

Fabio: hahaha and I tend to be a laid back dude. I like to have a few cold ones and listen to music and talk about music. I also have a family that’s very supportive of me. My little girl loves our music and is always asking when can kids go to a show. I like to practice guitar everyday and come up with cool ideas to show the guys.

TheNwothm: Ok so I want to know out of all the band members, who drinks the most, who gets all the attention, who is the serious one and who spends the most time brushing their hair!

Uli The Tyrant: I’d say Fabio is on his way towards getting alcohol poisoning, Rob gets all the attention for the wrong reasons, and I’m the most mature boring individual in the band….

Nah just fucking with you. Fabio already got alcohol poisoning and nobody gives a fuck about Rob … just kidding again haha. I’d point the finger at Fabio when it comes to being serious, & that’s towards how to present the band. Rob is the goofball and I just feed off of his vibe. Rob cares the most about image so that motherfucker spends the most time grooming his hair and pubes.

Fabio: like I said, I enjoy having a few cold ones haha

Riot Rob: Yeah, I think Fabio’s on his second liver transplant. The first one couldn’t keep up.

And as for me… I think Uli is right; I think I do brush my hair the most hahaha!

TheNwothm: Your three track self titled EP came in 2019 which includes your previously released “Lean! Mean! LoveMachine.” What is the theme of the EP and do you each have favourite song?

Uli The Tyrant: I’m the new guy in the band so I had nothing to do with the EP or the debut album Laid To Rest. However, if I have to pick a favourite song I’d hands down pick the title track “Black Mercy Riffs.” That song is what sold me into joining these douchebags when they were looking for a new bassist.

Fabio: Yeah, two of those songs were already written when I came to the band which were Lean, Mean, Love Machine and High Noon. All I did was add my flavour to them. The song BLACK MERCY RIFFS was a riff I had for a while and I just showed them and we all put our touch on it and it came out fun to play.

Riot Rob: You know what, they’re all very fun songs for me to do, but I think the song Black Mercy Riffs is my favorite track from our EP.

TheNwothm: Your music has so much swagger so what is your setup and what models of guitars/bass/ drums etc do you play?

Uli The Tyrant: I got me a pretty sweet setup that cost me an arm and a dick to afford but all worth it because it has given me the bass tone I’ve sought out for for years. I got an American Standard Fender jazz bass with EMG JV52 jazz pickups, played through a Fender Rumble 500 combo amp accompanied by its 2×10 extension cab. Gives a FAT tone. Can never go wrong with Fender. And I got me an oversized pedal board holding only 3 pedals: an MXR Ten Band EQ pedal, Empress Bass Compressor pedal, and a Polytune True Buffer Tuner pedal. 

Fabio: I play a Gibson Les Paul standard gold top played through a marshall jcm 2000 100w, and a marshall cab loaded with greenbacks. My pedalboard is pretty basic. I have a tuner, Ibanez tube screamer, noise gate and an EQ pedal. Gives a good hard rock/heavy tone that I like at the moment.

Riot Rob: I have a pretty simple setup as well. I play a black Epiphone Custom Pro through a 100Watt Bugera Infinium 6262. The only pedals I use are a noise gate, a tuner, and a boost pedal.

TheNwothm: Are you all self taught musicians or did you take lessons?

Riot Rob: I think we are all self taught. However, I’m taking vocal lessons now to learn more and refine my craft.

Uli The Tyrant: Yeah, I’m pretty much self taught like Robby said, but I’ve actively taken upon myself to pay for online bass lessons and bought books and have scoured the depths of YouTube to learn music theory and bass lessons and so forth to get better not just on the bass but as an overall well-rounded musician. All to say I suck ass.

Fabio: Yea I’m also self taught for the most part. Had lots of friends that showed me how to play songs and read tabs but just recently kinda’ve been trying to get the understanding of music theory and what more, to understand what I’m doing. Like for example I would sometimes come up with cool guitar phrases and not know I was doing some form of an arpeggio. So little things like that motivated me to take lessons.

TheNwothm: So last year you put out your first full length album! Made up of 9 tracks, can you give our readers a brief overview of each of the songs and tell us about the musical and lyrical themes of the records?

Riot Rob: Yeah dude, Black Mercy Riffs, album 1! Just to be brief, some of the themes of the songs include love, hate, hating to love, making your own road to walk, narcotics, and rockin’ the hell out. 

TheNwothm: Did you approach the production the same way you did with your previous releases?

Fabio: Actually, no. With our EP we had 100% creative freedom on just getting a recording out as we were just starting out. As for the album, we let the producer have more of a say so. He had a vision for a direction we would be great at. Which I think he did a good job. Shout out to TC!! And we come with open minds and ears. It was a fun record to do as well

TheNwothm: And the album work seems pretty dark with snakes and a hooded figure! What is it all about? Who created it for you?

Riot Rob: Ryan Bartlett is the name of the artist who helped us out with the art! His instagram is @ryaninthedust, in case anyone is seeking an artist. Go follow Ryan, tell him we said hello! 

TheNwothm: Thinking forward, what have you got planned for the rest of 2024? Any shows?

Uli The Tyrant: We have BIG plans moving forward for the band. We are currently songwriting, with the goal of redefining our sound. This new phase of Black Mercy Riffs is going to be badass! Can’t wait to present to the world what we got cooking.

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

Uli The Tyrant: They can head on over to blackmercyriffs.com for all of our merch and music.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackMercyRiffs

Bandcamp: https://blackmercyriffs.bandcamp.com/

They can also stay up to date to new gigs and announcements regarding the band on our website.

Fabio: We will have some vinyls coming out very soon too if you’d like a physical copy!

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Uli The Tyrant: Glad we got some fans of our music, we’re just excited to bring forth more heavy metal/hard rock to the masses. 

Riot Rob: Thanks for having us dude, it was cool! Definitely follow us on Insta, follow us on Spotify, and don’t forget to give our album a listen!