Blacklist Union
Celebrates Release of their debut album “After The Mourning ”
By Laura Phillips
Photos by Robert John
There’s a new Blacklist Union sign above the entrance of Whisky a Go Go celebrating their highly anticipated 4-17 debut release of After the Mourning. All Access Magazine recently caught up with Blacklist Union’s front-man Tony West following their sensational rock show at El Rey Theatre where along with Tony West on lead vocals, Mark Fain, lead guitar, backup vocals; Joey B, bass; and Moon Hills, drums who simply amazed the audience with their breathtaking stage presence. Blacklist Union regularly plays and headlines the A-List Hollywood Clubs because of their talent, enthusiasm, and ability to draw 200+ after being together only a little over a year. With a fan-base that’s continuously growing thanks to strong support and appreciation for their pure rock sound, it’s just a matter of time before Blacklist Union gets signed to a major label deal.
The Blacklist Union performance record includes The Key Club, The House of Blues (Hollywood), The Viper Room, The Roxy and The Gig. Sat. April 15, the Roxy will be the venue for Blacklist Union’s debut CD release party for After the Mourning that is dedicated to the memory of Bianca, (Betty Blowtorch). Blacklist Union’s debut album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Chris Johnson, and Jamie Mitchell directed and produced a promotional video of the title song, written in Bianca’s (Betty Blowtorch) memory. Go to www.blacklistunion.com and www.myspace.com/blacklistunion for further information on Blacklist Union and to order their debut release. Free tickets are available for the Blacklist Union CD Release Party at the Roxy on Sunset in Hollywood. E-mail info@blacklistunion.com with name and contact information along with number of tickets requested to attend.
AAM: How does it feel to be he front man for a band that has achieved so much in a short period of time?
Tony West (TW): I feel absolutely blessed for everything we have going on to tell you the truth but this is only the beginning. We work hard at what we do as a band and we aren’t going to stop until the preevoost pulls up to pick us up- if you can dig it. 
Besides we have all been around the block and we’re not rookies anymore. We know what we have to do to make it.
AAM: How does it feel to be playing at all the A-list Hollywood clubs along with your most recent show being the El Rey Theatre?
TW: It feels pretty F*%kin rad to tell you the truth. But we are getting those clubs because we are getting the people through the door. We are doing about 220/250 people per show which in Hollywood is pretty god dam good, if I do say so myself. People are dying for real rock n roll now a days, and if you are a fan of Blacklist Union that’s exactly what you are gonna get- A KICK ASS ROCK N ROLL SHOW… FOR REAL! It seems that there are a lot of bands in this town that have the hype but lack delivery. Well we deliver the goods, I can assure you my friend!
AAM: How incredible of an experience was it recording with Chris Johnson?
TW: AMAZING! Chris is a long time friend of mine; I have known him since I was 17. I have always respected and admired him and his work. And now after 10+ years of knowing him, we got to record an incredible record together. It was an absolute pleasure working with him.
AAM: How would you describe the title song and general album theme for “After The Mourning”?
TW: "After The Mourning” HUH! There is a lot to be said about that but let me tell you this. I dated one of the most beautiful rock n roll goddesses that ever walked the planet earth. We went through a lot of emotional traumatic experiences in the short time we dated. She was 10+ years my senior year and had much more life experience than I did that’s for sure. I handled some situations wrong and we were in a flight when all of a sudden she was killed in a drunk driving accident. It took a good 3 years before I was able to get back on my feet and carry on the torch once again. This song and album is dedicated to that woman who was a true angel and who’s death saved my life. That woman was Bianca from BETTY BLOWTORCH. So now I finally feel I can move on with my life after mourning for a long time.
AAM: Was "Dying To Live " written to honor lost friends of Blacklist Union?
TW: Bianca was again the inspiration for that song as well, as were many other people that we lost along the way. 
CARRIE HAMILTON, WEST ARKEEN, DEREK FRIGO, ROXY MICHAELS, JD FROM DRAGONFLY, DEE DEE RAMONE, I could go on and on. Our time here is short and basically we need to grab life by the balls and go for whatever it is you want to go for. When Bianca died a lot of people had opinions about her and me, and a lot of them still do to this day. But I can tell you this, when Bianca and I were lying in bed together it was only us in that bed. All the people that go around hating and talking shit are pathetic and besides like they say, opinions are like assholes, everybody has one!
AAM: "Please Kill Me " Describes a victim of a broken heart, which I assume is going to be on your album along with "Dying To Live"? Also since "Beauty In Disguise" and "I Tried " are also popular Blacklist Union songs, Will they also be included on your debut release, and what was their inspiration?
TW: Yeah all those songs are on the record that’s for sure! As far as the inspiration for “Please Kill Me”. Anyone who has been in that much pain and felt that much heartache knows, they just wanted to die, right? No matter how much you try to be there for someone and love someone, sometimes it’s just never enough, and it nearly kills you breaking away from all that drama. Then you find yourself begging God for your number to be up. "Beauty In Disguise" is for all those people that try to look hard as nails and try to be all tough and shit when there really just BIG softies inside, you know what I’m saying? “I Tried” was actually lyrically and musically written by Mark our guitarist. Usually Mark writes the music and I write the lyrics and we collaborate on arrangements & melodies. Well this song was an exception, because this is an exceptional song. Actually its one of my favorites. Anyway Mark wrote this a tribute to his parents who passed away a few years back. He devoted this song and played it for me and I was blown away. It’s deep and very beautiful. Much like my brother from another mother, Mr Mark Fain… Does that make me gay? HA HA HA!!! YEAH RIGHT!!!!
AAM: Are there any special surprises on "After The MOURNING" that you can let our readers in on?
TW: YEAH threes naked pictures of me in the CD booklet…HA, HA. No only f#%kin around! We aren’t one of those bands with a gimmick- Like the great Steven Tyler & Joe Perry always say, “Let The Music Do The Talking” All the lyrics will be in there though, so that’s kinda cool.
AAM: Where can fans buy “After The Mourning” and what kind of distribution deal do you have on the album?
TW: Right now at the point you can buy it on our website or at our shows. We are basically shopping an already finished major quality record and all a label needs to do is stamp the mother f%&ker and put it out. Trust me we have been offered some deals already but they were record “steals” NOT record “deals”! So we are going to do it on our own for now and make so much noise on our own that it will be impossible to ignore us. Trust me the way that Mark and I write and, the way we work so hard, we are a records companies dream! The official release date is APRIL the 17TH.
AAM: Tony the video you shot for your title song, After The Mourning” was dedicated to Jamie Mitchell and was shot on the rooftop of a building in Hollywood. How cool was that and, would you care to elaborate?
TW: The video & EPK (ELECTRIC PRESS KIT) were both shot by Jamie Mitchell and they can actually both be viewed at www.myspace.com/blacklistunion! The actual process was awesome and we enjoyed it very much! Jaime is a great guy and personal friend, he is also a fan of ours and we are a fan of his. He did some great work for panic channel, which is Dave Navarro’s new band. Once we saw the work he did for Dave we were sold!
AAM: How would you currently describe “Blacklist Union” and how do you live true to your name?
TW: Blacklist Union is a “ kick ass back to basics- no gimmick rock n roll band”. That knows a thing or two about hooks, that’s for sure. We don’t follow trends and we are carving our own path. We stay true to who we are as people and artist; we make no apologies for it!
AAM: As far as promotional tools, how important has the Internet been to your rapidly growing fan base?
TW: MY SPACE has been a huge promotional tool for us. It’s f&%kin genius to tell you the truth! Our website is also a big part but seriously my space is where its at! You can hear the music and see what we look like and do worldwide networking - its AMAZING, everythings there! We are selling merchandize and CD’s through our site and we even give away FREE tickets to our shows, so the Internet is HUGE!
AAM: What about your hotline (323) 252-8719 along with the Blacklist Union street team?
TW: Thanks to MY SPACE, we have a world wide street team which we call, The Blacklist Army”. These are people that believe in us and in our music and had out flyers for our shows, make phone calls and other things. We are very grateful to all the “Blacklist Army” recruits. They really help us out a lot. If you need more info you can always call the hotline.
AAM: How important has word of mouth been for Blacklist Union?
TW: Well, word of mouth is extremely important! I mean look what it has done for "ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS" for Christ sake. But you know in Hollywood-Tinsel town, word spreads like wildfire around here, good or bad. Fortunately it’s all good except for the usual haters that have nothing better to do but hate everything and everyone because they really hate themselves and hate, hate, hate! That’s all they know… should I drop a few names?
AAM: What about simply putting on a killer rock show?
TW: Well that’s our specialty really. I can tell you that if you come to see us that’s exactly what you are going to get, a kick ass high-energy rock n roll show that sounds just as good as the CD, if not better. I mean how annoying is it when you go see a band your digging and the band sounds like Axl and the MTV award that shit sux!
AAM: How does it feel when members of bands that you have listed as influences show up at one of your shows?
TW: I am honored to be getting recognized by artist I have always looked up to that’s for sure and it’s awesome seeing members from GUNS, JANES, BUCKCHERRY and so on. But when it comes down too it, we are all about the same thing, “Kick Ass Rock N Roll!
AAM: How do you plan to celebrate your debut release of “After The Mourning”?
TW: We are having an album release party April 21st at the Roxy on sunset, Hollywood. Email us for FREE tix at info@blacklistunion.com with your full name, mailing address and how many tickets your need and we will mail them to you.
AAM: What do you see in Blacklist Union’s future?
TW: I see us making a whole lotta noise and being impossible to ignore!
AAM: Do you have any closing comments?
TW: First of all I just want to thank everyone for all their support they have shown us and I want to thank the people that actually have integrity and follow through with what they say they are going to do. We had so many people blow smoke up our ass about one thing or another so the ones that are true, we are very, very grateful for. Also I just want people to come down to our shows listen to our music and find out what all the noise is about. We got hype but we also deliver, that’s a rare feature in the City of Angels nowadays.
Story by Laura Phillips
Photos by Robert John
