Black Swan - Sophomore Excellence

By Mark Kadzielawa

 Black Swan is an exciting new band.  It features some established heavy hitters from the past, but the music is nothing but fresh and blooming with dynamics.  Robin McAuley, Reb Beach, Jeff Pilson, and Matt Starr make up Black Swan.  

The band released their sophomore album, Generation Mind, and it's definitely one of the best melodic hard rock records of the year!  Black Swan just gets better by each album, so there's certainly more great things to come.

Robin, what have you been up to over the last year?

Doing Great!  Recorded and released the second Black Swan record, Generation Mind.  The record went into charts, and is getting amazing reviews.

Before we dive into your professional career, let's go back a bit.  What first got you hooked on music?

I always wanted to be a drummer and saw Thin Lizzy when I was 12 years old.  I listened to Motown, and just loved the melodies and great memorable hook lines and lyrics.  I guess I just hoped that one day I might also be able to make music.

Who were some of your early influences?

Definitely the sound of Motown.  That was a huge influence on me.  Then I discovered Paul Rodgers and Free, and from there I was hooked on hard rock music.  I try to listen to a good cross section of music from Irish traditional to classical, Zeppelin, and so on.  I like whatever sounds good.  It is of course subjective but ultimately I love strong melodies and big choruses.

Let's talk about the new record, take me through the writing and recording of Black Swan's latest effort.

Jeff and Reb got together and began the writing process after which they'd send the music to me for the lyrics and melodies.  I would take my ideas to Jeff and after some pre-production we'd start recording.  Generation Mind was born out of the collaboration between Jeff, Reb, and myself.

Given the fact that most supergroups don't last long, what is it about Black Swan that allowed the group to stay together and release another stunning album? Shake the World was a great first record from Black Swan, and I don't think any of us like the supergroup reference attached to the line up.  We set out to write great music together.  Music that we enjoy playing and listening to.  On Generation Mind I think we achieved that cohesive band sound that is very Black Swan, and the production reflects it very much.  It's fresh sounding, high energy and fun.  We're not caught up in having to sound particular way because the label put us together.  this is who we are as a band. You're no stranger to writing with fantastic guitar players.  You work with Michael Schenker attests to that.  Tell me about you songwriting relationship with Reb Beach? One word...amazing!  Reb is such an incredibly talented guitarist.  Full of melody and technique, and on this record he really shines in a way that easily puts him up there with the best.  He influences my songwriting in so many ways. Black Swan's rhythm section of Jeff Pilson and Matt Starr is formidable.  What do they bring into the band? Well, you just have to listen to these two powerhouses together and you hear what is going down.  Jeff is an amazing bass player, producer, singer, and songwriter.  matt brings the thunder!  He listens to the song and plays just what is needed.  Together they are a very powerful rhythm section. The production on this record is crisp.  What more can you tell us regarding the production and engineering side of things? This is Jeff doing what Jeff Pilson does best.  He's an amazing producer and an engineer.  Jeff hears things so that you the listener can also hear it.  Alessandro Del Vecchio also does a masterful job mixing, just like he did on Shake The World.   What's next for you Robin? I'm doing a tour with Michael Schenker in Europe.  After that, I'm coming back home to Los Angeles, and begin working on my sophomore solo record.  Standing On The Edge was so well received that it's time to make another record.