The Black Lips

Since signing with Vice Records last fall, the Black Lips have drawn increasing attention for their unfettered brand of rock ‘n’ roll. But for the group’s major-label debut, it chose to introduce itself with a live album, with plans to release a proper full-length later this year. Drummer Joe Bradley describes the making of Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo (The Brave of the New World), which was recorded at a riotous concert in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sept. 6.

“We tried to think of an appropriate place to do a live album. So we were, like, ‘How about Tijuana?’

“[Vice Records] booked this club called Salón Social Blanco y Negro. ... They got so much tequila and offered it free inside the club ... so any derelict or crazy person who walked by the club that night could come in for free and get wasted.

“[The club] was a huge room, but the stage was really small — 6 inches off the ground, and in the middle of the room itself. ... So we were completely surrounded by drunk and crazy people while we were playing. [Vice] also hired this mariachi band ... to play in between some of our songs.

“Everyone would be going nuts and the mariachi band would start playing. And everyone would crowd up on stage and sing along because they were playing traditional folk songs. And then [the mariachi band] would back off and we would start playing and everyone would start going nuts, trying to rip our [guitar] cords out and push us down [off the stage]. So we started headbutting, punching and kicking. Our bass player [Jared Swilley] kept [threatening] them with his bass. He’d lift it up, like ‘Arrgh!’, to keep them back. It was pretty ridiculous. ... So we cut it off and let the mariachi band finish it up.”