Hell for leather

It's mid-afternoon in the Beta Bar - a cool, but smoky, rock venue in Florida's laid-back state capital Tallahassee.

Between sound-checks, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are relaxing with cigarettes and energy drinks, looking forward to the next leg of their tour - which sees them fly to the UK.

"Life's great!" drawls singer-guitarist Peter. "I've got a tuna sandwich, Red Bull, cigarettes, and yes, a dollar in my pocket. I'm dealing with life!"

It's the day after Halloween, the anniversary of the band's formation back in San Francisco. Not that they have been celebrating, admits Peter: "We all just smiled and said we've made it another year! The plan was to survive but I had no idea how that was going to happen. Or how long it was going to last - or how much fun!"

Bursting on to the scene in 2001, Peter, singer-bass player Robert Levon Been, and Devon-born drummer Nick Jago rapidly acquired a solid reputation for their anthemic hard-edged, fuzzed-up space rock, which grew to take on blues and folk influences. While their albums are required listening for any self-respecting lover of psychedelic rock, the only way to capture the essence of the band, now based in Los Angeles, is to see them live - which is exactly what 1,000 of their fans will be doing when they rock up at the Carling Academy, Oxford, on Wednesday.

"It is important for us because we've been unable to capture what we do on record," says Peter. "So for people to 'get it' it's helpful if they come and see a show."

So how does he sum up the experience? "I guess it's not too much of a magic show. We try and keep it pretty simple: it's just lights, fog and bang! And I like a bit of a smoke."

Indeed, it's hard to imagine BRMC on stage without cigarettes glued to their mouths. And they are not relishing the prospect of being separated from their iconic ciggies in smoke-free England.

"I'll be ignoring it as much as possible," he says of the ban, completing the image of the rock and roll rebel.

"We just try and do things a little differently to the rest of the world. As far as capitalist society goes, we rebel against that."

The band have delivered their fair share of broadsides against the US establishment - most eloquently on second album Take Them On, On Your Own, which ripped into President George W. Bush.

"The only thing I know anything about is that lots of people are struggling to stay alive and put food on the table," says Peter. "Others are also struggling to get as much for themselves as they can get. But they can mess things up as much as they want as long as they keep out of our way. I don't care about being a rebel or an outsider. I just live my life how I want to."

The band take their name from Marlon Brando's biker gang in the classic 1953 movie The Wild One. And despite the trappings (boots and black leather) - and even a seminal appearance at the Hells' Angels Bulldog Bash festival near Stratford-upon-Avon, a few years ago, Peter admits they are no bikers: "I've got a broken down Harley, but don't really want to play up the whole motorcycle thing."

Wednesday's show follows the release of their latest album Baby 81. The album takes its name from a child admitted to hospital following the 2004 tsunami, who was claimed by nine different mothers. The record is also a return to noisy form for the band after their dalliance with folk on previous offering Howl.

"It makes sense to say that," says Peter. "We made rock and roll albums, then a slower one and now a louder one. But we stick to what we do."

So how do the lads feel about hitting the road again? "We'll be living on a bus. We'll be playing music and travelling with people that have become family. It's a nice sheltered world.

"We have learned to like each other but are all kinda' loners in a strange way too, so we also know how to leave each other alone when we need to. We can go a week on a bus without saying 'hi' to each other!"

And how do they unwind? "We don't wind up in the first place," he laughs. "Why would I be wound up?"

That's not to say they don't party, but they have no truck with the hard drugs which have taken their toll on friends and fellow rock bands: "That type of rock & roll is pretty played out. That junk kills solicitors and doctors as much as anyone else. It's nothing to brag about - there are businessmen in suits, strung out on crack and heroin, as much as rock 'n' rollers, and doctors go to strip clubs as much as musicians. There is nothing rock 'n' roll about it!"

Instead, Peter - who grew up on a farm in California - prefers to get away from everything by going back to his roots, and getting into the wilderness, such as northern Washington State: "I love farms and have a thing about getting out of the city. I like to see trees that don't have cement surrounding them.

"People always say 'I can't wait to get out of here'. I had the same thing when I was on the farm. But now I've done it, I want to go back!"

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play the Carling Academy on Wednesday. Tickets are £15. Call 0871 2200 260.