GNR in their DNA

For the Montell Jordans, news that Guns N’ Roses is regrouping at Coachella could go either way.

“I know that time in history will never be re-created,” says guitarist Ryan Baghai. “But we want to pay homage to that rock-and-roll culture. Those guys were rock stars. We loved that culture even though we know how cheesy it was.”

That’s why Baghai and singer/rhythm guitarist Tim Kilcourse formed the Montell Jordans. From the suggestive cover of their new album, Sweater Puppies, to their retro-rock songs, there is a little GNR in their DNA.

“Guns N’ Roses is just one of our influences,” says Kilcourse. “Our goal is to bring back the rock-and-roll culture from that era with real drums, guitar solos, chorus, and hooks.”

But seeing GNR almost 30 years later?

“I don’t know,” says Baghai. “I have an image of them in 1987, around Appetite for Destruction. It could go really wrong. They are all in their 50s now. I don’t want to be alive to see a Guns N’ Roses nostalgia act.”

Kilcourse says too many bands nowadays don’t seem to be having fun.

“We think people want to rock again,” Kilcourse says. “We have found from playing around that there is a market for that. I used to do the indie/folk/pop thing in a band that was inspired by Kings of Leon. But it didn’t come naturally. This is more true to what we are about. Our goal is to get a fun party vibe that makes girls take their tops off at concerts again.”

Next month the band shoots a video for a Sweater Puppies tune called “I’m Not Your Father, But You Can Call Me Daddy.” To direct, Kilcourse says the band is flying out a longtime friend who now lives in Brooklyn: Miles Soboleski.

“He was a videographer on all the videos that Fall Out Boy made for their [2013] album Save Rock and Roll that had cameos by Elton John, Tommy Lee, and Courtney Love. We’re going to shoot it at an old creepy cabin we found in Julian. We’re using the girl who was on the cover of our album as the main actor. The video is about her being captured by a murderer/rapist, but in the end there’s a twist. It turns out she’s the murderer. It was inspired by an episode of Dateline we saw.”

So far, they have not heard from the rapper-turned-preacher they named themselves after.

“We couldn’t think of a band name,” says Kilcourse. “I jokingly said, ‘This is how we do it.’ Then came, ‘Why not the Montell Jordans?’ Everyone chuckled when they heard it. The only confusion we get is when people ask us, ‘Are you an R&B band or a New Jack City band?’”

The Montell Jordans’ CD-release party for Sweater Puppies is Monday, February 1, at the Casbah.