Earlier this month, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, which was released in August 2001 via Warner Bros. Records, Beautiful Creatures uploaded Unapologetic Rock-N-Roll – a sold out show filmed in 2003 at The Key Club on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California – during which the band played the Beautiful Creatures album live in its entirety.

Beautiful Creatures was comprised of vocalist Joe LeSte, lead guitarist DJ Ashba, rhythm guitarist Anthony Focx, bassist Kenny Kweens, and drummer Glen Sobel. Kweens and Focx recently participated in an exclusive Q&A with BraveWords scribe Aaron Small, discussing Unapologetic Rock-N-Roll, which can be viewed below. 

Why did this stay hidden away for so long?

Kweens: “It was the last performance with the original lineup. Right after it was recorded, we as a band were moving on with different members. We didn’t feel like it was right to put it out at the time, so we put it in the vault. Then I think it was at the last NAMM Convention in Anaheim, DJ, myself and Glen Sobel were all there at the bar in the hotel lounge, just talking about the band, and what we could do when this anniversary came. We had some really cool ideas, one of the ideas was to take this and edit it, and have it come out.”

When you were playing this show, did you know that it would be the last concert with the original lineup? 

Focx: “I guess no. Going in, we didn’t know what to expect. It could have went one way or the other. DJ was the first to quit the band; it was soon after that show. Glen was with the band a while longer, he even played on some of the songs on the second record (Deuce, released in 2005). He played on ‘Brand New Day’ and ‘Thanks’.”

Everybody looks like they’re having a ton of fun on stage at The Key Club; Beautiful Creatures appears to be a band in their prime, all smiles.

Focx: “Yeah, it was fun. We were kicking ass! When it sounds good and you’re playing the music you love, it’s going to show in your face.”

Tell me about the decision to release this concert for free on YouTube, as opposed to selling it as a Blu-Ray, DVD, or digital stream. 

Kweens: “This is for the fans; this is a celebration. We didn’t do this to make money, because then everybody’s got their hand out. It was a true passion piece. You can’t do everything for the love of money, sometimes you do it for the love of it.”

Will this spur any new music from Beautiful Creatures? Is there a third album in the works?

Focx: “Maybe. I don’t know if it’ll be an album? Artists don’t do that much anymore, they just release a song at a time. Maybe we will do an EP? We do have recorded music. There are songs sitting there… maybe if the time’s right. We’ll see.”

It was a complete surprise to see Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed join Beautiful Creatures on stage as part of Unapologetic Rock-N-Roll for two songs: “Time & Time Again” and “New Orleans”. Was this a one-off, or had Dizzy played with BC previously?

Kweens: “I wanna say this was the first and last time. We only played the full set if we were doing a headlining situation, like when we toured Japan etc; we didn’t take Dizzy there. It was probably Joe's (LeSte – vocalist) idea, cause they were long time friends. We love Dizzy!”

What was the impetus for capturing this show on film in 2003?

Kweens: “My friend, Sean Reed, who is a producer now, doing real well. Back then, it was just something he wanted to do. He came to me and said, ‘I want to put a crew together and film the show.’ We agreed, and it just happened. None of it was super planned out.”

The setlist for the live show, which includes every song from the self-titled debut, works just as well as the running order of songs on the album; yet they’re completely different.

Kweens: “Thank you, cause I made the setlist. It was my job. But yeah, it flows well. It comes at you swinging, then it kind of eases down a little bit with 'Time & Time Again'. When ‘New Orleans’ comes in, it almost sounds like we’re in a small little bar; because it’s got a southern rock feel to it. Then all hell breaks loose again. The show almost starts over with ‘1 A.M.’ And the ending, ‘Kick Out’, that was always the perfect closer.”

Did you ever toy with the idea of re-releasing the first Beautiful Creatures album for the 20th anniversary as a deluxe version, or did Warner Bros. put a roadblock in the way? 

Kweens: “Right, exactly. I’ve been trying to get it digital. Not re-release it, or anything else. Just get it on iTunes and Spotify, etc. I don’t know why this is so difficult. When DJ (Ashba – lead guitarist) and I were talking about doing something for this year, we had three things we wanted to do. One was play a show, make an event out of it. He had a lot of great ideas! The second thing was release the live video, and the other was to get the music digitally released. So, we got one out of the three. It would be cool for that first record to be licensed by someone and have it put out on vinyl. I think that might happen. I’ve been approached by some people, so we’ll see.”