Robert Levon Been

Been is also known for his heavily distorted bass sound provided by his hollow-bodied Epiphone Rivoli basses. On how he acquired his first one, Been says "I got my first one because it was all I could afford. I couldn’t afford to go to Guitar Center! I found this pawn shop in San Francisco, and it was the only bass on the wall apart from modern plastic things. It was $800, and had loads of scars all over it. I complained to the guy that it was scratched and a bit messed up. He didn’t know basses at all, and I was “complaining” about the things I really loved about it! I knocked him down to 400 bucks."

His father suffered a fatal heart attack in 2010 while working as a sound engineer during the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, where BRMC were appearing. Robert Been used the pseudonym 'Robert Turner' on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's first two records, in an attempt not to be linked to his father. He later dropped this identity when promoting their third album, "Howl". In 2013, BRMC covered his father's song 'Let The Day Begin' on their album Specter at The Feast. Later that year, he appeared in two concerts with a reunited The Call, taking his father's place on bass and vocals.

Robert Levon Been (born August 22, 1978), previously known by the stage name Robert Turner, is an American musician and singer. He is currently a member of the rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and was, for a time, a bass player in a band known as The Beggars, going under the name 'Robert Locke'. He is the son of Michael Been of The Call, and appeared as bassist on his father's 1994 solo album, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough.