Just days before a tour was to begin in December 2002, guitarist Ben Eberbaugh was driving a car when he was struck by a drunk driver and killed.

They were wise enough to have Stone Cold remastered with the channels flipped from the original two track mix ~ a clever way to avoid legal trouble from a keen producer.

After his untimely death in 2002, Ben's legacy was filled by Jack Hines, a friend of the band members, and they recorded their second studio album, We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow, with him.

Ian St. Pé, who at the time was enrolled at the University of Memphis as a music major, got a call from the band asking if he wanted to immediately join them on tour.

Pé, who spent his early twenties buying alcohol for his then-underage future bandmates, dropped out of school and accepted the band's offer.

The band got exposure in The New York Times[7] during the 2007 South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in which they played a dozen shows over a three-day period.

Responding to such allegations, Swilley has stated that Reis recorded the show live with a soundboard, microphones, and a computer placed strategically near the stage.

The Black Lips made their American national television debut in October 2007 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and played "O Katrina".

[11] In October 2008 a portion of the band's song "Veni Vidi Vici" was played during the season premiere episode of the television show Dirty Sexy Money, shown on the American network ABC.

Following some antics at their show in Chennai, the band became worried about being arrested and imprisoned for "homosexual acts" so they fled the city and eventually the country.

The band summed up what happened in an interview at the musical festival: "they kissed, and some weiners were pulled out..." Vice Records documented the trip.

[14] After the band left India, they traveled to Berlin, Germany and recorded a 12-song LP of gospel-influenced songs with King Khan & BBQ.

[15][16] The Black Lips released their fifth studio album, 200 Million Thousand, on February 24, 2009, on Vice Records,with the help of Zach, Meredith, and Austin.

[24] The Black Lips are noted for provocative theatrics – including vomiting (Cole's medical condition), urination, nudity, electric R.C.

These have been inspired by the "punk-before-punk" Viennese Actionism movement in Austria and the infamous actionist hardcore punk musician GG Allin according to Alexander.

[31] St. Pe also plays guitar in another band called Diamond Rugs, which features members of Deer Tick, Dead Confederate, Los Lobos, and Six Finger Satellite.

[36] Three Black Lips, Cole Alexander (vocals), Jared Swilley (bass) and Joe Bradley (keyboards), perform as ghost-rock band The Spooks.