]]>What is it Jessie? Real People Sing "A Question"http://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2012/1/16/what-is-it-jessie-real-people-sing-a-question.htmlbombi2012-01-17T02:57:39ZIt's come to our attention that people around the YouTube-iverse are asking A Question.
There's Jessie:
Jaimy:
And there is Emily:
If you've been itching to ask A Question, we encourage you to do so right away and join the party!
You can find the chords in the comments section of this video.
Should you need advice regarding the actual asking of the Question, Bombadil is available for free consultation and related services. Just drop us a line.
Good luck to all you Questioners out there!
]]>Don't You Want to Hang Out with All These Beautiful People?http://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/12/17/dont-you-want-to-hang-out-with-all-these-beautiful-people.htmlbombi2011-12-18T04:43:57ZWhy not click "Like" below and join our Facebook club thingy?
]]>A Brief Biography of Bombadilhttp://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/12/8/a-brief-biography-of-bombadil.htmlbombi2011-12-09T02:00:42Z
File this under "in case you missed it": a recent issue of The Independent Weekly features a comprehensive history of the band, with the above illustration gracing its cover. Read about secret rehearsals, inside jokes, and the French way of life here.
]]>All That the Rain Promises is Out Today!http://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/11/8/all-that-the-rain-promises-is-out-today.htmlbombi2011-11-08T13:08:33Z
Our new album is out today!
If you haven't heard it yet, we would be honored for you to take a listen.
We sincerely hope you enjoy it.
You may purchase the album in both physical and digital formats here.
Bombadil is a completely fan-fueled operation–no PR machine, corporate sponsorships, or foundation grants driving this train–and so your support, dear internet surfer, means the world to us and helps us keep making music.
If you're able to spread the word, whether by sharing a link to the music on your social media network of choice, emailing a friend, or even just writing your congressman, we would be most grateful.
Thank you, as always, for listening.
James, Stuart, Daniel, Bryan
]]>Get to Know J Kutchma: An Interviewhttp://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/11/4/get-to-know-j-kutchma-an-interview.htmlbombi2011-11-04T12:08:00ZAs part of our effort to highlight the music of the folks we'll be sharing the stage with on November 12, we now bring you an interview with Jason Kutchma. I first met J at the now-defunct Joe and Jo's Pub in downtown Durham, and it was there that he told me about this band called Red Collar that he was trying to start. When I finally got to see the band, I was blown away.
Turns out his solo stuff is dynamite too. There's some kind of inherent badassery to a guy who pulls off something like this:
Anyways check out J's music and our conversation below, and make sure to come early on the 12th to see more.
Bombadil: Bands get asked all the time to describe what they're about. What is the music of J Kutchma NOT about?
JK: It's not about realizing that it's probably all a bunch of bullshit.
Bombadil: My English teacher once told me that F. Scott Fitzgerald said novelists basically spend their entire lives rewriting the same book over and over again. If that were true for songwriters, what's the one song you're perpetually refining?
JK: It's a great question. I don't know if it's true with music. If it is, my one song would probably be Red Collar's "Used Guitars." I haven't thought about it much but maybe I really do write lyrics from different angles of that song. Some days I feel like the protagonist. Other days, I'm the antagonist. Some days, I can't decide which is which. Some days I can't think about it at all.
Bombadil: What's your favorite way / place / person to find out about new music?
JK: I really enjoy The Whiskey in downtown Durham on Main Street. It's not necessarily 'new' music. But it's usually new to me.
Bombadil: Where'd you get those spurs anyways?
JK: I got them right before Red Collar made the first 'Van Road Trip'. Before that, all road trips were made using two and three cars. When you use a van, I don't know, you feel legit. Everyone's in it to win it. Shit gets serious.
It was our first trip to Texas for SXSW. I had been wearing combat boots for a while and thought it would be cool to put some spurs on them for a trip out West. I went to a Cowboy Western Store at Northgate Mall in Durham and asked the hunched aproned curmudgeon behind the counter if he had any spurs.
"Sure do."
And I saw them in the display case and I just knew.
When I got to the counter, I thought it would be cool to get another little piece of pizazz to go along with the spurs:
Umm, excuse me, but, um, do you have a sheriff's badge too? The old kind?
This wrinkled, sun worn old man looked at me and said:
"Naww...and we don't got the little toy gun to along with it either."
I put the spurs on the boots and something wasn't quite right. I wore them to Austin anyways, knowing they weren't done yet. You got to do that sometimes.
Parenthetical aside: Andrew and Mike of Red Collar eventually found me a 'Texas Rangers' badge in Austin. I had that for years. It broke in St. Louis (as a lot of things do).
After Austin, I saw Dreamgirls, the Bill Condon movie with Beyonce, Jaime Foxx and Eddie Murphy. There was a point where Eddie Murphy (playing a James Brown-esque role) is dressed in a 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong suit and he kicks his feet up on a record label owners desk...
...and his sparkling shoes are gold.
I just knew.
I used to only wear them when I played shows but in 2009 I decided to embrace the fact that I was a full-time musician. From then on I wore them every day. Even to weddings.
Maybe not funerals. Haven't had to make that decision yet. Thank heavens.
Bombadil: Who's more punk: Dylan or Waits?
JK: Hmmmm. Wow.
I guess it mostly depends on someone's definition of what punk is. For me, punk was about being undefined...except in terms of being an absolute individual, not an original, but more like a neat sum of one's parts.
Punk. I only started hearing the term when used with bands. Punk.
That was what was so interesting about those very, very early punk bands. They were all kinda the same but only in the sense that they weren't doing what was popular. They were very individual statements that were guided and glued by a culmination of three or four or five individuals who each brought something really unique to their band.
People get lumped over and over again into these ridiculous categories, corralled and conquered by yellowed and weathered Do Not Cross lines. Soon we started to permit ourselves to be lumped in with people that we have nothing in common with except maybe we all like to watch a certain sitcom and then hey-hey-hey thirty thirsty Mountain Dew seconds later than that we like same kind of Lite Beer then lo-and-behold we all live in the same kind of housing and hey-what-do-you-know we all like the same kind of sweatpants...
...we all become 45 pounds overweight...
...we all start to like the same color of taupe...
...we all own a Toyota...
...you know. You all know, right? I'm not out of line, am I?
I hope that people are a lot more complex than what sports team stockholders think we are but I guess who can really say? At least without a B.A. in Marketing, no one can really say.
So, if I think about it in those terms, I think Dylan may have swayed towards the popular trends every so often. If you're not so quick to join my hand in condemnation, the incriminating evidence is online if you search for the words 'Dylan' and '80's'. He didn't sway much...but every so often yeah sure he did. Who can blame him?
We all do.
All of us except for Tom Waits.
Bombadil: Any more tattoos in the works?
JK: Nope. That one was special. It felt like it was there all my life. Never really stared at it. Didn't really put the lotion on. Didn't show it off. I forgot about it the next day. People have said that tattoos are addictive but I haven't felt that way.
Not yet anyways.
J Kutchma and his band have the second slot for our CD release party at the Cat's Cradle on November 12.
]]>Get to Know Future Kings of Nowhere: An Interview with Shayne Mielhttp://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/11/1/get-to-know-future-kings-of-nowhere-an-interview-with-shayne.htmlbombi2011-11-01T13:39:00Z
We thought it'd be fun to highlight the folks sharing the bill with us for our CD release party (November 12, Cat's Cradle!). Kicking off the evening is the Future Kings of Nowhere. Led by Shayne Miel, FKoN plays wonderful, high-energy, infectious pop-punkish tunes.
Shayne himself has a fairly remarkable story, which is best told in his own words and those of his wife Rebekah. He also happens to be an incredibly kind person, once coming to Bombadil's rescue at the Festival for the Eno by lending us his acoustic guitar after ours lost a string mid-set. Furthermore, he was kind enough to answer a few of our burning questions about FKoN's music, which you should listen to in preparation for November 12th here. Anyways, check out our conversation and the links below so that you're not the only person who isn't singing along to "Paper Napkins."
Bombadil: Bands get asked all the time to describe what they're about. What is the music of Future Kings NOT about?
Shayne Miel: Our music is not about being tough or cool. It's not for the Pitchfork crowd (not enough reverb). It's not going to make us rich and famous.
Bombadil: My English teacher once told me that F. Scott Fitzgerald said novelists basically spend their entire lives rewriting the same book over and over again. If that were true for songwriters, what's the one song you're perpetually refining?
SM: Paul Simon's "Graceland". I (obviously) didn't write it, but I am always trying to say things as simply and subtly as he does.
Bombadil: You definitely know a thing or two about returning from hiatus. Have you found yourself writing about that experience? Is that something that's difficult or easy to do?
SM: I'm assuming here that by "that experience" you mean the things that caused the hiatus, not necessarily the experience of returning. Having cancer was a very intense experience and that intensity has made it difficult to write about. I've finally found a few paths into the story that I can use and some of my favorite songs that we play have come out of it. The songs are a new sound for The Future Kings though. Slower and more serious.
Bombadil: Has Future Kings ever played a show involving an electric guitar? If so, how'd it go?
SM: Funny you should ask. Trekky Records invited us to play their Christmas at the Cradle a few years ago. One of the songs we played was our own take on Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" that we called "Satan Baby." We decided that, just for kicks, I'd play a distorted electric, to give it the evilness a song called "Satan Baby" needs. We had a ton of fun with it! There may be a recording of that song coming out in time for Christmas...we'll see.
Bombadil: Any news about the newest recordings that you'd like to share?
SM: We've got two albums coming out in the next year or so. The first is an EP with four or five songs that we've been playing for years and haven't had the opportunity to record yet. These are mostly party songs - a thank you to the loved ones who got me through. It's almost done, so expect that to come out in the next four months or so.
The second album is an LP that deals more with how difficult the last few years have been. As I mentioned earlier, there is a slower, more contemplative sound on those songs. We've begun recording them but are still a ways from being done, so I can't predict when it will come out. Hopefully by the end of 2012.
Future Kings of Nowhere kicks off our CD release party at the Cat's Cradle.
]]>New Video: The Making of All That the Rain Promiseshttp://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/10/25/new-video-the-making-of-all-that-the-rain-promises.htmlbombi2011-10-25T11:44:42ZWe've got a new video to share: an inside look at the making of All That the Rain Promises. There's footage us recording, fire crackling, and Stuart riding a horse. Have a look:
The video also offers a first listen of track 10, "Short Side of the Wall."
If you haven't already, make sure to pre-order the album here.
And don't forget about our two upcoming shows in Carrboro, NC, and Washington, DC!
]]>Do Your Laundry!http://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/10/17/do-your-laundry.htmlbombi2011-10-17T13:08:00ZHowdy out there,
We're very excited to share the first single, "Laundromat," from our new record All That the Rain Promises with you. Its streaming over at our fresh, new Bandcamp site!
We started writing the song in a laundromat in Centralia, WA in 2008.
]]>Coming to a District Near Youhttp://bombadil.squarespace.com/news/2011/10/13/coming-to-a-district-near-you.htmlbombi2011-10-14T00:12:20ZBombadil is coming to Washington, DC!
