A Sunday Conversation with PJ Bond

One listen.  That's all it took to infect me with the alt-grungy singer songwriter treat that was PJ Bond's last album, You Didn't Know I was Alphabetical. Riding the crest of some amazing singer-songwriters that we've reviewed here at the Ripple recently like Matt Pond and Cory Case, PJ Bond crafted an album that literally defined the singer/songwriter genre.  At times sassy and poppy, at others melancholic and sparse, You Didn't Know I was Alphabetical never failed to captivate.

When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.


What have been your musical epiphany moments?

Beautiful thoughts. Ok, this is a good one. As a young kid Id lay face down in my bedroom drawing comic book characters stopping only to flip cassettes in my little red boombox, soaking in the Beach Boys, Bangels and Bon Jovi. By fifth grade I was fully steeped in Guns n Roses and Metallica but it wasn't until I finally understood Nirvana that I felt musically at home. Music took on a new meaning, moving from obsession to an extension of who I was and how I was made up. Years of absurd amounts of Nirvana led to a love for Smashing Pumpkins, Blind Melon and Janes Addiction. Throughout it all though I couldn't shake this one tape I'd picked up in eighth grade. A local band called the Autopilots who eventually became a band called Penfold. These guys had a sound that seemed to resonate even more deeply than the angst of nirvana. I'd found something darker and sadder but with more hope. This made sense to me.

Penfold gave way to Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, and a slew of what we called "emo" bands and I finally felt found. So, Nirvana when I was 13, Sunny Day and Penfold when I was 16 and eventually Elliott Smith a bit after I finished college. These three movements, along with realizing the genius that is my brother, well a path showed shape and music bloomed and still does.


Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

Lately it's been a lot of sitting with a few chords and feeling through them until they start to make sense. A melody slowly shapes in my head and words start to form around those melodies and rhythms. I then hone, reshape, edit, all the while thinking about what the song wants to be about. I sift through the dusty corners of my brain and the scrawlings in journals. I then attempt to write all the lyrics in one sitting and then play it a few times. The next few days find me singing without the aid of the notes and this helps me filter through what works and what doesn't. Hopefully in the end it's something good.

Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?

I don't really need to look when I'm walking around or just living. So many people and things interest me and make me want to write. The hard part is when I'm sitting with a guitar and notebook and trying to figure out how I can possibly create songs anywhere as good as previous ones because it's so easy to forget those ones were hard at first too. So I pull from stories in my life or in the ones of people I love or have met during my travels. Being excited or inspired is not hard. Capturing those feelings, well that's a different story altogether.



Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?

This is always a fun question, especially when asked by strangers in a truck stop or by someones parents. Also, I've heard everything from folk punk to alt country to emo. Everyone listens with filtered ears and has their own vocabulary so I can't blame them but it's always interesting. Anyway, I sometimes like to describe my music as folk with teeth. it's personal and thoughtful and follows a line, but has some aggressive aspects, darker tones and an ability to be biting. ultimately though, people will hear what they want to hear.


What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?

My musical intention is to create love and capture emotion. It's a pretty simple concept that I think a lot of people miss, at least in the true senses of the words. I want people to feel. it's that simple. I want people to care and experience emotion, to look deeply into their hearts and heads and it the hearts and heads of others. find the tough stuff and work on it. Life will become as beautiful as it already is, but in our eyes as well.


In songwriting, how do you bring the song together? What do you look for in terms of complexity? Simplicity? Time changes?

After I get the basic skeleton together, i will often play the song as many times as I can over the course of a few weeks, and usually it becomes pretty obvious how the song needs to flow. Sometimes I'll change huge sections, other times it'll stay pretty close to the original version. As far as complexity vs. simplicity, I think that depends a great deal on where I am in my life. In the past I preferred complex songs and in the last year or so have been leaning much more towards simple, traditional structures. However, my newest songs are a mix of both, so I guess I just work with what feels right at the time.

The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?

It's probably a bit dangerous, but I pretty much don't consider any of that stuff. I just do what feels right. my hope is to make smart decisions based on being good to the people I love while working really hard. I don't want success based on screwing people over so I'd rather have none than play those games. And some stuff in this business just doesn't make any sense to me. So I try to work in the areas that seem positive and ignore or change the ones that seem negative. If you stick to those paths I think staying motivated is mostly pretty easy. And when it's tough, well, I go have a beer with my brothers and friends. They always help me see the light.


Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?

Spinal tap moments? Man, I don't have any of those. Any time I've played Cleveland it's been a house or someplace small, so I never had any trouble finding the stage or floor or whatever. I do have a lot of "R" rated stories that will hopefully be making their way into the book I'm writing, but I'm sure I can think of something for here. I think a better story to tell is one that is less crazy or weird and more just positive. 24 hours before I was supposed to fly out for my first UK tour I got an email from the artist there who was to tour with and drive me. He decided that for certain reasons he did not want to do the tour anymore and pulled out. Here I was, with a flight and shows booked and now no local support/draw, no ride and no tour mate. After some thinking and talking to friends and family I decided to go anyway. So off I flew to the UK with little but hope to get me by. In the end I played every show we had booked, picked up 3 more shows while over there, made amazing friends and had a blast, all while riding trains and buses and bumming rides. I traveled the UK with a backpack and a guitar and even when it sucked I loved every ridiculous moment of it.


What makes a great song?

Wow. I think a great song is one that makes you feel something, anything, intensely. if it burns in some way, it's great.


Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?

I'm not exactly sure which you would consider my first real song. I wrote a ton of lyrics in middle school and I remember a really particularly bad one called "Turtles in the tTub," that was an attempt to write early Nirvana style lyrics but with zero success. The first full song I remember finishing was with my high school alt-rock band. the tune was called "Grandpa," and was a simple four chord rock/punk song in the verse but had a modulated/chromatic type chorus that probably came from Nirvana as well. The lyrics were completely stupid and I forget most of them, though I do remember the nonsensical chorus, "What's it like in England now? I want to go but I don't know how." Rough style.


What piece of your music are particularly proud of?

I have a song that has yet to be recorded but is on the "pink couch sessions" on ifyoumakeit.com. The song is about my brother and about wanting to be there for someone you love but feeling like you're unable to. I think it's a well written tune and it's stacked with hope and emotion. I'm proud to have written it and to have loved ones in my life that inspire me so much.


Who today, writes great songs? Why?

That's easy, my brother Brian and his band Communipaw. The songs are absolutely beautiful, powerful, incredibly smart, evocative, dark and warm all at the same time. He is my current favorite songwriter and I'm sure will be for some time. Also doing amazing things is Brian Carley of the Waltz. BC is responsible for me hearing amazing music from the time of my youth and has not stopped producing great stuff.


Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

Currently I am a digital guy, purely because I live out of my car. someday, if I can afford a house of my own, I can't wait to build a huge vinyl collection. I have some choice pieces now to start with, but it's definitely a big goal of mine to someday have the center part of my house be around a record player.


We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. When we come to your town, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in? 


Since I don't have a town I'd send you to either Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ or Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ. Two amazing stores that keep our record shelves stocked and my friends digging through for gems. have fun, but please don't take all the good stuff.

Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?

I hugely appreciate the support and kindness. please know that while I feel incredibly lucky to be traveling around playing songs and having fun, that it is not because I make loads of money. I am able to do what I do both because I have amazing friends and because I got rid of as much of the bullshit in my life as I could. Anyone can reduce what they have and make their lives better. Give up, let go, open up and have fun. Feel love. Take care of each other. I'll see you out there

A Man and his Guitar - A Ripple Rundown of Recent Singer/Songwriters Featuring PJ Bond and A Minor Kingdom

PJ Bond- You Didn't Know I was Alphabetical

Riding the crest of some amazing singer-songwriters that we've reviewed here at the Ripple recently like Matt Pond and Cory Case, PJ Bond has crafted an album that literally defines the singer/songwriter genre.  At times sassy and poppy, at others melancholic and sparse, You Didn't Know I was Alphabetical never fails to captivate and demonstrates a brilliant songsmith at the peak of his form.

PJ Bond, a New Jersey Native, has spent the majority of his days living out of his car, playing shows, crashing on couches and generally living the life of the true troubadour.   Recorded sporadically in studios and various apartment bedrooms, Alphabetical is a stunning collection of songs each with a core-melting emotional resonance.  Bond has the ability to make the mundane seem profound.  To take the ordinary and make it emotionally resonating.

 Alphabetical overflows with warmth and sincerity.  It's a decidedly organic affair, graced with tones of acoustic guitar, the occasional slide, a gentle beat and a human heart.  Bond throws a little bit of everything into the mix, from rustic, up tempo alt-country rockers to haunting, melancholy acoustic offerings and sweetly infectious indie numbers.  Not since Cory Case's debut have I been this wrapped up in an album so seemingly simple, yet truthfully complex.

Bond has a straight-forward yet eloquent way with his lyrics, often finding that particular angle to make the lyric turn into a poem.  On "You Too," the album's jaunty opener, Bond brings his own tone to a lyric of love.  "I know I'll never be a fearless leader saving you/ and I think you know that too/ And I know I'll never sing the songs of love you want to hear/ but at least I sing for you."  An honest, introspective glance at a man and his limitations, his failings, yet clear of his intent.  That simple declaration touches me as a more honest and genuine statement of love than a thousand Lionel Richie ballads.  The easy, repetitive nature of the verse bleeding into the chorus brings that song to life.  A backyard porch letter of love, blowing through a summer sky.

"Stop Being Bad," reminds me of the best of Paul Westerberg in terms of tone and melody, compelling storytelling told simply, soberly, and never at a loss for a singable melody.  "Skin and Bones," is haunting drug tale, sung to a person on the brink of death.  Minor chord progressions and PJ's wavering tenor bring chills to my arms as the song proceeds. "And your corpse will be pristine/when they bury you indeed."

The album unfolds so casually it's deceptive.  It flows so easy, it seems so relaxed, but that belies the assured confidence PJ has as a songwriter and performer.  Stripped nearly naked on several tracks, PJ never falters, never hesitates to take us to his most tender humiliation "Well I know that I am barely scraping by/I can barely afford to pay my bills" (From "Grow your Smile Wide")  and then twist that scenario on it's ear.  An accomplished album, available on vinyl (white or blue).  One I'll enjoy for years to come.

Buy here: Alphabetical

http://www.myspace.com/pjbondmusic

Minor Kingdom - My Back Will Bend

This is a strange review for me to write.  Since our inception, Pope and I decided that our goal was to spread the word on all the great music that's getting missed, going unheard.  With that as our goal, we wanted to create "ripples" and hope that maybe some of those ripples would turn into waves for the bands.  You, oh fearless reader, are of course, the waverider.

With that mission firmly in mind, it's clear that most of our reviews are ravenously glowing.  Some people have taken us to task for this, insinuating that we're unwilling to write a negative review, but they clearly can't wrap their feeble minds around the goal of the Ripple.  How could we write a negative review about something we like?  We write about what we like, get it? 

Having said all that, I'm still left with Minor Kingdom's latest release, My Back Will Bend and I don't know quite what to do.

Minor Kingdom is a man, not a band, the stage name for Kristian Melom, a singer/songwriter from Minneapolis.  And in true wandering minstrel fashion, his songs of loss and melancholy were recorded in various bedrooms, living rooms, and basements.  I'm sure many couches were slept on as well, probably some quarters bummed and some laundry rooms utilized. Kristian's music is sparse and haunting, drenched in the melancholy of a Depression-era, post-dust bowl haze.  Each song is like a dense country-gothic American painting, bereft of color; each scene washed in greys and dark ink washes.  Occasionally, a hint of light peaks through, but the clouds are always soon to return.

So why is this review so difficult to write, you may ask?  Mainly, because after 10 or so listens, I'm still totally unclear on how I feel about this album.  Let's talk about my ambivalence first.   While individually each song resonates strongly within its own claustrophobic cell of downhearted emptiness, as a whole, the album suffers from the relentless pace, or lack thereof.  Each song crawls along at a whisper's tone, some barely reflecting a heartbeat at all.  As such, for me, it's hard to get through the entire album in one listen without my mind wandering and my fingers tapping impatiently, waiting for that one big climax.  That one moment of tension building and release.   In a nutshell, the album is just too slow for me to get totally behind it.

Then why is My Back Will Bend appearing in the Ripple?  Because there's something undeniably compelling going on here.  It may not be in the album as a whole, but it's there, in the songs.  In each individual song.  And the more I play this album, the more it ingrains into my consciousness them more indispensable some of those songs become.

The lead-off title track simply doesn't do it for me.  So slow in it's monotonous intent that I was tempted to dump the album right there.  It wasn't a pretty sight, seeing me running around the room in a tizzy screaming for some speed metal or something with a pulse.  But then before the funny men in the white coats caught me, "Choir of the Lillies" came on and my entire view changed.  Sure, "Choir" still crawls along in a near-fugue state, starting with a spartanly strummed acoustic guitar and Kristian's haunting, near-whispered monotone voice. But then something happens.  Haley Bonar's angelic harmonies join in, gently lifting the song to a place of real resonance.  A sweeping, mournful cello floats by, underneath the harmonies, taking the song into some American Gothic den of despair.  Gentle tones of electric guitar enter, hinting at a light just beyond the horizon.  A healing in the distance.  A fullness for the heart.  Without a doubt, "Choir of the Lillies" is about as stark and moving a song as I've heard in a while.   This song alone shows me that we're dealing with a man capable of creating something truly great.

"Brita's Song,"which follows is a touch lighter, but again too slow.  There's no denying the craft here, but after the stunning revelation that was "Choir" I needed something new, something more dynamic.  Fortunately, Kristian delivers again with the next cut, "Perfect."  With the addition of some well-placed drums, a stark snare, and an ominous bass, a new energy emerges.  The song slithers and slinks, like a snake coiling for the strike.  From there the album continues in an alternating form between songs that are compelling or those that are simply too slow.  In the end, there's nothing wrong with any individual track, in fact, individually each song can be emotionally riveting, but the sum of them all creates an album that's nearly moribund.  Just begging for some CPR and some good mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Still, whenever I was about to give up on the album, I'd play "Choir of the Lillies" again, and once again I was enraptured.  Kristian has talent, there's no doubt, and the skill to back it up.  He just needs to vary the pace a bit, toss some life into his despondency.  Then, he'll really have something.

In the meantime, I'll keep playing "Choir of the Lillies" and wait for Minor Kingdom's next album.  It just may be the best album I've ever heard.

--Racer

Buy here: My Back Will Bend

Buy here mp3 download: Choir of the Lilies (feat. Haley Bonar)