DOWNLOAD: A.A. Bondy - I Can See the Pines Are Dancing (MP3)

In the mid- to late 1990s, Birmingham was a hot spot for music, thanks to the band Verbena - a three-piece band featuring Scott Bondy, Anne Marie Griffin and Les Nuby. There were other members throughout the band's existence, but those three took Verbena to the edge of - dare I say it - stardom. Featured on magazine covers as the savior of rock 'n' roll and the next Nirvana, Verbena released one EP and four full-length albums, including the mind-blowing "Souls for Sale."

The best show I ever saw was not much of a show, thanks to the PA blowing up mid-set. Still, the four or five songs the band played at Birmingham's City Stages that night rocked and sort of changed my life.

Not long after the magazine covers and hype, the band drifted apart, however. Bondy is back - now going by AA Bondy - with the raucous rock behind him; redeemed (if you will), but with the storytelling still in his soul. [Gadsden Times]

The connection between AA Bondy and his old Verbena bandmate Les, now in Vulture Whale, has was recently discussed here. Vulture Whale will actually be back in NYC to play a CMJ show at Trash Bar on October 24th.

AA Bondy's European tour kicks off October 12th and runs through the month. In November, he'll return to the US for shows, many of which are in the South, that lead up to a December 9th headlining gig at Bowery Ballroom with Willy Mason. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday, October 9th at noon. General sale starts Friday at noon.

AA Bondy's last NYC show was on September 9th at Mercury Lounge. Clips from that gig and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "AA Bondy played Mercury Lounge, playing Bowery Ballroom (and other dates), Vulture Whale playing CMJ"

DOWNLOAD: A.A. Bondy - I Can See the Pines Are Dancing (MP3)

AA Bondy is on tour and in town Wednesday night (September 9th) for a show at Mercury Lounge with Tim Easton (New West Records), Willy Mason (Astralwerks) and Dave Godowsky (yahtzees). Tickets for that are still on sale.

AA's new record, When The Devil's Loose, came out September 1st on Fat Possum. A new MP3 from that, "I Can See the Pines Are Dancing," is posted above.

You may know that Bondy (a.k.a. Scott Bondy) used to play with the band Verbena, which he started with high school friends Les Nuby (guitar, and later drums) and Duquette Johnston (bass). I recently found out that Les' new band is Vulture Whale, who recently came to NYC for a set of shows at the end of August...

"Live the band is amiable and capable. McDonald, through some unfortunate staging [at Pianos], wound up off to the side in the shadows. There were gestures and faces made; his lines' character and cleverness were intact, unemphasized. Lead guitarist Lester Nuby (late of Verbana, where I think he was the drummer?) has chops, boys and ladies, though the guy manning the boards hid him in the mix for the first couple numbers. (Backing vocals were sort of off all night and overwhelmed the lead.) They don't jam, thankfully, though "That's Cold" got teased out and the climactic "Land It" (from their first self-titled album) is designed to be pounded at.

Band got through all but two songs from the superior second record but folks in the crowd responded more to the earlier material. (They also played "Rearranged," maybe one other?) Vulture Whale was the first of four bands Saturday night (after headlining Maxwell's?), there were a decent amount of people there for that. Room wasn't thick with accents or anything, but if, like the band suggested, many were expat Alabamans, they can only be accused of knowing better." [Heartonastick]

A video of Wes from Vulture Whale performing and talking on Birmingham's WCFT, with all AA Bondy & Tim Easton tour dates, below...

Continue reading "AA Bondy connected to Vulture Whale (via Verbena), on tour (NYC tonight) w/ a new album (MP3)"

DOWNLOAD: AA Bondy - There's a Reason (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: AA Bondy - Vice Rag (MP3)

Summer's going to fade soon, the leaves will change and Michigan will be at its absolute most beautiful before we get buried in winter. Bondy's sparse folk rock will make a nice soundtrack for that transition, like Springsteen's Nebraska or Will Oldham's Days in the Wake. The other artist that comes to mind here is Steve Earle.... [3Hive]

American Hearts is the name of the album, and though I'm not as obsessed as a few people I know (one who ranks "American Hearts" the 2nd best album of 2007 - he has Radiohead at #1), AA Bondy's new album has quickly made its way into my regular listening this week. At the moment I keep going back and forth between that, and Deer Tick's War Elephant. AA takes a little precedence though because I'm still trying to decide if I should go see him at Mercury Lounge tonight (12/12) - it helps that Jaymay is opening, not to mention Wakey!Wakey & Jukebox the Ghost both also playing the show.

A couple more key points...

• I haven't figured out what AA's opinion of Jesus is yet, but he does mention him a lot

  On the spiritual "Rapture," Bondy sings "I don't want to talk about Jesus, just want to see his face/ The trees are swinging like hanging men, and I just want to see his face/ And rapture, sweet rapture, won't you lay your hands on me/ For I am blind." [Captain Obvious]

  Not that I care, but you might.
• AA Bondy was in the band Verbena, which I didn't know at first. You probably wouldn't have known by just listening either...

  Listen to American Hearts without any prior knowledge of its creator, and you'd never guess that A.A. Bondy is the former singer of rock band, Verbena. Then known as Scott Bondy, it is said that the A.A. stands for August Arthur. It's this odd elusiveness that adds to the mystique of his solo debut. After detaching from his grunge-rock roots, Bondy has reinvented his identity, morphing into a Bible belt preacher man with songs drenched in religious imagery...." [Junk Media]

  Not that I care about that either, but it's kind of interesting.

Live videos below....

Continue reading "AA Bondy - new album "American Hearts", MP3, NYC show"