Buzz Blog
If anything, the spooky, sparse melodies that the former punk rocker now creates are perfectly befit for midnight drives in the middle of nowhere, to nowhere in particular. In fact, before Bondy’s last stop in Salt Lake City, City Weekly tried calling him several times for an interview but, somehow, each time he was someplace desolate in the West and without cell reception. So, City Weekly opted to send him questions via email this go-around. Here's what he had to write back, unedited:
City Weekly: So, the last time you came through Salt Lake City, City Weekly tried to do a phoner with you, but you seemed to always be someplace desolate, remote and without cell reception. It's interesting to me because that's kind of what your music feels like. Is that an intentional aesthetic?
A. A. Bondy: YES I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WITH NO ONE AROUND AND NARY A SCRAP TO EAT AND ONLY A PIANO AND A CRYSTAL BALL. THIS MUST B THE WAY. . . . .
CW: Also, I think it is perfect driving music. What sort of tunes do you dig on when you are out on the road?
Bondy: I LIKE THINGS LIKE GROUPER (LIZ HARRIS) RACING THE TRAINS TO THE OVERPASS WITH THE VAN, ENO RECORDS, PEOPLE GROANING THROUGH THEIR HANGOVERSSSSS
CW: Your "persona" via your bio and other materials out there is shrouded in mystery. I can't find it anymore, but there was one "bio" that was a story of maybe some destitute character (my memory is foggy on this, but I think his name was Roman Moore) that had an encounter with someone who inspired him—you. And the Fat Possum bio is some quotes from assumedly fictictious characters that describe you as someone who bought Super Glue and a biscuit everyday or who set your lawn on fire once. What's up with that?
Bondy: AND YOU WOULD PROBLY SAY THAT THERE IS NO BIGFOOT TOO
CW: It's interesting, because we live in a "Facebook Age," where everything about everyone is just out in the open, but it seems like you refuse to give in...?
Bondy: WHATBOOK AGE?
CW: Or is this an allusion to a character that you sketch, and a peek into a literary direction you might take?
Bondy: I'M JUST ANOTHER CREATURE WITH MY NOSE TO THE GROUND.
LOOK UP AT THE STARSSS FROM TIME TO TIME
CW: Regarding Believers, how have the themes changed from When the Devil's Loose, which seemed largely centered around the notion of escape, religion and death?
Bondy: I THINK THE IDEARS ON THIS REKKERD ARE THE THINGS THAT GO IN BETWEEN ESCAPE, RELIGION, AND DEATH
CW: Three of Believers' songs—"123 Dupuy Street," "Hiway/ Fevers" and "Rte 28/ Believers"—have references to roads and transport. Maybe that's something that influenced the road-traveled sensibility I was talking about before.
CW: I love "Rte 28/ Believers." Can you explain the story behind that song?
Bondy: NOT REALLY, BUT IT'S ABOUT BEING SEPARATED FROM A DREAM AND WAKING UP IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM
CW: Do you prefer recording or playing live?
Bondy: BOF
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $12 advance, $14 day of show
