A.A. Bondy returns to Birmingham
A.A. Bondy. Photo by Clare Felice
When A.A. Bondy made his solo debut with American Hearts, the nation took notice. The former Birmingham boy had already earned a reputation as the frontman of Verbena, rocking out and attracting the attention of Dave Grohl, who produced the band’s major label debut. But American Hearts took Bondy in a different direction, highlighting his songwriting on a haunting folk album.
He’s been back in the studio, recording an album that he hopes will release in May. (The release date has not yet been set.) Now Bondy returns to the road, including a stop at Bottletree tomorrow night.
Birmingham Box Set: I’ve heard that you’ve been back in the studio lately. What are you working on?
A.A. Bondy: Just a recording a new record. It’s pretty much done besides some of the usual stuff at the end, artwork and mastering and stuff like that.
BBS: There was definitely a marked difference between your work with Verbena and American Hearts. Will the new album continue in the same direction as American Hearts or head elsewhere?
AAB: I’m not really sure yet. Even though that I’ve heard it, I don’t really know what it is. It’s definitely more like the last record than like the band, but it’s definitely not like the last record in a lot of ways. I generally like to leave that up to other people, let them make up their minds about it.
BBS: What led to the change in style between Verbena and your solo work?
AAB: I tire of things rather quickly I think. Maybe not that quickly, but eventually will get tired of them. They just don’t seem like they’re rewarding anymore. Some people like to work the same job their whole lives, some people like to change jobs. Not that I ever really changed jobs, but I changed styles of jobs. … It’s a low threshold for boredom, I think.
BBS: What’s the target release date for this new album?
AAB: I was going to wait until after I got done with this tour to record it, but then everybody that worked on it just kind of fell in there together in a series of happy accidents. Hopefully it’ll come out in May.
BBS: What’s it like to return to Birmingham? Has the city influenced your music and writing? Has being away?
AAB: I mean, sure, it always has. I moved around a lot growing up. I spent a substantial amount of my life there. I don’t know that being away from it has really influenced it so much. I mean, being away from it yes, as it’s tied into me being somewhere else. But certainly being there during a lot of formative years [had an impact]. I had a good record store by mom’s house that I could ride my skateboard to.
BBS: What’s it like to come home?
AAB: In some ways it’s just another show, but it can never be just another show because I know so many people there. So yeah, it’s not actually another show at all. I like that club a lot and it’s good to see folks that I don’t see too often.
BBS: What should fans expect at Friday night’s show?
AAB: Probably a few things as we get more comfortable with it. I don’t really know. I put a band together for the last set of tours I did, and I’m going to be with Macy Taylor who is from there. Then this friend of mine from Wisconsin … I’ve never played with them. That’s kind of how it’s been the past few times I’ve done this. It’ll be good to be back.
A.A. Bondy plays Bottletree on Feb. 13. Doors open at 8 p.m. and Red Harp, Wild Sweet Orange bass player Garret Kelly’s side project, will open. Tickets are $10 and available at thebottletree.com. Preview Bondy’s music on his MySpace page.
