Von Bondies plan to rock out Omaha with new music
In 2004, the Von Bondies were taking off, playing ever larger venues and connecting with more and more people via “Come On, Come On,” the single from “Pawn Shoppe Heart,” the Detroit band’s second album.
Then head Von Bondie Jason Stollsteimer called it quits. He was a man in love and ready to get off the road.
“If you honestly are in love with somebody, why would you want to be away from them?” Stollsteimer asked. “I was wrong. After a couple years off, I said, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’”
Stollsteimer is now divorced and the Von Bondies are back on the road. They’ll roll into Omaha for a Saturday night show at The Waiting Room.
But things have changed in the three years since the Von Bondies asked to be released from their Sire Records contract.
With the record industry in full meltdown, Stollsteimer is looking for a new label to put out “Love, Hate and Then There’s You,” an already recorded disc, and he’s taking his time. Originally he figured the record would be out in the summer, now he’s aiming for fall — and looking for the right independent label to handle it.
“I don’t want to be on a major label ever again,” he said. “It’s a thing of the past. They aren’t needed to have a successful record or a successful career. We never intended to be Led Zeppelin or The Beatles. Being on a major label didn’t have anything to do with why I started making music.
“Now, I don’t think I want to go down with that ship. I’m not the captain and I don’t want to be a piece of coal that they burn up in the engine as it sinks.”
So Stollsteimer and his band are heading out on their own, playing songs from a record no one has heard, hoping their old fans remember them and turn up for shows.
That has been the case so far, within reason. Stollsteimer doesn’t have any illusions about drawing thousands. A few hundred in Omaha would be a success, he said.
“It’s a huge risk,” he said of touring independently. “But it feels so much better when people show up. People are there because they like the band, not because of some big poster or a big spread in Spin magazine because of some marketing campaign. It means so much more because we’re doing it.”
Stollsteimer didn’t stop writing songs when he left the road, and he and drummer Donny Blum, the other core member of the Von Bondies, got together and started recording.
Among the results of that collaboration is “We Are Kamikazes,” a four-song EP available through the band’s MySpace page and at its shows. It was financed out of Stollsteimer’s pocket as was the van that the band is driving around the country.
Those songs are filled with hooks and strong guitar and have a distinct autobiographical feel.
“I thought I was happy being married, but I was wrong,” Stollsteimer said. “Ironically, the songs I wrote when I was married are the songs that are on the new album. But ‘Pale Bride’ is not about being happy in a marriage.”
With their loud guitars and live assault, the Von Bondies are carrying a more than four-decade Detroit rock ’n’ roll tradition.
But when he was growing up, Stollsteimer didn’t know much about the city’s legendary scene and its bands.
“I grew up in the suburbs,” he said. “I grew up listening to bands like Minor Threat and stuff like Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. The MC5, I didn’t know who they were until I was 18.”
That said, Stollsteimer quickly figured out who had come before him in eastern Michigan rock — bands like the MC5 and Iggy Pop and The Stooges — and his band became contemporaries with the likes of the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs on the modern Detroit scene.
“We’re a Detroit rock band,” he said. “We play rock ’n’ roll, we play loud and we play what we want. In 2000-2001, we didn’t say we were from Michigan. When you say you’re from Michigan, they expect you to do Stooges songs. I don’t know any Stooges songs. … You have to make your own songs and sounds with very loud guitars if you’re a modern-day rock band.
“Besides, my favorite Detroit stuff is Motown, which is more about song than volume. Which is funny, because we’re a really loud band.”
Not only are the Von Bondies loud, they’re entertaining — following another Detroit tradition exemplified by the Motown groups and the over-the-top Mr. Pop.
“We pride ourselves on putting on a good live show,” Stollsteimer said. “We’re not a shoe-gazing band. We don’t use strobe lights to entertain. They’re going to be entertained by us on stage. We have fun and are all over the place. If you want to stand still and play only the songs you like, play in your house.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
Then head Von Bondie Jason Stollsteimer called it quits. He was a man in love and ready to get off the road.
“If you honestly are in love with somebody, why would you want to be away from them?” Stollsteimer asked. “I was wrong. After a couple years off, I said, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’”
Stollsteimer is now divorced and the Von Bondies are back on the road. They’ll roll into Omaha for a Saturday night show at The Waiting Room.
But things have changed in the three years since the Von Bondies asked to be released from their Sire Records contract.
With the record industry in full meltdown, Stollsteimer is looking for a new label to put out “Love, Hate and Then There’s You,” an already recorded disc, and he’s taking his time. Originally he figured the record would be out in the summer, now he’s aiming for fall — and looking for the right independent label to handle it.
“I don’t want to be on a major label ever again,” he said. “It’s a thing of the past. They aren’t needed to have a successful record or a successful career. We never intended to be Led Zeppelin or The Beatles. Being on a major label didn’t have anything to do with why I started making music.
“Now, I don’t think I want to go down with that ship. I’m not the captain and I don’t want to be a piece of coal that they burn up in the engine as it sinks.”
So Stollsteimer and his band are heading out on their own, playing songs from a record no one has heard, hoping their old fans remember them and turn up for shows.
That has been the case so far, within reason. Stollsteimer doesn’t have any illusions about drawing thousands. A few hundred in Omaha would be a success, he said.
“It’s a huge risk,” he said of touring independently. “But it feels so much better when people show up. People are there because they like the band, not because of some big poster or a big spread in Spin magazine because of some marketing campaign. It means so much more because we’re doing it.”
Stollsteimer didn’t stop writing songs when he left the road, and he and drummer Donny Blum, the other core member of the Von Bondies, got together and started recording.
Among the results of that collaboration is “We Are Kamikazes,” a four-song EP available through the band’s MySpace page and at its shows. It was financed out of Stollsteimer’s pocket as was the van that the band is driving around the country.
Those songs are filled with hooks and strong guitar and have a distinct autobiographical feel.
“I thought I was happy being married, but I was wrong,” Stollsteimer said. “Ironically, the songs I wrote when I was married are the songs that are on the new album. But ‘Pale Bride’ is not about being happy in a marriage.”
With their loud guitars and live assault, the Von Bondies are carrying a more than four-decade Detroit rock ’n’ roll tradition.
But when he was growing up, Stollsteimer didn’t know much about the city’s legendary scene and its bands.
“I grew up in the suburbs,” he said. “I grew up listening to bands like Minor Threat and stuff like Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. The MC5, I didn’t know who they were until I was 18.”
That said, Stollsteimer quickly figured out who had come before him in eastern Michigan rock — bands like the MC5 and Iggy Pop and The Stooges — and his band became contemporaries with the likes of the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs on the modern Detroit scene.
“We’re a Detroit rock band,” he said. “We play rock ’n’ roll, we play loud and we play what we want. In 2000-2001, we didn’t say we were from Michigan. When you say you’re from Michigan, they expect you to do Stooges songs. I don’t know any Stooges songs. … You have to make your own songs and sounds with very loud guitars if you’re a modern-day rock band.
“Besides, my favorite Detroit stuff is Motown, which is more about song than volume. Which is funny, because we’re a really loud band.”
Not only are the Von Bondies loud, they’re entertaining — following another Detroit tradition exemplified by the Motown groups and the over-the-top Mr. Pop.
“We pride ourselves on putting on a good live show,” Stollsteimer said. “We’re not a shoe-gazing band. We don’t use strobe lights to entertain. They’re going to be entertained by us on stage. We have fun and are all over the place. If you want to stand still and play only the songs you like, play in your house.”
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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