David Bazan (Official Thread)

[theguy77]

After searching and only finding a Pedro the Lion thread, I figured we needed a more general way to discuss the multiple projects of this consistently solid songwriter. For those who have not yet indulged, I'd say for most of his career his music has been what you get when you mix the older, simpler sounds of Death Cab for Cutie (probably a comparison further propelled by the fact that they're both indie-rock acts from Seattle, and good friends) with various Slowcore artists and a cynical attitude. You can maybe hear a bit of Built to Spill on the rare upbeat tracks.

I just saw Bazan last weekend in Baltimore, only familiar with Pedro the Lion's Control and having heard his recent solo release Curse Your Branches once earlier last week, and he put on a hell of a show, playing songs from nearly every release he's had so far. He played my favorite Pedro song "Magazine" early and the show just got better as it went on, inspiring my interest in the rest of his discography. I recently picked up his predominantly electronic release entitled Headphones and from what i've listened to so far it's great.

Discuss all things Bazan-related here.

[Brand-new-123]

I'm a fan. Pedro the Lion's "Progress EP" is probably my favorite Bazan related output, but I do enjoy all of it.

[theguy77]

I'm a fan. Pedro the Lion's "Progress EP" is probably my favorite Bazan related output, but I do enjoy all of it.

yeah he played "June 18, 1976" at the show. really surprising appearance, great song.

[Brand-new-123]

yeah he played "June 18, 1976" at the show. really surprising appearance, great song.
I could have seen him last week with Headlights if it wasn't during the middle of my spring break. The set lists I've seen from this tour have been extremely solid. I just wish he would come around me when I'm actually here.

[Jasper112]

Saw him in Holland a couple weeks ago. He was amazing! Totally great guy with great music.

[alexxxisonfire]

His new live album is so, so good.

[brentywat]

david bazan is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. easily. i love his music. curse your branches, control, etc is my favorite i think. headphones is also good.

[JoeLovesMO]

I only have Achilles Heel when it comes to Bazan, which out of the album I like the songs: Bands With Managers, Keep Swinging and The Poison. Can anyone recomend where to go next?

[Brand-new-123]

I only have Achilles Heel when it comes to Bazan, which out of the album I like the songs: Bands With Managers, Keep Swinging and The Poison. Can anyone recomend where to go next?
Progress EP, It's Hard to Find a Friend, or Curse Your Branches.

[HometownHero]

I definitely need to listen to more of him

[Chromefox]

I saw Bazan recently too, and it was a great show. Really renewed my interest in his discography. I still need to give his last album more time.

[Wake Up]

I'm surprised at the lack of Bazan. Wasn't a huge fan of his EP, but Curse Your Branches is excellent.

[kearn1tm]

I'm the piss-in-the-pool. I find him really, really boring. He's a nice fella though. I saw him two summers ago with friends who loved him and he saw us hanging out after the show waiting for our ride. He sauntered over and asked how we liked the show. My friends gave him kudos. He noticed I didn't respond. He asked "did they drag you here?" I said "no, because they paid for me and I got a free dinner, so it was well worth it." "Do you like my music?" I was honest. "Not really." He responded, "if its any consolation, I don't either." We laughed. Cool dude.

[Chromefox]

Upon second listen, I still think Curse Your Branches is kind of dull. Better in a live setting, but I prefer Pedro material.

[bowl of oranges]

My friends saw him last night, I couldn't go though. They loved him.

[Wake Up]

Upon second listen, I still think Curse Your Branches is kind of dull. Better in a live setting, but I prefer Pedro material.

I was watching the live house performance he did. (via vimeo (http://vimeo.com/9788663)) and it's so much more enjoyable to me than the album. Although, I love the hell out of CYB.

[pleasedontpanic]

I only have Achilles Heel when it comes to Bazan, which out of the album I like the songs: Bands With Managers, Keep Swinging and The Poison. Can anyone recomend where to go next?
Control.

Dave comes into my coffee shop daily when he's not on tour. Great guy.

[spunkmastaflex]

He is playing with Headlights at a bar right near where i live, should i go? how is his live act?

[Chromefox]

He is playing with Headlights at a bar right near where i live, should i go? how is his live act? Live > Record. Good stuff. You should go.

[screamoutmyname]

My friends saw him last night, I couldn't go though. They loved him.

i just remembered about that show today... damn it.

but anyways, David Bazan is one of my favorite singers/songwriters/artists/whatever you want to call it. so talented!

[inthemidst]

The only Bazan-related release I own is It's Hard to Find a Friend. It is a good album, but I find that I can only listen to it when I'm not doing anything else, which for me, is not an easy thing. Maybe I should start venturing into his later work with Pedro, Headphones, and his solo work.

[theguy77]

Live > Record. Good stuff. You should go.

agreed with this. he alters his songs in a lot of ways live. for instance, he slowed down "in stitches", and during the choruses the band was silent and it was just him softly palming the guitar and singing low. then on the second chorus where he sings the end of the line "forgetting about you" with falsetto, the band suddenly erupted into climax. it made that song soooo much more powerful than it is on CYB.

[theguy77]

He is playing with Headlights at a bar right near where i live, should i go? how is his live act?

yes, go. headlights made some good tunes too, even if a bit repetitive.

[JoeLovesMO]

Progress EP, It's Hard to Find a Friend, or Curse Your Branches.

Ok I have listened to Progress thoroughly and I quite enjoyed it. I enjoyed 'Letter From A Concerned Follower' the most, what is that in the background? sounds like a tenis ball being hit against a wall, i love it! The other tracks are ok but do not interest me quite so much. I guess I might as well get 'It's Hard to Find a Friend' now.

Control.

I'll check this out too.

[theguy77]

yeah Headphones is fucking great. it's awesome how much SONG he was able to pull out of 2-3 synth tracks and drums and nothing else. he uses them as you might expect with a common blend of bass and treble synths with the occassional middle track to bring out certain chords, but he's definitely embracing their electronic nature and not simply mimicking rock-band roles. it's also great that even with experimentation like this with dissonant notes and harmonized melody lines that are never stationary, the songs still have plenty of bazan's songwriting character. he seems perfectly within his element, in spite of the fact that he did something so different on this record.

there's an air of blithe sarcasm that comes across, even musically, with the dichotomous blend of upbeat synth melodies and his tired/bored-sounding voice. almost as if the music is dryly feigning a happy mood on top of actually pretty pissed off lyrics haha. i especially love how "hello operator" ends with the line "you should not have ever fucked with me." he says it almost with a smile, it's great.

[theguy77]

also, anyone else think "never wanted you" is one of his best songs? i cant stop listening to it right now and it was such a standout track live. he transformed it from a cute, buzzy ditty, into a slow and very emotional slowcore song, and that to me is a testament to his subtle versatility as an artist.

[dave_ocean]

David Bazan can do no wrong

[Brand-new-123]

Dave posted this on facebook a couple days ago. It has some cool acoustic songs he did and a good interview. His Vic Chesnutt cover is awesome. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/04/sessions-david-bazan/

[Wake Up]

Dave posted this on facebook a couple days ago. It has some cool acoustic songs he did and a good interview. His Vic Chesnutt cover is awesome. http://www.americansongwriter.com/2010/04/sessions-david-bazan/

tried to get this and his new tour on the front page, but all to no avail. :| ap has no bazan love

[theguy77]

tried to get this and his new tour on the front page, but all to no avail. :| ap has no bazan love

sure it does. plenty of the staff members are fans.

[Brand-new-123]

tried to get this and his new tour on the front page, but all to no avail. :| ap has no bazan love
I'll try to get it up there. If enough of us do it, they'll have to take notice.

[xJesusFreakx]

I've never listened to an album of his. I know, how lame of me, oh well. I'll probably become a fan eventually. As a Christian and a fan of some indie music, isn't Pedro the Lion like required listening or something?

[Wake Up]

I've never listened to an album of his. I know, how lame of me, oh well. I'll probably become a fan eventually. As a Christian and a fan of some indie music, isn't Pedro the Lion like required listening or something?

ugh. skip pedro the lion. it's all hogwash. check out his other/solo endeavors.

[Brand-new-123]

I've never listened to an album of his. I know, how lame of me, oh well. I'll probably become a fan eventually. As a Christian and a fan of some indie music, isn't Pedro the Lion like required listening or something?
Don't skip Pedro the Lion. You should start with It's Hard To Find A Friend then move onto Progress and Control. His solo stuff is really good too, if you can get past his loss of faith which is pretty evident in his lyrics.

[Wake Up]

Don't skip Pedro the Lion. You should start with It's Hard To Find A Friend then move onto Progress and Control. His solo stuff is really good too, if you can get past his loss of faith which is pretty evident in his lyrics.

It's Hard To Find a Friend was the only Pedro release that I could get into. Everything else killed me.

[Brand-new-123]

It's Hard To Find a Friend was the only Pedro release that I could get into. Everything else killed me.
It's definitely my favorite full length by them.

[theguy77]

I've never listened to an album of his. I know, how lame of me, oh well. I'll probably become a fan eventually. As a Christian and a fan of some indie music, isn't Pedro the Lion like required listening or something?

pedro the lion is required listening for any friend of mine ;-)

but yeah, pedro's where most of his best material is at. he makes very tasteful and embellishing use of simplistic instrumentation and slow tempos throughout their discography. and as far as the connection you're making through christianity, it's kind of the opposite when it comes to his latest solo record, because it challenges and questions christianity a lot.

[theguy77]

ugh. skip pedro the lion. it's all hogwash. check out his other/solo endeavors.

what does hogwash even mean in this circumstance? that's a pretty vague way to describe it.

[Wake Up]

what does hogwash even mean in this circumstance? that's a pretty vague way to describe it.

it was sarcasm. i just don't like most of pedro the lion's material. with the exception of It's Hard To Find a Friend. I tend to stay way from his Kierkegaard-esque material as much as possible.

[theguy77]

Don't skip Pedro the Lion. You should start with It's Hard To Find A Friend then move onto Progress and Control. His solo stuff is really good too, if you can get past his loss of faith which is pretty evident in his lyrics.

it may be evident on the latest record, but during the pedro the lion stage i don't know if he's lost faith so much as become disillusioned with catholicism. i saw an interview where he talked about being raised under the strict regimes of catholic school and his family who were also austere in that regard, and how when he moved out of the house he grew apart from that and began to resent it. the song "magazine" most directly depicts his views toward their self-righteousness and way of life.

edit: nevermind, i just re-read your post and realized you WERE talking about Curse Your Branches.

[theguy77]

it was sarcasm. i just don't like most of pedro the lion's material. with the exception of It's Hard To Find a Friend. I tend to stay way from his Kierkegaard-esque material as much as possible.

yeah, no worries. we all have our preferences. i prefer Pedro because i find his moodier music more appealing.

[Brand-new-123]

it may be evident on the latest record, but during the pedro the lion stage i don't know if he's lost faith so much as become disillusioned with catholicism. i saw an interview where he talked about being raised under the strict regimes of catholic school and his parents who were also austere in that regard, and how when he moved out of the house he grew apart from that and began to resent it.
From the interviews I've seen and read, I think he was raised very Evangelical. His father was a pastor, I believe. Throughout PTL, he moved further away from his Conservative, moral majority upbringing. Between PTL's last record and Curse Your Branches, he had a crisis of faith, a huge problem with alcohol, and I think his marriage almost split up. During this time, he was kicked out of Cornerstone in 2007(?) for being extremely inebriated and having a milk jug of vodka on stage. Since then he has become a pretty strong agnostic and pretty soundly rejected the God of the Bible and Christianity. As a Christian, this was pretty sad for me, but Curse Your Branches was also one of my favorite albums last year because of the questions and accusations he raises about Christianity, if that makes sense at all.

Edit: just saw your edit.

[theguy77]

From the interviews I've seen and read, I think he was raised very Evangelical. His father was a pastor, I believe. Throughout PTL, he moved further away from his Conservative, moral majority upbringing. Between PTL's last record and Curse Your Branches, he had a crisis of faith, a huge problem with alcohol, and I think his marriage almost split up. During this time, he was kicked out of Cornerstone in 2007(?) for being extremely inebriated and having a milk jug of vodka on stage. Since then he has become a pretty strong agnostic and pretty soundly rejected the God of the Bible and Christianity. As a Christian, this was pretty sad for me, but Curse Your Branches was also one of my favorite albums last year because of the questions and accusations he raises about Christianity, if that makes sense at all.

Edit: just saw your edit.

oh, well you seem to know a lot more about this than i do, lol. that was an interesting read, thanks!

[xJesusFreakx]

I download some Pedro the Lion live set called Live in Omaha, which is pretty rad. I'm almost through my first listen. It's been a passive listen while doing other things, so I don't have much to say about the quality of the songs, but it certainly warrants more listens. Anyways, while I was listening I heard some opening guitar part that sounded really familiar, looked at iTunes, and saw that he was covering "Let Down" by Radiohead. I love that song, so I was kind of pumped. Yep.

[Brand-new-123]

I download some Pedro the Lion live set called Live in Omaha, which is pretty rad. I'm almost through my first listen. It's been a passive listen while doing other things, so I don't have much to say about the quality of the songs, but it certainly warrants more listens. Anyways, while I was listening I heard some opening guitar part that sounded really familiar, looked at iTunes, and saw that he was covering "Let Down" by Radiohead. I love that song, so I was kind of pumped. Yep.
Sweet I'm going to have to check it out. Also, fun fact: there is at least one video on youtube of him playing that radiohead cover with Ben Gibbard.
QdmCvuzE870

The quality sucks though.

[JoeLovesMO]

Well since my last post, I've pretty much caught Pedro fever. I can stop listening to 'It's hard to find a friend', it's growing on me exponentially. Initially I found most songs dreary and the same but damn I love them now. Going to move onto Control when I've worn Friend out which will be a while.

[theguy77]

Sweet I'm going to have to check it out. Also, fun fact: there is at least one video on youtube of him playing that radiohead cover with Ben Gibbard.
QdmCvuzE870

The quality sucks though.

wow, thanks so much for this. two of my favorite indie rock musicians covering a song from one of my top favorite albums. awesome.

[Brand-new-123]

wow, thanks so much for this. two of my favorite indie rock musicians covering a song from one of my top favorite albums. awesome.
Yeah, I'm not too big into Death Cab or Radiohead, but I still like them and to have a collaboration like that is pretty cool.

[theguy77]

Yeah, I'm not too big into Death Cab or Radiohead, but I still like them and to have a collaboration like that is pretty cool.

aw man im huge on both haha.

[Brand-new-123]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra

The Undertow Orchestra was an indie rock "supergroup" organized by Bob Andrews (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Andrews_%28artist_manager%29) of Undertow Music Collective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Music). The band existed only as a touring ensemble and consisted of "four of today’s most under the radar, yet prolific singer-songwriters,"[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra#cite_note-0) David Bazan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bazan) (of Pedro the Lion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_the_Lion) and Headphones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones_%28band%29)), Mark Eitzel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Eitzel) (of American Music Club (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Music_Club)), Will Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Johnson_%28musician%29) (of Centro-Matic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro-Matic)), and Vic Chesnutt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Chesnutt). Each band member took turns on stage playing his own songs, as the other members acted as his backing band.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra#cite_note-1) The group performed a live radio show,[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra#cite_note-2) as well as several club dates around the United States and Europe.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra#cite_note-3)

QCdWWunDgKs
This would have been so cool to see.

[Wake Up]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_Orchestra

This would have been so cool to see.

i'm right there with you. wish i would've caught them live.

[Brand-new-123]

i'm right there with you. wish i would've caught them live.
I just wish I was more musically aware at 14. I had no idea who Dave Bazan was at the time at all.

[Wake Up]

I just wish I was more musically aware at 14. I had no idea who Dave Bazan was at the time at all.

most 14 year olds don't know who david bazan is. lol

[Brand-new-123]

I decided to stop neglecting Headphones recently and "I Never Wanted You" is just a killer track. I'm so excited to see him in a little over a month.

[dtrzcin]

Curse Your Branches is lyrically superb, but then again, most of Bazan's albums are.

[RuckerPark]

subscribed. just tweeted him asking about the audio files from "alone at the mic" told him i got the download on amazon since it was sold out in his store, and he hooked up the audio tracks from the DVD. incredibly nice of him!

[theguy77]

I decided to stop neglecting Headphones recently and "I Never Wanted You" is just a killer track. I'm so excited to see him in a little over a month.

god that song live was just moving. i like that about david bazan, he knows how to be passionately apathetic haha, you'd think that contradicts but when you hear his music you can really feel what it's like not to want to participate in your life. i can much relate to that lately.

[nicksteinborn]

My favorite songwriter by miles. The Headphones record is probably my favorite work of his. His lyrics are just so ridiculously awesome.

[Wake Up]

15167897

[Brand-new-123]

Priests and Paramedics is such a killer track. The way Mr. Bazan sings the "we're all gonna die" part gets me every time. I always end up listening to it at least a couple times, which is pretty unusual for me.
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[hoaxchen]

my favorite Bazan track right now is Curse your Branches. I saw him live at the Bumbershoot festival and all the pedro stuff he played was killer

[Brand-new-123]

http://www.davidbazan.com/2010/11/i-helped-bazan-make-a-record/
David is making a new album right now! The songs are all there, recording is underway! We are shooting for a Spring 2011 release. Barsuk gave him dough to pay for dudes to play on the record and some gear upgrades to make it sound great. But in order to focus his full attention on recording (so he doesn’t take three years like he did with “Curse Your Branches”) we need to keep him at home as much as possible until he’s finished recording the album. That’s a little tricky because a significant part of his income comes from touring.
So we came up with a plan to raise funds for anyone who wants to help out. Here’s the deal:
$35 gets you:
1. Limited Edition “I Helped Bazan Make A Record” T-shirt.
2. Your name in the liner notes of David Bazan’s “Strange Negotiations”.
3. A pre-order of “Strange Negotiations” CD (delivery date TBA)
4. $5 discount coupon good towards purchase of merchandise at any Bazan show.
BUY NOW (http://store.davidbazan.com/product/i-helped-bazan-make-a-record-shirt-cd)
$40 gets you:
1. Limited Edition “I Helped Bazan Make A Record” T-shirt.
2. Your name in the liner notes of David Bazan’s “Strange Negotiations”.
3. A pre-order of “Strange Negotiations” Vinyl LP (delivery date TBA)
4. $5 discount coupon good towards purchase of merchandise at any Bazan show.
BUY NOW (http://store.davidbazan.com/product/i-helped-bazan-make-a-record-shirt-lp)
This is a limited time offer. We’ll take orders until December 1.
There will be no re-prints of the shirts after the sales period ends.
Shirts and discount coupons will ship on December 10 (guaranteed delivery for Christmas!)
We don’t know exactly when the album will be released. But we’ll let you know as soon as we figure out the release date and ship it to arrive on or before that date.

[jdr2187]

May do the 40 deal. Love Bazan.

[Brand-new-123]

Yeah, I'll probably do the $40 package with my paycheck on Friday.

[theguy77]

"never wanted you" is one of my favorite bazan songs. he played a rock band version of it live and that was actually the first version i heard, and even that stood out live. i dont know what makes it so addictive but i cant listen just once.

[Brand-new-123]

Hj3ZNrkVM8A
Here's the full Bazan: Alone at the Microphone dvd.

[gman610]

Bump. This thread (and man) deserve more attention. I just got back from seeing him play in a living room in Atlanta. It was fantastic, as is usually the case with live Bazan. I'm a big fan, if you couldn't tell by the avatar. Incredibly affecting voice (there's not many who can come close to him, imo) and, somewhat to my surprise, a greater guitar player than I thought he was. Added some great blues tinges to the older songs ("Transcontinental," "Cold Beer & Cigarettes," etc.). In addition to all that, he was also very personable, and I and my friend had a great conversation with him about his van, Chick-fil-a, Radiohead, and his upcoming City & Colour opening slot.

Setlist (in rough order):
Wolves at the Door

Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box (Radiohead cover)

Selling Advertising

Q & A #1

Hard To Be

Cold Beer & Cigarettes

Q & A #2

Transcontinental

Fewer Broken Pieces

Shit Talker

Options

Q & A #3

Virginia

In Stitches

Priests & Paramedics

Q & A #4

Strange Negotiations

[thesollopsist]

I love this man.