Interview: The Von Bondies and Jason Stollsteimer

The Von Bondies are a true indie rock success story. For ten years the band has been making catchy, melodic indie music and building a small yet loyal following. Things seem to be clicking for the group right now as they tour to support their latest disc, Love, Hate and Then There's You. The disc has a melodic, celebratory sound backed with dark, brooding lyrics. It's a true ying and yang effect the band creates on the disc and it works. I was able to catch up with lead singer/song writer Jason Stollsteimer as he drove to cheer on the Michigan State basketball team to college hoops victory (sorry for the loss Jason...). Here's what he had to say about his band, their fans and his dark lyrics.

Associated Content: You all have been on the road for the past two months including a blistering set you did at the Roxy in Hollywood. How has the reaction been from your core fans regarding the new tunes?

Jason Stollsteimer: Reaction to the record has been great!! The first few shows we played, the kids seemed to know the words and were singing along and the record had not come out yet!! After ten years of doing this you start to become humble when stuff like that happens...I mean we are happy to just have fans but the reaction our fans are having to the new record is really cool...they are really digging it. At this point I think we now have a bit of a cult following and that is great.

AC: How are you feeling about your latest disc, "Love, Hate and Then There's You"? Does the disc sound like the way you intended it?

JS: We actually turned in a version of this disc in 2006...only two of the tunes off of that version ended up on the disc...we almost stopped doing the band because of all of the problems we were having with our last record company. Sire/Warner Bros. treated us well in the beginning but there was one person who would not deliver our new disc to the company. It was done and he was going to sit on it so we wanted off the label! We actually had to hire a lawyer to get us off that label so we could go to another label and get this record out and that took a year!

AC: The Von Bondies have been together for ten years and have gone through a few line up changes. Is this current line up one we can look forward to seeing for a while?

JS: This is definitely the most energetic, live version of the band we have had. I work in tandem with drummer Don Blum but right now this version seems to really have a fun time on stage!

AC: The radio station in LA that spun the band was Indie 103.1 and now the station is gone. What needs to happen to indie radio? Is this genre dead?

JS: Well the main thing that needs to happen is indie rock radio needs to REALLY be independent! They need to do their own thing and try not to compete with huge stations in LA or New York. There is a great station indie station in Columbus Ohio and they are totally independent and they are still making a living! They are doing well. I mean right now its all about the internet and my space...I think its tough nowadays if you are into music to really find good bands...I mean it used to be you only had 40-50 bands around doing their thing. Now thanks to the internet and technology you have over 1000 bands out there but you still have only 40-50 good ones! HA!

AC: What would you say the goals are for a young band nowadays? Is it a hit song on the radio or on a TV show or movie? Is it 5 million down loads on My Space? What is the major goal for your band?

JS: Honestly we have already fulfilled our main goals! We wanted to get to a point where we could headline mid-sized theaters. We are nearing that point right now. We are becoming a cult band and we are building a solid following. When the band started we wanted to be able to tour over in Europe and we have done that. You may have noticed at the Roxy show, we had quite a number of young Mexican fans in the audience. There has been a Von Bondies fan page being run in Mexico and at some point it was getting about a million hits a day, so we have acquired quite a fan base in Mexico and that happened before we even played there! I am very proud of what we have accomplished. We have been doing it our way, ourselves for over ten years. I think the goal now is to just have fun!

AC: You had a bit of help on this disc with a couple different producers including Butch Walker. What was it like to work with someone like Walker who is not only a sought after producer but also an accomplished singer/songwriter? What did you learn from him?

JS: I think the main thing I learned was that I want to work with him again! I had the songs already written and he was a major help to me because he worked with me in pre-production. He sat me down and I just played him the songs, just me and my guitar. It was great. He was super easy to work with and it was a lot of fun.

AC: Your songs seem to come from a very personal and very dark place. Are these tunes your own personal catharsis?

JS: Overall I am a pretty happy go lucky guy but yeah, our records have always had a dark side...what can I say, music is indeed my therapy.

AC: What's next for the band? Will you keep touring through the summer?

JS: Yeah, the goal is to keep touring through October. We will hit Europe then Canada then back to the US.

AC: Thanks for taking time out to chat with me Jason. Oh and go Michigan State!!

JS: Thank you!