pjbondmusic - Tumblr blog

[pjbondmusic]

I am coming out of partial retirement to play my first show in over 3 years. My good friend Austin Lucas asked me to sing some of my songs so he could sing along, and who was I to say no? Austin and I have traveled the world together, shared many great stages, sang songs together, and made countless wonderful friends. These days I don’t play so much, mostly after getting a bit burnt out and felt the need to try living a life that was a bit more consistent and less tumultuous. As it turns out, that can be pretty nice after so many years of adventure. During this break a small handful of people reached out to ask if or when I’d be making music again, and I didn’t have a real answer. But, now I do. Austin and I will be playing at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia on Wednesday, November 14th. My plan is to play some old favorites that Austin can sing along with, and perhaps a new song or two, if people will indulge me. I will also be more than happy to add songs to the setlist that people would like to hear, so if you’ll be coming out for the show, feel free to email me ahead of time with requests, or let me know at the show. 

I will also have all of the merch that I’ve been storing in my basement, and would absolutely love to have people take it home with them, so expect ridiculously slashed prices and please take one of everything for mere pennies. Well, not literal pennies, as I don’t want to carry more weight home than I brought to the show. 

Anyway, I do really hope anyone in the Philly area that would like to hear us sing will come play. There’s some other fun ideas in the works, so keep tuned for more news. 

Thanks and big love,

PJ

[pjbondmusic]

On a dark, sad day, we need some light and beauty to help provide movement in the right direction. Some really lovely humans got together to make music, and to support the ACLU, who lead a great fight for those who need help the most. When tasked with whom to cover, I was a bit at a loss, but eventually deferred to Harry Chapin - a man who spent his life singing about loss and love, and was a champion for the Arts, saw hunger and poverty as an "insult to America." An estimated third of Chapin's concerts were benefits, and while it caused tension with some of his bandmates and family, he gave so much of his money to charities that he did not leave much money behind after his death. And, the man knew how to write a damn fine song. Seeing as I do not play music as much these days, I wanted my next project to be something that was worth while, and when this opportunity came along, it felt perfect. Please listen to this beautiful, scrappy band of lovers, life livers, wide-eyed, open-hearted humans. Find inspiration, find love, and spread them with reckless abandon. I love you all, and wish you peace and happiness.

I recorded my song in my bedroom, in South Philadelphia, and my brother, Brian Bond, mixed it in Bhuj, Kutch, India. 

Please check it out here.

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Mission Statement

This compilation is an expression of love, anger, hope and protest on inauguration day. Let it serve as a reminder that the fight for justice is not over, that the celebration of diversity is essential to progress, that we must work together for what is fair and good. Can’t stop. Won’t Stop. Don’t stop now. All proceeds from this compilation benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that defends individual freedoms in the face of government abuse, including speech and religion, a woman’s right to choose, the right to due process, and citizens rights to privacy. Each dollar donated will help protect the people of the United States, especially those most vulnerable, from the reckless authority of a Trump presidency.

#xtramilerecordings #theblacknumbers #blacknumbersmusic #blacknumbersrecordings

[pjbondmusic]

The lovely folks at JUMP Philly asked me to write a piece about understanding my place in the world, and how I viewed my active time in music. For those who aren’t in Philadelphia, but are interested in what I wrote, here is the piece, and a slightly easier (albeit, less edited) version to read. Thanks to Natalie Piserchio for the beautiful photo.

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I make sure the glasses are clean; at least that is what I tell people now, when they ask what I do. These days I work behind a bar, but that’s fairly new for me. For the better part of 15 years you’d have had a better chance finding me behind a windshield or on the computer booking tours. Back then the idea of success was an end goal - these days it is more about progress and comfort.

I signed my first record deal in 2003. Four months later my buddies and I graduated college and tried to take our scrappy DIY indie band, Outsmarting Simon, from the basements to the big stages, like we’d seen so many do before us. The early years, while still in college, started out solely as fun, and they were.

We toured the east coast on breaks, and put out a demo that helped us sign with Triple Crown Records. The label gave us a couple thousand bucks, and we went straight out and bought a newer van and a trailer. We’d made it! The van broke down on the way off the lot. A trailer wheel fell off in California. We tried to scratch out a worthy existence everywhere in between.

All told, Outsmarting Simon played close to 500 shows, released an EP and two LPs, were on a decent label, yet could never put more than 100 people in a room. Every time we’d get a small step up, or feel like we’d reached a milestone, we’d look around and realize that not much had changed. It always felt like the one thing we needed, the tiny missing part, was just out of our reach.

Eventually the other boys got tired of sleeping on dirty couches, and surviving on cans of beans and Saltines. Considering all three of them had degrees in engineering, I couldn’t blame them. They all got jobs and I felt lost. Next, Philly-based Marigold asked me to sing for them. We wrote some songs, and things started to feel really good; there was a buzz and positive movement. Still, we exhausted every connection we had to try to sign to a good label or get on solid tours, and things started to feel stagnant. After many very fun, but poorly attended tours, the band had few options and started to splinter.

As Marigold fell apart, I was offered a position as a hired bass player in The Color Fred, with ex-Taking Back Sunday/ex-Breaking Pangaea member, Fred Mascherino. Fred and I knew each other from my Outsmarting Simon days, and I liked the idea of joining a band with a guy from my past who’d gone on to do big things. With his talent, experience and connections, it seemed Fred could push the band to a respectable level. I made it through two east coast tours and a full U.S. before I got myself fired.

By the next week I’d secured a position in a backing band for a singer on Geffen/Interscope that was managed by the company that broke Fallout Boy, Gym Class Heroes and Cobra Starship. Nine months of playing music I hated bought me the opportunity to get paid well, sleep in hotels, tour on a bus and play to packed houses. I did not feel successful. I felt cheap. Every opportunity to move up the ladder felt less good. The band members were all let go that winter, and four days later we’d found work with a new singer on Universal/Motown. It quickly became clear that management didn’t want to pay us properly, and fizzled out before it got off the ground.

After watching every band I was part of either fall apart, fire me, or disband, I decided to try things on my own. I gave up my home and most of my belongings, stored some books and records in my friend’s basement, and left. The first year I played close to 250 shows across 12 countries, released a full length and an EP, and wrote part of a book chronicling it all. And it still felt so far from success. At any point, if you had asked me what would make me feel successful, it would always be some version of “making it,” feeling like I actually had a comfortable career making music, that I was supporting myself doing the thing I loved, that people appreciated my music and wanted to hear it. But, even when I had some semblance of all of those things, it never quite felt like I did.

My older brother once asked me if perhaps my problem was not a lack of success, but a misunderstanding, or misapprehension of my situation. As a life, an adventure, it was the most wildly successful experience one could imagine. I’d spent the last many years traveling the world, playing music, and making friends. He was right, but the problem was that I had not set out to be good at making life an adventure, I had set out to be a full-time musician. This discord is what created the problem. I could not see the things I had as amazing, because they were not the thing I wanted in the beginning. Shifting views became important and necessary for my survival and happiness.

After about four years of touring solo and still not having a home, I began voicing more often that I may want to find a place, get off the road. I also realized I was spending less and less time working on music, and spending more of my free time reading books about food, and learning about craft beer. In the spring of 2014 a great friend offered a room in his house, and I decided to take him up on it. For what was supposed to be just a few months, I slept on the floor in a small room in his South Philly row home. That summer I helped open the beer garden at  Spruce Street Harbor Park, and worked harder than I ever had, and for the first time in a long time felt satisfied. The milestones were small, but they came often, and more definitively. The payoffs, literal and figurative, came quickly. As the summer was coming to a close I was offered a position as a barback at American Sardine Bar, and so started my time behind the bar.

Working as a barback is hard and thankless, but if you have a good crew, it can be incredibly rewarding. I’ve been lucky enough to work for some amazing people who have a lot to teach, and I’ve tried my best to learn as much as I can from them. In my off time I read books about cocktails, craft beer and food preparation. Every day I feel like I am progressing, and sharing knowledge with others.

In my almost two years with the company, I have worked my way up from daytime barback to managing bartender and floor manager. I have learned so much, and each day I get to take care of people, give them a place to relax and feel comfortable.

It is a good feeling, knowing my books and records are in one place, that when the seasons change I don’t have to track down the appropriate clothing in a box in someone’s basement. It is nice to lay my head down on the same pillow each night, feeling like I may have made someone’s day a little better. At home, if I feel I’ve made some progress, learned something new, then I feel successful. At work, it doesn’t matter if I am the barback or the manager - if people are happy, and if the glasses are clean, I’ve done my job.

[pjbondmusic]

Sales and Charity

Hello Dear Friends,

This has been quite a year, and right now, more than ever, I think we need to look around at the good things we have, the positive people and music in our lives, and push to support them, take care of them, and make sure our reach is far and wide. Over the last couple of years I struggled to put together a collection of songs that really made me proud, and eventually, with great help from my family and friends, i was able to do that. With the help of Communipaw and some other friends, I released “Where Were You?” in May 2015, on Xtra Mile Recordings and Black Numbers, and it is my favorite record I’ve ever released, and the one that makes me most proud to have tried my hand at music.

Music is also the ticket that took me around the world, helped open my eyes, provided me strength when I was scared, friendship when I was lonely, peace when I felt lost and conflicted. These experiences have made the world feel smaller and more tightly knit, and has only further underlined the privileges I have, and has made me appreciate more what I’m so lucky to have, and makes me more want to help others who have not been afforded such ease through life.

These days I am taking a bit more time to make sure that my every-day experiences are positive, helpful ones, and that music is playing a positive role in my life, one that fills my heart with joy, and hopefully contributes well to others. It is less of a full on attack, and more of a slow, constant burn, that I hope to pursue for many years to come, regardless of touring.

With that, I have some leftover T-Shirts, tote bags, and posters from previous tours that I would much rather be in your hands than mine. I also have plenty of copies of various albums and recordings I’ve made, and I would love dearly if they were spinning on your turntables and swirling in your ears.

If you’d like to purchase music, you can find it here:

Xtra Mile Recordings - https://www.xtramilerecordings.com/Shop/DownloadDetails?rid=XMR_RE_181

Black Numbers - http://www.theblacknumbers.com/contact/

PJ Bond Bandcamp - https://pjbondmusic.bandcamp.com/music

If you’d like merch, I have limited sizes/designs left. You can order them directly from me at pjbondmusic@gmail.com. Here’s the deal:

Black Bars - Women’s M (Grey) / Men’s L (Tan)

Bulldog - Women’s M (White) / Men’s L (Natural) [one left]

Hats - Men’s S (Grey)

It’s Not Fun - Women’s M (Navy) / Men’s M, L, XL (Midnight Blue)

Everglades Lyrics - Men’s M (Grey)

Jester/Skeleton - Men’s L (Tan) [one left]

Tote bag - Natural

Poster - Black/Silver on Natural, hand screened, limited to 47

LPs - Where Were You? / 22 April: Vienna, Austria / You Didn’t Know I Was Alphabetical

7”s - Wax Packs (split with Arliss Nancy) / Ten Degrees and the Floor

CD - Where Were You?

Here’s the thing - every Dollar, Pound, Euro you have, is a vote or a comment towards the things you hold dear, especially during this season. I do not want to make this about me making money. I want you to have music and merch of mine, if you want it, and I want you to be able to decide where your money goes. So, if you buy directly from me, I am giving some options for where the profits from these items will go, and chose things that I think are specifically related to events that are greatly affecting the world right now. If you want to buy anything from me, I would love if you let me know how you want the proceeds used. These are my thoughts:

UN Refugee Agency (http://donate.unhcr.org/gbr/general/) - right now they are preparing for the winter months and making sure Refugees are able to stay warm and fed and safe.

End Homelessness (http://www.endhomelessness.org/) - some people in the US are more worried about “helping people here, at home,” to which I say, “Great! Let’s do that!” So, this is an opportunity to do that, to get people off of the streets and work towards helping them back onto their feet.

Action Against Hunger (http://www.aah-usa.org/) - food insecurity, both here and abroad, is one of the world's saddest and most prevalent, and preventable problems, and it is one we can definitely work towards fixing.

Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.org/) - there’s so much ignorance being spewed these days, and we need quick, easily digestible references that might help to educate. Sure, there are issues and concerns about the validity of anything on here, but the community works very quickly to ensure the information is correct, and way more often than not, this is a viable and positive source to consult.

If none of these speak to you, please feel free to suggest another option, and I’ll be happy to work with you. Email me at pjbondmusic@gmail.com

Thank you to all of you, every single one of you who has supported me, my friends, or anyone who strives to follow something they love, and hopes to make the world better in the process.

Please take this time to create positive change in this world, please do not succumb to fear and fear-mongering, but educate yourselves and others through kindness and truth. I hugely appreciate you all, and I wish you a wonderful, warm, safe, and happy holiday season. Let’s do our best to make sure that is the case for everyone on this planet.

All Love,

PJ

[pjbondmusic]

Dearest friends around the world, I'm sure most of you are aware that tomorrow we in the US celebrate Thanksgiving (regardless of whether you understand what it is or why). In and of itself, this holiday can be confusing, coming from a questionable history, but hopefully emerging as something specifically positive. Now, more than ever, we are forced to look at how great and terrible things can coexist on this planet. Tomorrow will hopefully be a day of positivity for people in the US, but more so I hope for peace and love for every single person around the globe, all of our brothers and sisters. I have been extremely lucky to have been able to travel to so many beautiful places, meet so many kind and warm people, and have facilitated most of it through the generosity and kindness of strangers, many of whom have become friends. Music was the vehicle, but the interactions and experiences changed my life, gave me faith, filled my heart. Thank you all, so very much for every thing you've done for me, for every traveler, musician, friend, whether the act was large or small. These acts of kindness will hopefully give rise to further ones, open more hearts, and create a better world for all of us. Wider, easier to navigate channels from fear and danger into safety, comfort, happiness. Please choose love, please choose kindness, please have faith in good people, regardless of your views on religion. I send my love to all of you. Should you need anything, I will be here. Please just reach out and let me know. All and one love.

[pjbondmusic]

Austria

Friends of Austria - I will be visiting from 3/11 to 12/11, and my hope is to play 2 shows while I am over - 1 in Graz, and 1 in Vienna. If you would like to come, please let me know, as the shows will likely be in private homes, but open to everyone. Please write me at pjbondmusic@gmail.com, or on FB, and I will get you all the info. Also, if you would like a T-shirt, please let me know as well, because I do not plan on bringing over shirts unless people want them. The same goes for vinyl. Thanks and I hope to see my buds soon!

[pjbondmusic]

I am very honored and pleased to announce that I will be playing some shows with the great Frank Turner this week. Frank has kindly asked me along to help celebrate the release of his new album, Positive Songs for Negative People, and he will be bringing these tunes to a record store by you. Please come along and check us out, and pick up his new album. I’ll have my new record, Where Were You? with me as well. Here’s some more info on that. 

Come sing along:

06 August - Kingston - Banquet Records / New Slang

11 August - Worcester - Rise (12:30pm)

11 August - Bristol - Rise (6:30pm)

12 August - Nottingham - Rough Trade

[pjbondmusic]

Moving right along

These UK shows have been really fun, and The Lion & The Wolf and I would love if you came and joined us. Our buddy Jimmy is taking great care of us and singing lovely songs as Heart of Oak. Here's where we will be for the rest of the tour: 08.07 (Wed) Camden - Monarch 09.07 (Thu) Cardiff - Gwdihw 10.07 (Fri) 2,000 Trees - Busking Stage^ 11.07 (Sat) Bradford - 1 in 12 Club 12.07 (Sun) Edinburgh - Banshee Labrynth 13.07 (Mon) Newcastle - Nerd Hutch {underneath Travelling Man Comics} 14.07 (Tue) Manchester - Star and Garter 15.07 (Wed) Hull - 80 Days Bier Haus 16.07 (Thu) Lincoln - The Guilded Quill (special tattoo shop show) 17.07 (Fri) Brighton - Quadrant***venue change 19.07 (Sun) London - Veg Bar***venue and date change*** ^The Lion & The Wolf is on a different stage

[pjbondmusic]

UK friends, I hope the sun is treating you well, warming your bones, and making you smile. Here is a cool video of me & Big Orange in Germany, shot by the kind folks at LaMosiqa. If you like what you hear, why don’t you come out and join The Lion & The Wolf and me, while we run around the UK? 

Tonight we will be playing in Southampton at Secret Garden Parties (email me for an invite!) and tomorrow we are at The Sanctuary in Basingstoke. We hope to see you. Thank you and all love!

[pjbondmusic]

We start this great run tomorrow. Won't you join us?! UK w/ The Lion & The Wolf 03.07 (Fri) Winchester - Blissfield’s Festival 04.07 (Sat) Southampton - House Show 05.07 (Sun) Basingstoke - The Sanctuary 06.07 (Mon) Nottingham - JT Soar 07.07 (Tue) Leeds - Brew Dog Leeds 08.07 (Wed) Camden - Monarch 09.07 (Thu) Cardiff - Gwdihw 10.07 (Fri) 2,000 Trees - Busking Stage^ 11.07 (Sat) Bradford - 1 in 12 Club 12.07 (Sun) Edinburgh - Banshee Labrynth 13.07 (Mon) Newcastle - Nerd Hutch {underneath Travelling Man Comics} 14.07 (Tue) Manchester - Star and Garter 15.07 (Wed) Hull - 80 Days Bier Haus 16.07 (Thu) Lincoln - The Guilded Quill 17.07 (Fri) Brighton - Quadrant***venue change 19.07 (Sun) London - Veg Bar***venue and date change*** ^The Lion & The Wolf is on a different stage

[pjbondmusic]

Thank you Europe. UK next week!

Well, Europe friends, those of you that came out to see me play with PJ Bond & Big Orange, thank you so very much. For me, the biggest thanks goes to James Choice & the Bad Decisions, for being amazing tour mates and an incredible band. I cannot thank them enough. Along with us was the wonderful Cis, and the ever perfect Dario from LifeTripTourSupport. They all made this the most fun and best performing tour I have ever done. And we really had such a comfortable, safe, and pleasant time working with Dario. If you are a band and need a reliable, affordable, talented soundguy, driver, van, please check him and them out.

Now, it is on to the UK. As seems to be happening all over the place, there has been another change - the London venue closed down and we had a big schedule conflict, so the show has been moved to the next day in a different venue. Here is where The Lion & The Wolf and I will be. Joining us on some dates will be our buddy, Heart of Oak.

UK w/ The Lion & The Wolf

03.07 (Fri) Winchester - Blissfield’s Festival

04.07 (Sat) Southampton - House Show

05.07 (Sun) Basingstoke - The Sanctuary

06.07 (Mon) Nottingham - JT Soar

07.07 (Tue) Leeds - Brew Dog Leeds

08.07 (Wed) Camden - Monarch

09.07 (Thu) Cardiff - Gwdihw

10.07 (Fri) 2,000 Trees - Busking Stage^

11.07 (Sat) Bradford - 1 in 12 Club

12.07 (Sun) Edinburgh - Banshee Labrynth

13.07 (Mon) Newcastle - Nerd Hutch

14.07 (Tue) Manchester - Star and Garter

15.07 (Wed) Hull - 80 Days Bier Haus

16.07 (Thu) Lincoln - The Guilded Quill

17.07 (Fri) Brighton - The Fitz

19.07 (Sun) London - Veg Bar***venue and date change***

^The Lion & The Wolf is on a different stage

I would love to see all of my UK buds out at these shows, they will be a blast. Thank you, and all love.

xo,

PJ

[pjbondmusic]

The kind folks from Start A Scene Sessions caught up with Kathrin and me in Belgium, and we did a version of Broad Street. This was recorded in the back of our big orange van, courtesy of the wonderful LifeTrip TourSupport. If you want to see the full band version, come check us out at one of our last shows in Germany. 

23.06 (Tue) Leipzig (GER) - Kulturcafe Manfred 24.06 (Wed) Würzburg (GER) - Kurt und Komisch 25.06 (Thu) Hannover (GER) - Garden Show* 26.06 (Fri) Bielefeld (GER) - Plan B

[pjbondmusic]

My amazing German friends - please join us for the last few days of this wonderful Full Band tour. Tonight we are playing Couch in Regensburg, and tomorrow is the great Ramones Museum in Berlin. We'd love to see you for these last few exciting shows with James Choice & the Bad Decisions: 22.06 (Mon) Berlin (GER) - Ramones Museum (VENUE CHANGE) 23.06 (Tue) Leipzig (GER) - Kulturcafe Manfred 24.06 (Wed) Würzburg (GER) - Kurt und Komisch 25.06 (Thu) Hannover (GER) - Garden Show* 26.06 (Fri) Bielefeld (GER) - Plan B

[pjbondmusic]

Hey friends, the full band (|PJ Bond & Big Orange) is sounding amazing here, and I really hope you can check out some of the shows. Here's a little taste of what the music sounded like on the first night, and it's been getting stronger and more fun every night:

Savannah Neighborhoods

If you are in Switzerland, here is where we will be in the coming days:

06.06 (Sat) Luchingen (CH) - Bandruum 07.06 (Sun) Zurich (CH) - El Dorado Bar 08.06 (Mon) HELP?? 09.06 (Tue) Geneva (CH) - Kalvingrad / Usine 10.06 (Wed) Bern (CH) - Cafe Marta*

Huge thanks to our great friend Dario Solenicki from LifeTripToursupport for getting us everywhere safely, making us sound great, and keeping us all in smiles and good times. If you ever need a driver / soundguy / all around good dude, he is definitely your man.

Also, if you have not checked out James Choice & the Bad Decisions yet, you're seriously missing out. They've been great support on this run, and it's been a pleasure traveling and making music with them.

[pjbondmusic]

Full album stream & Tour Dates

My latest album, Where Were You? is out now, worldwide on Xtra Mile Recordings​ and in North America on Black Numbers​, and is a full band journey through the last few years of my life. My brothers-in-music, Communipaw, helped me turn this into a full on family band affair, and it would not have been possible without their talents, their good vibes, or their patient help. It would be wonderful if you would support all these great people who have helped me make this album happen and bring it to the world. Thank you, all, from the bottom of my heart.

Tour Dates

I am coming back, bringing the new album, and a bunch of musicians. I couldn’t be more excited. 

Europe (Full Band) w/ James Choice & The Bad Decisions

02.06 (Tue) Vienna (AT) - Das Bach 03.06 (Wed) Graz (AT) - Sub 04.06 (Thu) Salzburg (AT) - Denkmal 05.06 (Fri) Rohrschach (CH) - Treppenhaus 06.06 (Sat) Luchingen (CH) - Bandruum 07.06 (Sun) Zurich (CH) - El Dorado Bar 08.06 (Mon) HELP?? 09.06 (Tue) Geneva (CH) - Kalvingrad / Usine 10.06 (Wed) Bern (CH) - Cafe Marta* 11.06 (Thu) Poggio Torriana - Rimini (IT) - Teatro del Centro Sociale 12.06 (Fri) Turbigo (IT) - PTEC Fest 13.06 (Sat) Castiglione delle Stiviere - Arci Dallo 14.06 (Sun) Lyon (F) - Kraspek Myzik* 15.06 (Mon) West-Vlaanderen (BEL) - Jeugdhuis Ohk 16.06 (Tue) Leuven (BEL) - Vleugel F 17.06 (Wed) Zele (BEL) - JC Juvenes* 18.06 (Thu) Castricum (NL) - Bakkerij 19.06 (Fri) Heidelberg (GER) - Villa Nachttanz 20.06 (Sat) Holzerath (GER) - Open Air Holzeratch Festival 21.06 (Sun) Regensburg (GER) - Couch* 22.06 (Mon) Berlin (GER) - Ramones Museum (VENUE CHANGE) 23.06 (Tue) Leipzig (GER) - Kulturcafe Manfred 24.06 (Wed) Würzburg (GER) - Kurt und Komisch 25.06 (Thu) Hannover (GER) - Garden Show* 26.06 (Fri) Bielefeld (GER) - Plan B

*special acoustic show

UK w/ The Lion & The Wolf

03.07 (Fri) Winchester - Blissfield’s Festival 04.07 (Sat) Southampton - House Show 05.07 (Sun) Basingstoke - The Sanctuary 06.07 (Mon) Nottingham - JT Soar 07.07 (Tue) Leeds - Brew Dog Leeds 09.07 (Thu) Cardiff - Gwdihw 10.07 (Fri) 2,000 Trees - Busking Stage^ 11.07 (Sat) Bradford - 1 in 12 Club 12.07 (Sun) Edinburgh - Banshee Labrynth 13.07 (Mon) Newcastle - Nerd Hutch 14.07 (Tue) Manchester - Star and Garter 15.07 (Wed) Hull - 80 Days Bier Haus  16.07 (Thu) Lincoln - The Guilded Quill 17.07 (Fri) Brighton - The Fitz 18.07 (Sat) London - The Stillery

^The Lion & The Wolf is on a different stage

A few of these venues are still being sorted out, but if you think that you can help on one of the dates that is free, please email me here - we appreciate any help, whether it’s a full on show, or a house/garden gathering, if it fits in the routing. Thank you so much, and I really do look forward to seeing so many of the amazing people I have had the pleasure of meeting over the years. This will be my first time back in a while, with all of the shows being more special and interesting than ever. Please let me know if you have any questions or special requests. 

[pjbondmusic]

In April of 2009 I gave up my home and most of my belongings, and started what was supposed to be a year-long journey of music playing and world seeing. That year stretched its gangly legs out for the next five or so, and it wasn’t until June of 2014 that I took up a more semi-permanent residence, in Philadelphia. During this half-decade of wandering, my emotional health shifted and folded upon itself, careened and soared, and the only thing I found stability in was the creation and release of an album I heard in my head. At some point I had to stop meandering, stop holding tight to dreams I created as a teenager, and realize life doesn’t always give you what you want. But, if you work hard enough, and twist your thoughts up a bit, you can snake your way through, at least in some yoga-posed form, and find some space for a while. So, there I’ve been, for the last few years, ever pushing towards the final event where I could eventually release my work. And that day is today. May 4, 2015, I am officially releasing “Where Were You?” and letting the world see and hear what I have been up to. This record no longer belongs to me, and while that is a little scary, it is incredibly freeing and positive. It would be wonderful if you, dear reader/listener, enjoy what you hear, but that isn’t the point. I needed to make this album for myself, and I think I did what I set out to do. If I never play another show, or release any more music, I can be proud of what I’ve done with my brothers-in-music, Communipaw. So, please enjoy, if you will. Below are links to stream, as well as buy vinyl, CD, and digital versions of the record. It is also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and wherever else you find music these days. Thank you for your unwavering kindness and support. I send you all my love.

Stream

Purchase Vinyl

Purchase CD/Digital

[pjbondmusic]

Twangville

Did you see the kind words the folks at Twangville had for me? Thanks so much for the support! http://twangville.com/21596/mayers-playlist-for-marchapril-2015-part-2/