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The Von Bondies.
 Jason
Stollsteimer, chief songwriter for young Michigan upstarts The
Von Bondies, has received as much attention for his recent punch
up with Jack White as he has for his band's first major label
release on Sire Records. The handsome singer/guitarist was made
to resemble the elephant man after a bar brawl with the White
Stripes superstar a few months ago. Now it seems, Stollsteimer
has both recovered and put the incident behind him. Speaking
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania just ninety minutes before his
band hit the stage, Stollsteimer is a little fluey but still
more than excited to talk abut 'Pawn Shoppe Heart.' So energised
was he in fact, I could barely get a word in.
The band have been bestowed with the enormous honour of being the first to be signed to the revamped Sire Records, run by legendary music aficionado Seymour Stein. It turns out Stein saw the band play a show with The Datsuns in Amsterdam and he was that impressed that he decided to restart the label that had been inactive for fifteen years. "It's the biggest compliment we've ever been given: 10 out of 10 in a magazine is nothing compared to that!" guffaws Stollsteimer. "According to what I've been told, and I could be totally wrong, the last band he signed was The Smiths. Of course there were The Ramones, Talking Heads, Madonna, The Dead Boys, Radio Birdman. It was an honour. Normally what happens is your lawyer talks to a label, but with Seymour Stein, it's just one guy and he's an actual music fan. He's not a guy in an office with a suit on. He will fly anywhere to go see a band if he hears they're good. We were the first band to be signed and we're honoured beyond belief."
The Von Bondies released their debut 'Lack Of Communication' in 2002. Co-produced by Detroit bigwigs Jim Diamond (Dirtbombs) and the aforementioned Jack White, the independent record and subsequent kitbag of shows did much for their reputation as a blistering live band. Taking just a few days to record, live, with no mixing, the record elevated the band to the top tier of Michigan bands. 'Pawn Shoppe Heart' on the other hand is all about their growth as a band. Stollsteimer is excited about the new record and the way it pushes the band forward. "Not one song was written in Detroit. The reason why the new record sounds the way it does, I believe, is because we were seeing the world. We were experiencing life instead of being in this tiny little cocoon of a place that is very claustrophobic. And sure our music sounds much bigger, and we think, better."
The more polished, more stylised sound of 'Pawn Shoppe Heart'is owed to producer (and Talking Heads/Modern Lovers guitarist) Jerry Harrison. One might assume that Harrison and the band met through Stein but as Stollsteimer assures me, it is but a coincidence the two got together. "Wouldn't that make sense? But no. Seymour is very hands off. We were on tour in San Francisco and we were heading to LA and we got a phone call from a friend who knows a bunch of people in the industry, nothing to do with Sire, was gonna ask a bunch of producers to come done and meet with us and see this show. This was about two years ago. Jerry Harrison just happened to be someone there. It worked out so well."
Their new sound on record might divide existing fans, but more likely bring in a whole bunch of new ones. The rawness of the debut has not been replaced; it has merely been touched up. Stollsteimer and Co (knockouts guitarist Marcie Bolen and bassist Carrie Smith, and the Hulk-like drummer Don Blum), are happy to be separating their live sound from their sound on record.
"I think they shouldn't ever be identical. They have to have something different. It has a part of what we sound live and it definitely captures the vibe of the band. Before 'Pawn Shoppe Heart' we were 100% a live band. We were embarrassed that we couldn't go in the studio, that we weren't very good studio musicians. On 'Pawn Shoppe Heart' we were a lot more confident. There was no pressure on the new record. We had the songs written for a long time. We just went in there and had fun with it."
While Stollsteimer doesn't particularly like hanging out in smoky bars post-gig, (be prefers to walk in the city during the day time) he is not averse to having a quiet drink after a show. Maybe his recent marriage to his high school sweetheart has had something to do with his reformation. "I'm the most mild mannered," he insists. "Nobody keeps me in check. I'm the one kinda watching...
"Carrie calls me the dad and herself the mother. I think she has the lowest alcohol tolerance. The thing is our band rarely drinks - I'd say maybe twice a week. Out of seven shows, twice a week. Then those two times a week nobody can hold their alcohol! Everybody gets drunk! The last time I drank was a month ago, even like a sip, but the rest of the band, they'll maybe have a shot or two and it just hits them. The girls are tiny, so they're drunk in, like, three drinks. So guys in Australia, get the girls drunk."
He sounds like he's baiting us, but... "They're cute girls. They're like my little sisters. If anybody hurts them, they're on my shit list." Consider yourselves warned, lads.
Lenin Simos
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dB Magazine presents The Von Bondies at the Enigma Bar on Wed 7 April, and 'Pawn Shoppe Heart' is out now through Warners. See Prize Frenzy\u8482\'aa for giveaways.
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