Video Premiere/Song Download: PJ Bond's "I'm In A Bad Way"

Check out this premiere of PJ Bond‘s new video for “I’m In A Bad Way.” Over the next three weeks, we’ll be premiering videos and songs from PJ, as well as publishing his thoughts and lyrics for each.

Since April of 2009 I have been traveling around the world, singing songs and making friends. In that time I’ve been lucky enough to meet incredible people who’ve appreciated what I do enough to ask me to stick around for a while, which has led to me temporarily living in places like Swansea (Wales), Asheville (NC), Grand Rapids (MI) and Portland (OR), while passing through loads of places in between. It would be rather tough to begin to describe how interesting this has all been to me, but at very least I must say this: People are incredible. There are often moments when each of us questions how terrible things could happen so often in our world, whether it’s after hearing a tragic news story or seeing something happen to a loved one.  The truth is, though, that in the scheme of history, we are living in very peaceful times. This coupled with the fact that so many of us rarely take the time to get to know strangers makes our world seem bleak at times. I believe that this is not the case, but merely an issue of miseducation and misunderstanding. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of being able, and at times forced, to hang out with a great cross section of people around the globe, and, almost without fail, have found them amazingly warm, welcoming and kind.

During these travels I found myself thinking about the good things and the bad things that have led me to where I am, and eventually bits of these thoughts made their ways into songs. In the spring of 2012 I will be releasing a bunch of music in more traditional ways, but for now I wanted to share some songs and videos of a few things I’ve been working on as of late. The idea for these was not to make a single record or have a unifying theme, more so to touch on a variety of sounds and sights that I appreciate. I hope you’ll appreciate them too. I wish you safe travels.
PJ Bond

“I’m In A Bad Way” lyrics
We never want to feel the ways we do. It’s not a habit, I’m just trying to get through. I remember when we first met, covered in dust and stale cigarettes. We were sending smoke signals across the room, so maybe I misread the intention again. “I’d like to fuck you for a couple of weeks.” We do what we have to do. It’s not fun anymore, and I’m full of holes. I’m in a bad way, I’m unlovable. It’s not fun anymore, and it’s a high shame. I’m unlovable, I’m in a bad way. So, we call each other when we get lonely, and we fool around, with words and phrases, like, “hey cinnamon, will you be my sugar?” Or, “I’m lonely and worn out and sad, will you marry me?” We do what we have to.

This song was written while sleeping on my friend Nano’s floor in Brooklyn, NY. I went to his tiny, one room apartment in the late fall of 2010 to try and get a lot of writing done during a week long break between tours.  Having not seen Nano much since a cross country trip in 2009, it seemed I spent way more time cooking meals with him than playing music, and then when he’d go to sleep I found myself drinking beer and watching Entourage. For whatever reason I could not motivate myself to write much, and became highly discouraged. At some point later in the week I decided to force myself to work through some ideas, if for no other reason than to not seem like a lazy bum to Nano. I parsed through old notes and song ideas, scribbled lines in a book and strummed through some chords. Eventually I started to find small connections that led to bigger, stronger chunks, and then finally realized what the song was about. What came out felt like a real breakthrough, and made me proud to have fought through the laziness and seeming writer’s block. From there I shared the song with some friends and my brother, Brian Bond, and we recorded a full band version that somehow seems to marry the sounds of My Bloody Valentine and Ryan Adams. That version will be coming out in the spring, but I’ve really enjoyed playing the song live, so I’ve made it a point to include the song in my set.

On a recent tour down to FEST 10 in Gainesville, FL, my brother, Brian, joined me on lap steel and harmonies, which was great fun for me. We had the pleasure of playing a fun show in Lynchburg, VA, where our friend Randy Scott Carroll told us he’d like to shoot some video of us together. What you’re seeing here is a performance in Randy’s loft, along with his beautiful American Fox Hound, Oliver, on a perfect October day. I think it came out really well.

Bond is about to head out on an extensive European tour. Check out the dates below.

Nov
Sun / Nov-13 Paris, FRA – Ben’s Cafe, 55 Rue De Charonne
Mon / Nov-14 Antwerp, BEL – de Kleine Hedonist, St-Jacobsmarkt 34, 2000
Tue / Nov-15 Hasselt, BEL – Carpe Diem, Maastricterstraat 107, 3500
Wed / Nov-16 Zele, BEL – JC Juvenes, 31 Kloosterstraat, 9240
Thu / Nov-17 Beverwijk, NET – House show (email [email protected] for address)
Fri / Nov-18 Detmold, GER – Alte Pauline, Bielefelder Str. 3, 32756
Sat / Nov-19 Hillentrup, GER – Papiermuhle, Schwelentruper Weg 5
Sun / Nov-20 Bielefeld, GER – Fair Trade Merch store, Detmolder Str. 188
Mon / Nov-21 Nuremburg, GER – Mono Bar, Grasersgasse 1, 90402
Tue / Nov-22 NEED HELP
Wed / Nov-23 Vienna, AUS – Replugged, Lerchenfelderstraße 23, Bécs
Thu / Nov-24 Wr Neustadt, AUS – Entro P’s, Ungargasse 24
Fri / Nov-25 Graz, AUS – Sub, Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Kai 66
Sat / Nov-26 Regensburg, GER – Zimmer 4, Werftstraße 15, 93059
Sun / Nov-27 Enkirch, GER – TOMs Enkirch, Weingasse 12, 56850
Mon / Nov-28 Oberburg, ZWI – Restaurant Bahnhof, Krauchtalstrasse 94
Tue / Nov-29 Saanen, ZWI – Oeyetl, Oeyetliweg 30, 3792
Wed / Nov-30 Zurich, ZWI – Kontiki Bar, Niederdorfstrasse 24, 8001
Thu / Nov-01 Geneva, ZWI – Le Cabinet, 54, bd St-Georges – 1205
Fri / Nov-02 Lausanne, ZWI – TBC
Sat / Nov-03 Lyon, FRA – The Beers, 3 Place Saint-Paul, 69005

Dec
UK
Sat / Dec-10 Cardiff – The Full Moon, Womamby Street, Cardiff, CF10 1BR
Sun / Dec-11 Swansea – Mozarts, 76A Walter Road, W Glam SA1 4QA
Tue / Dec-13 Birmingham – Sunflower Lounge, 76 Smallbrook Queensway, B5 4EG
Wed / Dec-14 Manchester – Well Wisher house (email [email protected] for address)
Thu / Dec-15 Glasgow – The Captain’s Rest, 185 Great Western Road, G4 9EB
Fri / Dec-16 Girvan – Z1 Youth club, 154 Dalrymple Street, KA26 9BQ
Sat / Dec-17 Edinburgh – The Banshee’s Labrynth, 29-35 Niddry St.  EH1 1LG
Sun / Dec-18 Leeds – House show (email [email protected] for address)
Mon / Dec-19 Lincoln – The Red Room, 37 Broadgate, LN2 5AE
Tue / Dec-20 Nottingham – The Maze, 257 Mansfield Road, NG1 3FT