Faith no more, but plenty of heart

David Bazan’res well-publicized quarrel with Christianity reached a breaking point with 2009’res Curse Your Branches, the sound of one man’res Dark Night of the Soul translated to searing indie folk. With his former band Pedro the Lion, Bazan frequently took on the role of musical prophet, turning out five albums of thoughtful, theologically-oriented songs. But with Curse Your Branches he shed his prophetic mantle, stuck out his chin, and took on his critics, his obsessive fans, and nothing less than the Almighty in emotionally charged, confrontational terms. The resulting album was as messy as any breakup album ever recorded, and as masterfully conflicted and musically intense. (READ MORE)

David Bazan is perhaps the most underappreciated songwriter of our time. Despite having rarely (if ever) missed his mark in nearly 15 years of crafting disarmingly thoughtful musical and lyrical prose, he seems to be perpetually relegated to the outside of critical favor, an underdog whose loyal following would lay in the road for him if he asked that of them. (READ MORE)

David Bazan: Fighting His Conscience
by Clay Masters

READ ARTICLE | DOWNLOAD AUDIO

In a 15-passenger Chevy van equipped with a makeshift bed and pantry, David Bazan’s GPS system has him arriving right on time at his show in Omaha. At this point, he’s one week into a tour, and he has been driving all day from Colorado Springs.

“[Touring] is how I’m able to make ends meet,” Bazan says, “because band touring costs so much money to bring a bunch of guys out.”

Bazan released his solo debut in 2009. Many music critics called Curse Your Branches Bazan’s breakup letter to God. (SEE MORE)

Tune-in Wednesday to watch David’s live performance and chat from the Barsuk office in Seattle. Starts at 6pm (pacific time) / 9pm (eastern time). This will be a one-time live event with no replays.

*click on the little black arrow on the right side of the music player to download the MP3.

It’s clear now that “trickle down” is actually “vacuum up” and yet working class people continue to vote against their own economic interests. Wake up! Anyone whose primary vocation is “making money” is a predator: they may wrestle around with you for a while but eventually they’re gonna go with their instincts and kill and eat you. – David Bazan

Wolves wait at your door
for your permission
slyly you invite them
on one condition
that they prepare a feast
from your provisions
of root and wild beast
for you to eat
surprise
they took your money
and they ate your kids
and they had their way
with your wife a lil bit
while you wept on the porch
with your head in your hands
cursing taxes and the government
cause you’rere a goddamn fool
and i love you
yeah i love you
look into your eyes
your former glory
bright and open wide
like easter morning
how the light has dimmed
and how the fear of everything
is creeping in

PRE-ORDER NOW!

David Bazan | Strange Negotiations
Release date: May 24, 2011
Record Label: Barsuk Records
Format: CD / LP / MP3

Tracklist:

01. Wolves At The Door
02. Level With Yourself
03. Future Past
04. People
05. Virginia
06. Eating Paper
07. Messes
08. Don’t Change
09. Strange Negotiations
10. Won’t Let Go

* with Cotton Jones
** with Via Audio
*** With S. Carey
**** with Rocky Votolato

06/01 Wed – Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court *
06/02 Thu – Denver CO – Hi Dive *
06/03 Fri – Kansas City MO – Record Bar *
06/04 Sat – Council Bluffs IA – Westfair Amphitheater – w/ Bright Eyes
06/06 Mon – St Paul MN   – Turf Club *
06/08 Wed – Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall *
06/10 Fri – St Louis MO – Old Rock House *
06/11 Sat – Columbus OH   – The Basement *
06/12 Sun – Akron OH – Musica *
06/13 Mon – Pontiac MI – Pike Room
06/14 Tue – Toronto ON – Lee’res Palace
06/15 Wed – Ottawa ON – Maverick’s
06/17 Fri – Ithaca NY – The Haunt
06/18 Sat – Hamden CT – The Space **
06/19 Sun – Cambridge MA   – TT the Bears ***
06/22 Wed – New York NY   – Bowery Ballroom ***
06/23 Thu – Philadelphia PA   – Johnny Brenda’s ***
06/24 Fri – Washington DC   – Black Cat ***
06/25 Sat – Chapel Hill NC   – Local 506 – w/ Centro-matic
06/27 Mon – Orlando FL – The Social ***
06/28 Tue – Atlanta GA   – The Earl ***
06/29 Wed – Birmingham AL   – The Bottletree ***
06/30 Thu – New Orleans LA   – One Eyed Jacks ***
07/01 Fri – Baton Rouge LA – Spanish Moon ***
07/02 Sat – Houston TX   – Fitzgerald’res ****
07/03 Sun – Denton TX   – Dan’s Silverleaf ****
07/05 Tue – Austin TX – ACL Satellite Sets ****
07/07 Thu – Phoenix AZ   – Sail Inn ****
07/08 Fri – San Diego CA   – Casbah ****
07/09 Sat – Long Beach CA   – Alex’s Bar ****
07/10 Sun – Los Angeles CA   – Troubadour ****
07/12 Tue – Visalia CA – Cellar Door ****
07/13 Wed – San Francisco CA   – The Independent ****
07/16 Sat – Seattle WA – Showbox ****

Tickets are on sale now.

www.undertowtickets.com

Fri 3/18 – Spokane WA – SOLD OUT
Sat 3/19 – Missoula MT – SOLD OUT
Sun 3/20 – Bozeman MT – SOLD OUT
Tue 3/22 – Ft Collins CO – SOLD OUT
Wed 3/23 – Colorado Springs CO – SOLD OUT
Thu 3/24 – Omaha NE – SOLD OUT
Fri 3/25 – Iowa City IA – SOLD OUT
Sat 3/26 – Minneapolis MN – SOLD OUT
Sun 3/27 – Milwaukee WI – SOLD OUT
Mon 3/28 – Madison WI – SOLD OUT
Tue 3/29 – Chicago IL – SOLD OUT
Wed 3/30 – Grand Rapids MI – SOLD OUT
Thu 3/31 – Cleveland OH – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/1 – Rochester NY – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/2 – Montpelier VT – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/3 – Allston MA – SOLD OUT
Mon 4/4 – Brooklyn NY – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/5 – Brooklyn NY – SOLD OUT
Wed 4/6 – Mechanicsburg PA – SOLD OUT
Thu 4/7 – Arlington VA – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/8 – Virginia Beach VA – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/9 – Alpharetta GA – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/10 – Nashville TN – SOLD OUT
Mon 4/11 – Nashville TN – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/12 – Birmingham AL – SOLD OUT
Wed 4/13 – New Orleans LA – SOLD OUT
Thu 4/14 – Baton Rouge LA – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/15 – Houston TX – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/16 – Denton TX – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/17 – Austin TX – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/19 – Tucson AZ – SOLD OUT
Wed 4/20 – Phoenix AZ – SOLD OUT
Thu 4/21 – San Diego CA – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/22 – Los Angeles CA – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/23 – Visalia CA – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/24 – Fremont CA – SOLD OUT
Mon 4/25 – Oakland CA – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/26 – Eureka CA – SOLD OUT
Wed 4/27 – Corvallis OR
Thu 4/28 – Portland OR – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/30 – Southworth WA – SOLD OUT

David will be playing 4 Living Room Shows next week. These will be the last Seattle area shows for a while.

Wed Jan 19 : Olympia, WA (60 miles from Seattle)
Thu Jan 20 : Bellingham, WA (90 miles from Seattle)
Sat Jan 22 : Puyallup, WA (40 miles from Seattle)
Sun Jan 23 : Gig Harbor, WA (45 miles from Seattle)

Tickets are on sale now http://www.undertowtickets.com

We’ll be booking a full US tour of Living Room Shows in the spring. Stay tuned for details.