| The Von Bondies | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genre: | Alternative rock, indie rock, garage rock revival, post-punk revival, punk blues (early) |
| Years Active: | 1997–2011, 2020–present |
| Label: | Majordomo Records (US/CAN) Fierce Panda (UK/EU) Sire Records Sympathy for the Record Industry Dim Mak Records Intheact Records Model Citizen Records |
| Alias: | Baby Killers |
| Associated Acts: | Hounds Below Jerry Harrison Butch Walker Jim Diamond Peter Katis |
| Current Members: | Jason Stollsteimer Don Blum Leann Banks Christy Hunt |
| Past Members: | Carrie Ann Smith Marcie Bolen Yasmine Smith Lauren Wilcox |
The Von Bondies are an American rock band formed in 1997. The band's breakthrough album, Pawn Shoppe Heart, was released in 2004 and features the singles "C'mon C'mon" and "Tell Me What You See".
The Von Bondies have headlined tours of the United Kingdom/Europe, Australia, and the United States, taking along supporting bands like The Kills, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand, Modey Lemon, SSM, The Subways, The Stills, Hot Panda and The Donnas.[1] They have also appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, Last Call with Carson Daly and .[2]
The group disbanded in July 2011.[3] They reformed in 2020 and planned a reunion tour,[4] but those plans had to be abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 1997, Jason Stollsteimer and Marcie Bolen attended a concert by The Cramps and the Japanese garage punk band Guitar Wolf.[5] [6] At the time, Stollsteimer was working a job as a bowling alley bartender and Marcie as a hairdresser. The performance spurred them to create their own band, Baby Killers, which toured with fellow Detroit bands The Detroit Cobras, The Go, and The White Stripes. After recruiting Don Blum on drums and Lauren Wilcox on bass,[7] the band changed their name to The Von Bondies. The band got their break by playing a New Year's Eve show in Detroit, Michigan, in 2000. In attendance at the show was Long Gone John, owner of the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. This led the quartet to recorded the singles "It Came from Japan", an ode to Guitar Wolf, and "Nite Train".
Jack White produced the Von Bondies' debut album, Lack of Communication, in late 2001.[8] It was recorded in three days[9] in a similar process to that of a live album.[10] It was released in the US by Sympathy for the Record Industry, and in the UK by Sweet Nothing Records. The hidden bonus track was a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me", with Bolen on lead vocals.
The group relocated to a San Francisco recording studio in early 2002 with producer Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads to begin work on their next album. In 2003, the band released the live Raw and Rare through Dim Mak Records. On the evening of December 13, 2003, an altercation occurred between Stollsteimer and the White Stripes frontman Jack White during the record release party for the band Blanche at The Magic Stick (a Detroit music club and part of the Majestic Theater complex). Stollsteimer was treated for injuries at Detroit Receiving Hospital.[11] Detroit police arrested White and the Wayne County prosecutor's office charged him with aggravated assault.[12] White pleaded guilty to assault and a judge sentenced him to anger management classes.[13]
In 2004, the band released their breakthrough album, Pawn Shoppe Heart, on Sire Records. Pawn Shoppe was produced by Harrison and co-produced by Stollsteimer. The album reached a peak of No. 36 in the UK Albums Chart,[14] and No. 8 on Billboards Top Heatseekers chart and stayed in that chart for eight weeks.[15] The hit single from this release was "C'mon C'mon", which reached No. 25 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and garnered national radio play. "C'mon C'mon" reached No. 21 and "Tell Me What You See" reached No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2006, founding member Bolen left the band. Alicia Gbur and Matt Lannoo of The Nice Device were touring members of the band from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, the band signed with indie label Majordomo Records,[16] joining label mates The Airborne Toxic Event[17] and Earlimart.[18]
The Von Bondies' third album, Love, Hate and Then There's You,[19] was released on February 3, 2009. The lineup at the time was Jason Stollsteimer on vocals and lead guitar, Don Blum on drums, Christy Hunt on rhythm guitar, and Leann Banks on bass guitar. The band released a limited-edition 7-inch single of "Pale Bride" from the album, backed with the non-album song "Falling in Love".[20] This was the first time that a Von Bondies album saw Don Blum co-write with Stollsteimer. Love, Hate was produced by Jason Stollsteimer, with three songs by Butch Walker and three songs by Rick Parker. All songs were written by Jason Stollsteimer, except "Blame Game" and "Earthquake", which were co-written by Stollsteimer and Blum.
The group disbanded in July 2011.[21] They reformed in 2020 and planned a reunion tour,[22] but those plans had to be abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current members
Former members
Touring members
| Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS [23] | UK | |||
| Lack of Communication |
| — | — | — | |
| Pawn Shoppe Heart |
| 197 | 58 | 36 | |
| Love, Hate and Then There's You |
| — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
| Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Mod | AUS | UK | ||||
| "Nite Train" | 2000 | — | — | — | Lack of Communication | |
| "It Came from Japan" | 2001 | — | — | — | ||
| "C'mon C'mon" | 2004 | 25 | 85 | 21 | Pawn Shoppe Heart | |
| "Tell Me What You See" | — | — | 43 | |||
| "Pale Bride" | 2008 | — | — | — | Love, Hate and Then There's You | |
| Year | Song | Director | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "It Came from Japan" | Anthony Ernest Garth | [24] | |
| 2004 | "C'mon C'mon" | Charles Jensen | [25] | |
| "Tell Me What You See" | [26] | |||
| 2009 | "Pale Bride" | Anthony Ernest Garth |