TOUR LURE
THE Von Bondies hear the sound of music, not the ring of cash registers.
Jason Stollsteimer, frontman for the Detroit alt-rock quartet, says he isn’t interested in playing big-buck gigs at venues such as Madison Square Garden, but would rather his music be heard in more accessible theater settings.
Usually, you’d expect that kind of talk from someone who had no hope of ever reaching those heights – but the Von Bondies have a huge fan base, and their 2003 CD “Pawn Shoppe Heart” was one of that year’s most popular collections. And their hit song “C’mon C’mon” continues to make fire
as the theme to the Denis Leary series “Rescue Me.”
Still, Stollsteimer does what he believes. On Monday he and his Von Bondie bandmates will premiere songs from today’s new release “Love, Hate and Then There’s You” at the tiny Mercury Lounge on the Lower East Side.
“I want to play small 1,000-seat theaters,” he says. “If I could, that’s what I’d do for the rest of my life.”
Stollsteimer also wants to do some living when he’s on tour playing live.
“Part of the reason I’m in a band is to see the world,” he says. “When you play these big-city mega-tours, you don’t see anything except the inside of the bus. I want to see the world up close. “And the kids want to see you up close for the same reason – it’s more personal.”
Keeping it real – and personal – is important to Stollsteimer, who says many of the tunes on the new album are based
on “life-changing
experiences.”
One of those changes was his divorce.
“I come from a family of romantics,” he says. “When I got married, I had that faith that this was it. But I was robbed. And yeah, I know it shows in the record.”
It does, especially in the first single, “Pale Bride.” You hear how his faith in romance has been shattered, but surprisingly, that song was written a year before the actual breakup with his wife.
“Maybe in the back of my mind I knew something was wrong. Now when I read the lyrics it’s like I was foretelling what was going to happen in my life. I didn’t want the divorce, but I’m happier for it,” he says.
While there is clearly disappointment in his failed marriage, Stollsteimer hasn’t given up on love. “I found a person who is as much of a romantic as I am, but I have no intentions of getting married again. I’m going through the rest of my life without a ring.”
But life isn’t quite as dark as the lyrics to “Pale Bride” would indicate. New track “I Don’t Wanna,” one of this week’s featured MPFrees at nypost.com, is upbeat and infectiously catchy.
“That one,” he brags, “is pure fun with a big guitar hook, quick drumwork and playful call and response between the boys and girls – it
connects with the rock of the last album.”
