PJ Bond - Ten degrees and the floor EP

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 
(lynchburgis.tumblr.com) 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.

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 merry me?” We do what we have to.

While I was living in Asheville I thought it would be beneficial to try to get a job. I applied at this one restaurant and went in for an interview, during which the owner waved her hand in my face and asked, “So, what is the story with this ‘situation’?” I immediately knew two things: I was not getting a job there, and I would never want to work for someone like her. 

The “situation” to which she was referring was my at the time rather large beard and long hair. After not being able to grow a beard in my youth I embraced the ability to just let it fly and develop into a lumberjack pride point. Once my hair and beard started to get a little out of hand I came up with the semi-ridiculous idea that I would make a music video that included these parts of me, and turn it into an art project of sorts. The concept started to form in my head and then I decided I not only could, but had to make this video. No rude restaurant owner was going to take that from me. It took almost another full year before I had the song I thought would work and the time and tools to put this all together. The song was written and recorded in a few short hours while my older brother got ready for a wedding, then when he left the house, my younger brother and I set up a camera and set to work. By the time my older brother came home, the floor was cleaned up and I was without beard or much hair. My buddy, Mike Salerno (http:///www.msalerno.com), was kind enough to tackle the task of piecing together all of these 10 second snippets. Thanks to Mike for the hard work and for dealing with less than stellar recordings from two video amateurs. I love the way this came out and am glad I held strong.

Lyrics:

Ever since I was a boy I’ve been told about the things that I was supposed to do. Now a grown man I’m just as confused as I’ve always been. You see everyone I knew seemed to understand the path, went to high school, to college, then they all got nine to fives. I kept ducking out to find the party in the alley to see, because all I ever wanted to be was happy. 

Nobody ever taught me what I should really know, I kept hearing about the happy ones but no one seems to show it. I keep searching for the answers so I can shake these blues. There’s reasons we do what we do. I got reasons I do what I do. Do you have reasons you do what you do? 

We’ve been set on a course that’s been sailed times before, many times with the same results: people hate what they have and they don’t seem to understand why. So, they keep up the cycle and think if they work harder they can fix all the problems and get all they were promised. I just don’t know why they don’t try another way. All I want to do is find the other way.

Nevermind was a song that didn’t quite make sense with the majority of the other tunes I’d been working on, and that became even more obvious when my friends and I recorded it. This version of the song is a bit more “rock” than some of my other music, which I really like about it, but I couldn’t figure out how to bridge the gap when trying to include it on a “proper” record. So, the obvious choice was to not force it and just release it as it’s own thing. 

For a while I’d wanted to compile a bunch of tour videos I’d captured, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to go about it. Between batteries dying, forgetting the camera in the car, laziness and a whole host of other things, I had large chunks of great stuff that were perhaps a bit disjunct, due to missing footage. This video was a good way to put this song and all these snippets together.

Lyrics:

You know, when I started this off, I thought it was over. My future was uncertain, but I guess that’s how it always is. I hoped that I could make it alone, I knew that I would have to be reborn. I’m breaking rusty old chains and habits, forming new ones. 

My family got scattered about, so I went to find them. I made new friends in the north and the east along the way. So if you are with me tonight, I hope that you’ll be with me until we die. If not, I’ve fucked up, so nevermind. 

I want to give it all, I want to give it all, at least a little bit. Maybe we can have it all, we can have it, but what if it’s not enough? So, now we have to question, have to face the facts, always have to question, “are you going to crack?” I hope you know the answer you can’t take it back, or they won’t like it, they won’t like your style. 

I slipped my way across the great icy west and I slid by. I watched as the snow blew across my face, and it spun me wild. I thought that I could make it alone, I hoped that I would stay alive until the coast. I wish someone looked after me but they nevermind.