By: David Rachac
Haley Bonar is about to release her third album, Big Star and she is currently on tour with Canadian singer Hayden. In this interview she talks about how she moved to the Twin Cities, her musical inspirations and her band. Bonar’s CD release show is Thursday, June 12 at the Varsity Theater.
How Was The Show: When did your interest in music and performing begin?
Haley Bonar: Out of the womb, baby! My mother tells me I began singing and putting on plays at a very young age. I used to love to pretend I had my own radio show—of course, I was the one singing all of the songs on top of introducing the band. But I began playing guitar and writing songs to go with it around the age of 14, followed by open mic nights and eventually some gigs.
HWTS: Talk about your journey from growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota to living in the Twin Cities.
CD Release Show Poster
HB: When I was 12, I went on my first trip by myself to visit my Mom's sister in Duluth, MN. Upon arrival, I told myself I would live there someday. So, when I graduated high school, that's what I did. Since there was a college campus there, that was my excuse. I had also traveled there by Greyhound bus at 16 and brought my guitar along and managed to do a few gigs. I loved it. I played with other bands there and got a great feeling about the music scene, and that was my real excuse for living there, I guess. After four years of living there, I was ready for a change, though, craving a bigger space and more things to do culture-wise—more music, more movies. So I moved down to the Twin Cities and have been living in St. Paul for three years now and I absolutely love it.
HWTS: Your first CD, The Size of Planets, was released on Alan Sparhawk's Chairkickers Union label. That must have been pretty heady stuff for someone so young.
HB: Yes, especially a young someone who used to jam out to Low in high school! But it was a special and unforgettable learning experience. I feel incredibly lucky to have done my “first" record on an actual indie label with distribution and my first tour with a band I love. But, yeah, my mind was pretty blown at the time!
HWTS: Your second release, Lure The Fox, was picked up by local powerhouse Afternoon Records. What has it been like working with them?
HB: So far, so good. Ian Anderson has done a good job with distributing and promoting and is getting better and better at it, too—so watch out!
HWTS: You have kind of a unique arrangement in that you tend to record with one set of musicians (Dave King, Chris Morrissey), but play live with a different set (Luke Anderson, "Bill Mike" Michael, Jim Boquist). What are the advantages and disadvantages to working this way?
HB: For advantages, I get to play with lots of great musicians. I can book shows a lot easier now as everyone's schedules are pretty busy. I have recently just acquired ANOTHER band, my touring band, which is made up of Jake Hanson (Halloween Alaska, Wishbook) on guitar/bass and Alan Church (Umbrella Sequence) on drums, but I will be flying home for the CD release party and playing with the original line up as of the past year. As for disadvantages, I can't really think of any.
HWTS: Your new CD, Big Star, was mixed by A-list producer Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits). How did you get hooked up with him?
Big Star
HB: Dave King. He sent him my record Lure The Fox after it was finished and Tchad told him to let him know when I was recording again. One thing led to another, and after we recorded everything at the Terrarium, we sent it to him for mixing.
HWTS: How does "Big Star" differ from your previous work?
HB: Its range is greater. It seems like all of the songs have their own personality and story. Lure the Fox was more of a blanket of work, whereas this one is like a quilt. It’s weird, but a little poppier, something that just sort of happened. It also has a pretty fancy package, which is not what I usually do.
HWTS: Is the title song the corner piece of the album, or is there another song that you feel really defines what you wanted to accomplish with this recording?
HB: "Big Star" is definitely said "corner piece" to the album. I think it’s a song I've been wanting to write for quite some time. It's as ambiguously tongue-in-cheek as it is personal, it has really rad distortion, and I got to play the drums on it!
HWTS: You started a US tour in June with folk-rock singer/songwriter Hayden. How you did get involved in this tour?
HB: My manager, Andrea Troolin, submitted my CD to Hayden's manager. It’s pretty cool because I remember rocking out to some Hayden songs in high school. I hope he sings "Girl Of My Dreams" and I hope I can maybe maybe possibly sing harmonies on it.
HWTS: You'll take a short break from the Hayden tour for your CD release show on June 12th at the Varsity. What all are we going to see?
HB: Jim Boquist on bass, Bill Mike on guitar, Luke Anderson on drums, Linnea Mohn on vocals for my band. Opening the show are two of my favorite local bands, Mystery Palace and Jeremy Messersmith. Hopefully, it will be a big old party.
HWTS: Are there any final comments you want to leave with?
HB: My sister, Torey Bonar, did the beautiful painting that is on my album as well as my new t-shirts which I'll have at the show—she's awesome!
Artist Info: Haley Bonar
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