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Sporting one of the most recognizable voices within 90's/00's indie-rock, Davey von Bohlen is known for his youthful exuberance and lyrical Easter eggs over twenty years with bands like Maritime, Cap'n Jazz, The Promise Ring, and the low-key side-project Vermont. On this episode, Davey shares an early obsession with The Guess Who, similarities between songwriting and his experiences coaching basketball, and something The Promise Ring used to call “Get Up Kids Math” while out on the road. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Vermont's second album Calling Albany is being released on vinyl for the first time, available for pre-order at castledangerrecords.com. Limited 25th anniversary colored vinyl pressings of The Promise Ring's seminal second album Nothing Feels Good are dropping soon as well, available for pre-order at tpr.ffm.to/nothingfeelsgood. Follow @daveyvonbohlen on Twitter.
On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we've got two old friends whose bands started around the same time, and who've had very different albums hit the 20-year-mark recently: Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World and Davey von Bohlen of the Promise Ring. I had the idea to pair these guys after seeing a bunch of “best of emo” lists floating around the internet ether lately, and it reminded me of the heady days of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, and how many fond memories I have of those times. I saw the Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World plenty of times back then; full disclosure: I was then and am now friends with the guys in the Promise Ring. It occurred to me that while the two bands had been on similar trajectories back then, that they diverged right around 20 years ago in a really interesting way. I figured it'd be fun to reconnect them and see what they had to say about it. The Promise Ring were at the top of the emo heap in the late 1990s, though everybody hated that word with a passion back then. They were early fans of Jimmy Eat World's music, and the bands toured together a few times over the years. By the end of the century, The Promise Ring had hit a weird rough patch: Von Bohlen had surgery for a brain tumor, and the band was naturally forced to slow down considerably. When they returned with their much anticipated fourth album, Wood/Water, it represented what felt at the time like a pretty intense left turn: The songs were slower and more melodic—not necessarily what fans were expecting, though the album has gotten a rightful reappraisal in the 20 years since its release. The Promise Ring split up soon after its release, and Davey went on to form the band Maritime with Promise Ring drummer Dan Didier, and they released a string of great records. Jimmy Eat World also found themselves at a crossroads 20 years ago; having parted company with a major label, they self-funded a new album. That album, 2001's Bleed American, spawned a leftfield hit for the band, a song called “The Middle.” It launched Jimmy Eat World into the mainstream before they knew what hit them, and it's one of those songs that to this day you might hear on the radio. It was a blip, of course, in a consistently fantastic career: Jimmy Eat World kept making records and touring—their latest is 2019's Surviving. So it was an interesting point in time for both of these guys, who as you'll hear remain fast friends after all these years. Playing music isn't a huge part of von Bohlen's life anymore, though he does point out that Maritime is technically still a band. These two chat about their 20-ish-year-old records, fatherhood, drinking, touring in the ‘90s, and lots more. Davey tells a great story I hadn't heard before about the Promise Ring's insane pact with each other in their earliest days. Sadly, Jim and Davey never get around to talking about Davey's guest vocals on Bleed American, but maybe we'll just have to have them chat again sometime. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Davey von Bohlen and Jim Adkins for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great written pieces elsewhere on this very site. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
This week's guest is Davey von Bohlen, who you might know from influential Midwest emo acts like The Promise Ring and Cap'n Jazz or from his work in Maritime. Long before he was helping to usher in a genre's second wave and putting Milwaukee music back on the map with some timeless records, von Bohlen was learning how to play guitar and emptying basement shows out as a member of Ten Boy Summer. Recently, the legendary frontman spoke to My First Band host Tyler Maas about his early musical attempts, what he's up to now and pretty much everything that happened in between. Over the course of the TWO-HOUR conversation, Davey opened up about joining Cap'n Jazz, reluctantly coming on as The Promise Ring's singer, that band's unexpected popularity, the path to starting Maritime (and where he feels the band is at this point in time), and jamming in a project called Vermont. Along the way, von Bohlen talked about his basketball coaching aspirations, performing on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, earning a Platinum record for singing on a Jimmy Eat World album and all the ups and downs from his 30-plus years on stage. My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering, Lakefront Brewery and Music Go Round Greenfield. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers") and Maritime ("Roaming Empire").
Big B returns to the podcast to chill with the fellas. In this episode, we discuss:-New Bouncing Souls record-Future of the Chameleon Club-Facebook bans See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
David and Justin are back and this time they talk about getting off your keister and making something of yourself. Justin’s wife, Lindsay, also makes a brief appearance and discusses her introduction to and feelings toward the band. David then sits down with Davey Von Bohlen of The Promise Ring to chat about his contributionRead More
The 1997 album Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring lays at an interesting crossroad. On the one hand, vocalist Davey Von Bohlen can grind on a melodic hook like a power pop pro, giving the listener plenty of ear candy on this tightly constructed record, while backed by a tight and creative rhythm section that never looses the groove. On the other hand, there are enough jarring structures, repetitious lyrics and twin-guitar abrasiveness to keep the hardcore kids happy. With vet J. Robbins behind the board, they definitely add some muscle, but it's not the clean and beefy guitar sounds he would get out of Braid, or what Jimmy Ear World would accomplish with Clarity, leaving us slightly underwhelmed. Songs In This Episode: Intro - Nothing Feels Good 14:35 - Perfect Lines 19:06 - Is This Thing On? 20:56 - Raspberry Rush Outro - Pink Chimneys To support the podcast, join us at Patreon for bonus content and more. Facebook / Twitter / Instagram Zazzle Merch Store http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com
The 1997 album Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring lays at an interesting crossroad. On the one hand, vocalist Davey Von Bohlen can grind on a melodic hook like a power pop pro, giving the listener plenty of ear candy on this tightly constructed record, while backed by a tight and creative rhythm section that never looses the groove. On the other hand, there are enough jarring structures, repetitious lyrics and twin-guitar abrasiveness to keep the hardcore kids happy. With vet J. Robbins behind the board, they definitely add some muscle, but it's not the clean and beefy guitar sounds he would get out of Braid, or what Jimmy Ear World would accomplish with Clarity, leaving us slightly underwhelmed. Songs In This Episode: Intro - Nothing Feels Good 14:35 - Perfect Lines 19:06 - Is This Thing On? 20:56 - Raspberry Rush Outro - Pink Chimneys To support the podcast, join us at Patreon for bonus content and more. Facebook / Twitter / Instagram Zazzle Merch Store http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com
We talk with Davey Von Bohlen of The Promise Ring, Maritime and Cap’n Jazz about all sorts of things, from coaching youth sports to the horrors of opening for Bad Religion.
Davey Von Bohlen and Dan Didier from The Promise Ring join Tom Mullen at the Washed Up Emo podcast to discuss the beginnings of their musical careers, being introduced to Jimmy Eat World, the music always accepted in the van and what sports venue you can still hear The Promise Ring! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/washedupemo)