Fool's Spring

A Miscellaneous Update feat. Perfume Genius, Bon Iver, and Daughter of Swords

Hi friends,

I’m pleased to report that today I’m writing from the best place I could possibly be—Betty’s studio in Chapel Hill, NC, my true home-away-from-home. Better yet, it’s spring here, and the buds on the trees have begun to pop. Every day it gets noticeably greener here. Once, during the early days of Covid lockdown (remember the pandemic, you guys?) I took a photo of a single tree in this backyard every day for months. All that is to say: I love it here, and I’m grateful to be here, however briefly. (The above photo was, of course, taken in Los Angeles, before I left. I tried to take a photo for this newsletter in the backyard at Betty's and it immediately started raining. Fool's Spring!)

My extended, pleasantly whirlwind trip to the east coast started with a quick one-off appearance on The Tonight Show with the great band Perfume Genius. Their actual, real-life guitar player, Meg Duffy, is quite frankly one of the most singular voices on the guitar of our generation, so, y’know—no pressure. I also played bass with Perfume Genius for a couple of shows last year, and, as with many of these short-lived fill-ins, I enjoyed every minute and learned so much. Their catalog is deep and if you’re not familiar, you’re in for a treat.

Additionally, today not one but two records I was involved with have found their way out into the world. I love them both and I’d like to tell you about them.

The first one you’ve probably heard about by now: it’s called SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver. Most of you probably know that I joined this “band” in 2019; most of you probably also know that this band is really the brainchild of one guy, my friend Justin. I don’t know that I’ve talked very much about my experience with this project here, but I can say that it has been a real wild ride, and a total blessing. I have learned and grown so much through my work with Justin and everyone in the wider Bon orbit. Obviously Justin is very successful and could work with just about anybody, and from the jump I felt, frankly, under-qualified for the job that had been handed to me. But over the years JV’s confidence in my capabilities has led to a level of self-belief that previously was inaccessible to me. For example—on this record, I was originally asked to write a verse for Bonnie Raitt to sing, but when I turned in my first pass, Vern was immediately like—“okay, we don’t need Bonnie—we’ve got you!” So, ultimately, it’s me on the record, instead of doing what a lot of people would do and just getting a more famous person for the feature. That’s a pretty fucking cool move, if you ask me. Furthermore, I love this record and it was so, so fun to work on it. It is bright and open and catchy and unpretentiously direct in a way that I really enjoy. I did a lot of singing and additional production all over the fABLE side, including a verse that I wrote and sang on the song Day One (also featuring genius freak Dijon). So, yeah, check it out sometime, even if you have pre-conceived notions about whether you like this project or not—you might surprise yourself.

Also, my dearest friend, former roommate, and absolute top-tier human being Alex Sauser-Monnig has released their second record as Daughter of Swords, and, frankly, it’s a goddamn triumph. It’s called ALEX and it’s out now and you should go buy it and listen to it right away! If you’re not familiar with them, Alex is a member of the great band Mountain Man, and their first record as Daughter of Swords is clearly fantastic, but this new record takes the biggest, bravest swing and sounds, frankly, like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Of course I’m biased because they are my friend and it’s also produced by my other friends and I played on it. But I promise you—I cannot imagine someone enjoying listening to music and not enjoying the absolute holy hell out of this. Recording-wise, my contribution to this one is fairly minimal, BUT I am going to be a part of an all-star band playing only a handful of shows to support this record at the beginning of June. Get your tickets and come see us, I promise it's going to be incredibly fun and I simply cannot wait.

Lastly--I had ambitiously thought that I would have time to record a little something for my Patreon subscribers in time to go out with this update, but I haven't been able to find a spare second during this trip--so I ask for a little grace this month, and do keep your eyes peeled for an extra little something special here, hopefully in the next week or so.

Yet again, it's me,

JW