Congratulate Bazan on his full-lengthsolo debut, Curse Your Branches,which cracked Billboard's Top 200album chart, and he shrugs it off.
"To me, honestly, it says moreabout the dismal state of the music industry. I sold more records with Pedrothe Lion," Bazan says in reference to the band that gavehim standing in theindie community and among adventurous Christianlisteners drawn to Bazan's narrativesongwriting, which provided a respite from the glossy world of much faith-basedpop.
For some, the artisticexpression of Bazan's Christianity hasbeen a point of consternation throughout his tenure with Pedro and its thus-far short-lived,synthesizer-based successor, Headphones. Curse exacerbatesthose fans' feelings with songs marking hisabandonment of evangelicalism.And though he admitsthat "it's getting mixed reactions from the Christian world,"thealbum was named amongthe best of 2009 by Christianity Today.Gofigure.
Bazan's decision to publiclyaddress his detachment from the church is a moveaway from his usual lyrical viewpoint, too. "I kind of resisted making anautobiographical record, but I couldn't deny that these songs were sosatisfying and intense," he says of his latest work.
The relativelushness of Curselikewisecontrasts with the more spartan approach often heardfrom Bazan's previous two groups.His April4 show at the Pabst Theater will find him assaying his Pedro,Headphone and solo catalog as a four piece,with two guitars, drum and bass, Bazan says.Thistour follows a 2007 series of house concerts thatincluded a date in Milwaukee.And though he says "people liked it” and “there were a lot of faithfulfans" at those minimally publicized gigs,thistrek fulfills another longing for Bazan'sfollowers: "People just wanted to hear me play with a band again,” hesays. “That's really fun for us."
What also might be fun for Bazan’s fansto hear is his music licensed forusesother than stereos, iPods andnoncommercial radio. "I just worked out a deal with [major publisher] BugMusic shopping a deal for that purpose,"Bazansays, adding that it's more acceptable for indie/alt rock artiststocommercially license their work than it was a few years ago.Anyonewishing to see any of Bazan's Pedro songswith their frequentliterary airtransformed into film adaptations will, alas,have to wait until he is approached toapprove of any such adaptations. As for trying his own hand at writinga screenplay, he notes, "I'm not really quick to do the work myself, butif I wanted, I could make that happen."
He is more inclined to make a follow-upto Curse, and it could well be aChristmas albumanother intriguing possible contradiction.
DavidBazan plays the Pabst Theater on Sunday, April 4, at 8 p.m. with openerHeadlights.
