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84 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
USTINVernonwantstomowhislawn.
It’snotovergrownatthemoment,
despitetherecordtemperaturesthis
summerintheMidwest,butlatelyhe
hasothermattersdemandinghis
attention.“That’soneofthethings
I justdon’thaveenoughtimetodo,”he
says,sittingathomenearEauClaire,
Wisconsin.“I’mfeelinga lotlessbusy
lately,andthingsarelesscrazy,butthe
onethingI don’thavetimetodois mow
myownlawn.That’swhyI’vegot
somebodyelseouttheredoingit,which
is embarrassing.Goddammit! I’m not a
realWisconsonite!”
It’soneofthosesmallthingsthatmost
peopleconsidera burden,butfor
Vernonlawnmowingoffers
somethingofa respitefromthedemandsofrunning
oneofthemostsuccessfulindie-rockoutfitsin
America.“Dude,thelawnthingis huge,”heinsists.“It
hastotalmeaningtome.It’soneofthoselittlerituals
wehave.It’sthetimewegettothinkandreflectand
justbeonEarth.We’rejustdoinga thingthatneeds
tobedone.I’vealwayslovedmowingthelawn.”
Thenearfutureshouldofferevenfewer
opportunitiesforlawnmaintenance,asVernonis
releasingandthentouringbehindthefourthBon
Iveralbum,intriguinglytitledi,i. Buildingoffthe
fizzypastoralsof2011’sBonIver,BonIverandthe
skewedruralindustrialsoundof2016’s22,A
Million, it’stheculminationofseveralyearsof
collaborationswitha smallcommunityof
friendsandmusicians,featuringsongsVernon
hasbeenworkingonfora fewyears.Inthat
time,BonIverhasexpandedintosomething
likeanartproject,onethatinvolvesa engineers
andco-producersfromtheindie-rockandhip-
hopworlds,aswellassongwriters,singers,
instrumentalists,evena troupeofdancers.
Itis,headmits,a strangeturnofevents,
consideringthatBonIverstartedwithVernon
aloneina remotecabininwintryMinnesota,
choppingfirewood,nursinga brokenheartand
settingsomefracturedfolksongstotape.The
backstorybehindhiscelebrated 2008 debut,
ForEmma,ForeverAgo, hasgainedlegendary
status,butVernonfoughtagainstthatbitof
loreandagainsttheimageofhimasa solo
auteur.Infact,thisnewincarnationofBon
Iveris closertohowheoriginallyenvisioned
theproject.“WhenI thinkbacktowhenI
madethatfirstbatchofsongs,I realisehow
trulyimportantit wasformetobebymyself
fora longtimetocalmmyminddown,tofind
a waytomakethesesongshappen.Butever
sincethenit’sbeena battleofnotwanting
that,becauseit’ssosad,sosolitary– sonot
exactlythefondesthang.I actuallyfigured
outthenameofthebandfromaNorthern
Exposureepisode,”hesays,referringtothe
eccentricTVshowsetina smalltownin
Alaska.“Becauseofthat,I alwaysimaginedit
asthislittlevillage.It’slikea villageofpeople
celebratingthingstogether,goingthrough
thingstogether,dyingtogether.”
“Justinis theleaderofthissemi-vastartistic
collective,andI thinkthisnewrecordis thefull
floweringofthisgroup,”saysBruceHornsby,
oneofVernon’smusicalheroeswhodescribes
himself as the grandpa of that collective. “He is
a verycreativepersonwhohastwoamazinggifts.One
is hissingularsenseoffindingwaystopulltogether
disparateelementsandturningthemintouniqueand
originalpiecesofmusic.Andtheotheris hisvocalability.
Whenhestartssinging,theairintheroomchanges,and
there’sa heightenedsenseofpossibilityallofa sudden.”
Eschewingtheroleoffrontman,Vernonis morelikea
campdirector,whichmightactuallytakeupevenmore
timeandmentalenergy.“MaybesubconsciouslyI didn’t
wanttobebeholdentowhatpeopleexpected,”hesays.
“Eventhegoodthingspeoplesaidaboutthefirstrecord,
I waslike,‘Nah,youdon’tknow.’I thinkI wasa little
boyish,a littlerebellious,buthopefullyina positiveway.
ButI feellikethisalbumreallyunlockedsomenewpeace
andcalmforme– anda truelettinggoofthereins.Why
wouldyouwanttodoallofthisonyourown?Whatwould
youbetryingtoprove?Justletgoandopenuptoallthe
peoplewhoinspireyou.Letthereinsgoandconcentrate on
beinga singer and a songwriter in a given moment.”
T
HEstoryofi,iopensinEauClaire,buttookVernonand
hiscrewa thousandmilesawaytocompletethis
record,completelyredefiningBonIveralongtheway.
He’sbeenassociatedwiththiscityinnorthwesternWisconsin
eversincethereleaseofhisdebutalbum.Ratherthanmoveto
Brooklynlikeotherindie-rockactsorrelocatetoNashville
likeotherroots-rockacts,Vernondoubleddowninthis
smallcityof65,000.Heopeneda boutiquehotelcalledThe
Oxbowdowntown,foundeda musicfestivalcalledEaux
Clairesandconstructeda studiocalled April Base in an old
veterinaryclinicjustoutsidetown.
“IjustneverfeltlikeI couldengagewiththewhole
businesssideofthings,”hesays,explainingwhyhechose
tomakemusicinthisout-of-the-wayplace.“I’mfromthis
smalltown,soI wasprobablyjustafraidtomovetoa big
city.Minneapolisis bigenoughforme,it’sjustanhourand
a halfaway.I’vehadsomefrustrationswithmyhometown,
though,andI’vebeenvotedthemostoverratedthingabout
LUCY HAMBLIN Eau Claire in the local magazine four years running!” He
BON IVER
Porchsongs:
Vernonin
2011
