Brontez Purnell has been making music since the ‘90s. He started in The Social Lies, a hardcore Afro-punk duo in Alabama in his teens, and later Gravy Train!!!. He then went on to lead his long running project The Younger Lovers and now unveils the Brontez Purnell Trio. Based out of Oakland, CA, Purnell is also a writer, dancer, filmmaker, and choreographer (The Brontez Purnell Dance Company). He is the author of eight critically lauded books, including this year’s Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt: A Memoir in Verse, Since I Laid My Burden Down, 100 Boyfriends, and more that
have placed him among the most important writers of his generation.
(Photo Credit: Melissa Dale Neal)
On about the 82nd time I declared that I was going to retire from punk rock, I decided to dust my old bones off and keep going. Yes, all gloom and doom aside, optimism is my core default (sometimes to a fault) and yes, punk rock is dead. That said, so is Hip Hop, so is EDM, so is Country Music, so is Pop Music. We’ve all been rendered graveyard dwellers and oh god, the future is a terrible place, but since time keeps going so will we it seems, I will have some coffee, put on some eyeliner and tell you about how I remarried rock & roll (for the 82nd time).
I got a call from Matty Fasano (fearless leader of House of Feelings) to tour my UK release Confirmed Bachelor, and with the blessing of my bandmates, said that I could be joined by the incandescent Josephine Network on bass and the handsome and generous Matty himself on drums. My knees and back hurt from carrying amps for 25 years but dear god if it doesn’t feel good to sing my heart again to a crowd — no matter who that crowd is. Around the time we were doing the East Coast (with the lovely Julia Pierce in support) we did a stint of late night drives and early morning adventures, scarfing fast food and laughing for hours with the lovely painter lady Kathryn Kerr as tour manager.
Somewhere around the end of the stint we recorded a 7-inch featuring a new version of the song “Forgive Me Phillip” and the cuuuuuuuuuuuuute version of a song I sang growing up in church called “If You Can’t Help Me (Please Don’t Stop Me)” — but like, a beautifully updated version — session recorded by Ben Greenberg at Circular Ruin.
Somewhere along the stint from Boston back to New York I decided to fully leave the idea of retirement behind. Currently my next musical project will be a seven LP rock opera based on my complicated feelings around, I dunno, The Civil War or something? (I haven’t actually decided yet.) But I just shoplifted this vintage Jaguar from Guitar Center and am currently writing some catchy ass tunes on it, so stay tuned.
Love,
Bronny
(Photo Credit: left, Melissa Dale Neal)
