While the BoDeans have built a loyal fan base over the course of the 24 years since the release of their T Bone Burnett-produced debut, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the duo—Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas—is best known as the band whose “Closer To Free” became the theme song to ’90s TV show Party Of Five. But the BoDeans are fine with that and instead focus on making the kind of music they want to, then bringing it to their devoted followers. New album Mr. Sad Clown (429) features more of the duo’s trademark roots-based rock and intricate vocal harmonies. Neumann will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Neumann: With all the hype about the release of the iPad, I just wanted to throw some props out to my good ol’ friend the iPhone. You might as well just find a way to sew the damn thing onto me. Like most, I’m always using it for something I’m doing. On Mr. Sad Clown, I used it for song demos while traveling, video footage of backstage, and all the photos in the artwork were done on my phone. I even shot the cover photo with it. And then I emailed all the new tracks to the other musicians from my iPhone. And I’m not even talking about the everyday, regular phone stuff. And all the application stuff. Like the life-saving kid and baby apps that keep the kids entertained in the desperate moments. Life-saving, I say. It’s an amazing device that maybe someday we’ll move on from. But it’s hard to imagine.
Video after the jump.
