David Bazan

by Jason MacNeil
The son of a pastor, David Bazan wasn't introduced to "secular" music until his early youth. Playing instruments such as the clarinet, drums, and piano, Bazan became greatly influenced by the Beatles and Tom Petty as well as seminal bands such as Fugazi. In 1995, Bazan formed his own band, Pedro the Lion, which was basically himself with a rotating cast of musicians. At times dubbed a "Christian" band, Pedro the Lion released four albums, beginning with 1998's It's Hard to Find a Friend. After two more albums and a string of EPs, Pedro the Lion ceased to exist after Bazan stopped using the name in early 2006. The group's fourth and final album would be 2004's Achilles Heel release on Jade Tree. Stopping in name only, Bazan continued his musical career with the electronic pop outfit Headphones, in addition to recording his own solo material. In 2006, he released an interesting solo EP entitled Fewer Moving Parts. The ten-track release featured five songs, each given a full instrumentation effort as well as an acoustic rendition. Bazan even altered the name of the songs depending on whether each was performed acoustically or not. Named one of the Top 100 Living Songwriters by Paste magazine, Bazan spent the early portion of 2006 on tour in Europe with the Undertow Orchestra, an outfit featuring Vic Chesnutt, Will Johnson, and Mark Eitzel. In the summer of 2006, Bazan toured North America with Micah P. Hinson following the release of his EP, which featured former Pedro the Lion member Tim Walsh assisting. Bazan was scheduled to begin work in Seattle near the end of 2006 on his first full-length solo album. The album was set for a tentative release in 2007 on Jade Tree.