Almost every night, some Bound Stems get together… Read Full Bio ↴Ye olde Press Bio:
Almost every night, some Bound Stems get together for something or other. A lot of times it's for practice, but sometimes it's for a barbecue, with a lot of friendly friends around. A lot of times it's at the studio, and songs are underway. Sounds unspooling in the background: El train, northwest bound; cicadas; a stick gnawed by a puppy; now a chorus of cicadas; sidewalk conversations; giant whirring air conditioning stacks; airplanes approaching O'Hare; fat car tires, and the polite beep of a car in the mouth of an alley.
Bound Stems started making music together in late 2002, but they were already up in each other's business. Bobby Gallivan (guitar, vocals, lyrics), Dan Radzicki (bass, keys, vocals) and Dan Fleury (guitar) played basketball on the same team in high school. When they met Evan Sult (drums, tapes), they'd been playing together for a long while. He'd been in Harvey Danger (London/Sire, Polygram) in Seattle, but just moved to Chicago.
Three years later, they present their EP, The Logic of Building the Body Plan (Flameshovel Records). It was a lot of work in seclusion, really: a practice space and a studio and back and forth for six months, pretty much every day. That's what made their album, Appreciation Night, such a complex, beautiful composition, full of tricky time signatures and memorable lines. Bound Stems released Appreciation Night in September 2006: to celebrate in advance, they made an EP, The Logic of Building the Body Plan, which features seven tracks, including two from their debut record; three new songs; and two song compositions created by Bound Stems and co-producer Tim Sandusky, with whom they recorded both releases at Chicago's Studio Ballistico.
Bobby's a high school history teacher. Fleury's a financial whiz kid. Radz is a lab scientist, no shit. Evan's an art director at a comic book publisher. Czech that out. Another voice on the EP is Kate Gross, who graced both the studio and the stage with Bound Stems for a while. Newest member Janie Porche sings harmony and plays an SP606, an acoustic guitar, a keyboard or two and an electric named Sweet Tones. The Logic of Building the Body Plan is an intricately arranged 26 minutes of pop music founded on secretly complicated rhythmic structures. Male vocals and female harmonies build narratives off scenes summoned by the instruments and by a library of stolen sounds that emigrated to their songs: grandmas, crafty cabbies, trains, party laughter, turnstiles, storytellers, and a field's worth of crickets. It's approachable music; it sounds like they knocked themselves out, which they did, and it also sounds like a pleasure to dive headfirst into.
Western Biographic
Bound Stems Lyrics
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Walk past school, we meet up at the docks. I need a wage to eat tonight. We'll cover up the bruises, my brother works the hardest. The men begin to shout and fight, I'm staying inside. We don't believe it, we don't believe we're almost here, but my father tells me, "Don't cry. Sometimes a dark horse dies--you can learn without the system. Go ahead, because even a dark horse wins. You can learn without the system."
Mama put some water in the milk for us to drink, so that we won't notice... My brother came home with some food he'd stolen from a man, but said that he'd worked all day. My father said that we don't steal and pulled him from his chair, and he gave it back. We all went to bed without a sound.
"I am just a man, I'm with my family, I don't need your help no more. You don't need to bother with me. I have all I need, I have it all."
The first stanza of "Western Biographic" by Bound Stems is a vivid depiction of a dysfunctional family life. The singer is awakened early in the morning by their father who comes to say goodbye, indicating that the dad has either left the family or passed away. Meanwhile, the mother is on the corner waiting for social services, which suggests that the family is living in poverty and perhaps struggling with addiction or other issues. The singer does not believe what they are seeing and hearing around them, which suggests a sense of disillusionment and disbelief at the harsh reality of their situation.
The second stanza reveals that the singer and their brother are struggling to make ends meet, as they need a wage to eat that night. They cover up bruises, indicating that they may be facing abuse, and try to avoid confrontation with the men who are shouting and fighting outside. The singer's father tells them not to cry and that they can learn without the system, suggesting a sense of resilience and determination in the face of adversity. The chorus repeats the sentiment that they don't believe that they are almost there, which suggests that they are struggling to see a way out of their current situation.
The final stanza reveals some of the complexities and contradictions of the family dynamic. Mama puts water in the milk to stretch it further, indicating that the family is living in extreme poverty. The brother has stolen some food but claims that he worked all day. The father insists that they do not steal and makes him give it back. The final lines of the song, "I am just a man, I'm with my family, I don't need your help no more. You don't need to bother with me. I have all I need, I have it all," suggest a sense of resignation and pride in the face of difficult circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd been brought up early in the morning when Daddy came to say goodbye.
The singer was raised waking up early and one time, their father left when they woke up.
While Mom was on the corner waiting for the social, "Yes, ma'am, all the kids seem fine. Oh let us inside."
While waiting for a social service, the mother says all the kids are fine and authorizes them to enter.
I don't believe it. I don't believe it's almost here.
The singer doesn't believe that something is almost happening.
Walk past school, we meet up at the docks. I need a wage to eat tonight.
The artist meets up with someone near the docks and needs money to eat.
We'll cover up the bruises, my brother works the hardest.
The artist and their brother hide their bruises, and the latter works the hardest.
The men begin to shout and fight, I'm staying inside.
The men outside start to shout and fight while the singer stays indoors.
We don't believe it, we don't believe we're almost here, but my father tells me, "Don't cry. Sometimes a dark horse dies--you can learn without the system. Go ahead, because even a dark horse wins. You can learn without the system."
The family doesn't believe that the event is about to happen, but the singer's father advises them not to cry, saying that sometimes the underdogs win and teaches them not to rely on the system.
Mama put some water in the milk for us to drink, so that we won't notice... My brother came home with some food he'd stolen from a man, but said that he'd worked all day. My father said that we don't steal and pulled him from his chair, and he gave it back. We all went to bed without a sound.
The mother tries to hide the fact that they have diluted milk, while the brother brings food he has stolen, but the father emphasizes that they do not steal, returns the food, and they all go to bed silently.
"I am just a man, I'm with my family, I don't need your help no more. You don't need to bother with me. I have all I need, I have it all."
The artist declares that they don't need help from others since they have everything they need with their family.
Contributed by Alex V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.