During his three years of exile in Boston as a scholarship student at the Berklee School of Music, far from his Florida home, Jonathan Bates pulled further and further away from all that the city represented. “There wasn’t much to do except get drunk, do drugs, or get into fights,” he remembers. “And it always seemed to be snowing. So I started to write music.”
Beginning with … boredom never sounded so sweet, a home-brewed EP that he produced in 1999 and gave away to strangers on the street, Bates put together a body of work under the name mellowdrone. “I didn’t want to use my own name because people might come to expect me to do only one kind of music,” he explains. “With another name, I felt that I could do anything.”
The disc made its way to L.A., and Bates, convinced that “Berklee really sucked,” followed. Essentially homeless for several months, he crashed on the couches of friends, picked up odd jobs, but mainly concentrated on writing new material. Once he got his own place he pieced together a makeshift studio, with a bargain-basement computer, a tinny Casio keyboard from Radio Shack, and a few guitars.
From this jumble of mismatched gear came the second mellowdrone EP, glassblower, on January 1, 2001, which Bates sold exclusively on his website, mellowdrone.com. Word of this odd, somewhat solitary, and frighteningly talented artist began to spread: Ryan Ayanian spent three months tracking him down in order to sign on as his co-manager, and producer/A&R executive Tony Berg, whose track record includes discovering Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Beck, made mellowdrone one of his first signings after coming onboard at ARTISTdirect Records.
“Jonathan isn’t afraid to take on difficult subjects,” he explains. “He does not write with inhibition. And that individuality is also manifest in his recording process, which is the most unusual hybrid of DIY and state-of-the-art I’ve ever encountered. His recordings have a homespun quality, yet you’re dazzled by the sonics. That, coupled with his songwriting and his talent as a musician, distinguishes him from anybody I’ve ever heard. Plus, he can make me laugh at will – which gives him a power over me I’m not altogether happy about.”
As an opening act for Elbow, South, Remy Zero, Starsailor, and other headliners at West Coast shows, mellowdrone added stage chops to studio wizardry, both in group and solo settings. “One moment he’s playing something beautiful and mesmerizing,” says Ayanian, “then all of a sudden he’s a total smart-ass onstage. At one of his earliest shows a few girls sitting in the front were laughing. Jonathan stopped in mid-song and said, ‘Hold on…will you laugh again, please?’ He totally put this girl on the spot, but she did laugh, and he recorded it and wove the sample into the rhythm of his next song. He had everyone eating out of the palm of his hand.”
Citing influences that range from film score composer Danny Elfman through French avant-gardist Erik Satie to his “favorite Beatle” George Harrison, Bates has taken the next big step in his career with the EP a demonstration of intellectual property, an ambitious project conceived specifically to break free from pop clichés and force people to look at themselves and their world in unfamiliar ways.
“I don’t want to be preachy,” he insists, “and if I took myself too seriously I’d be the first guy to make fun of that. But with everybody sick of what’s going on but not doing anything about it, if I can say something through music that makes people really question the way things are, then that’s all I really want to do. But who gives a fuck what I think anyway.”
For more info on the band please visit the official home page.
http://www.mellowdrone.com
http://myspace.com/mellowdrone
Fashionably Uninvited
Mellowdrone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the TV have their reasons
Like you on your hill
Consuming en maze with your buddies
Every time I watch them all go by
I take in a breath and let out a sigh
I don't know how much of this I can handle
Is it getting in the way of this lovely song?
Just promise me that you'll never leave
I'd die if you leave me
When I was young
All of these things didn't matter
But now times have changed
And I wasn't paying attention
So fuck you and your mass media toys
That make being alive seem like a chore
I don't know how much of this I can handle
Excuse me is my rant taking too long?
Is it getting in the way of this lovely song?
Just promise me that you'll never leave
I'd die if you leave me
The song "Fashionably Uninvited" by Mellowdrone is a commentary on the influence of mass media on society, and the struggle to maintain a sense of individuality and authenticity in the face of its pervasive influence. The opening lines, "All of these folks on the TV have their reasons/Like you on your hill consuming en maze with your buddies," describe the way that people consume media in a passive and detached way, without questioning its motivations or analyzing its effects.
The song continues with the singer expressing frustration with the way that mass media presents a superficial and sanitized version of reality, making "being alive seem like a chore." The lines "When I was young all of these things didn't matter/But now times have changed and I wasn't paying attention" suggest a sense of regret over the ways in which the singer has been complicit in this phenomenon, either through willful ignorance or a sense of resignation.
Line by Line Meaning
All of these folks
On the TV have their reasons
People on television have their own motives and agendas.
Like you on your hill
Consuming en maze with your buddies
You, living in your own bubble and surrounded by friends, are similarly consuming content without awareness of outside perspectives.
Every time I watch them all go by
I take in a breath and let out a sigh
I don't know how much of this I can handle
The singer is overwhelmed and disheartened by the constant bombardment of media messages.
Excuse me is my rant taking too long?
Is it getting in the way of this lovely song?
Just promise me that you'll never leave
I'd die if you leave me
The artist seeks reassurance from their friend, fearing the loss of their support.
When I was young
All of these things didn't matter
But now times have changed
And I wasn't paying attention
The artist reflects on their past obliviousness to the effects of mass media.
So fuck you and your mass media toys
That make being alive seem like a chore
I don't know how much of this I can handle
The singer holds contempt for the media's manipulation of life into a tiresome, repetitive experience, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JONATHAN FORREST BATES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rachel Corning
This song is in the movie The Invisible! I wouldn't have discovered it otherwise... these guys seriously deserve more attention.
EndofTimes
my get drunk movie to watch alone
Pathetic Richiee
Yo recuerdo
Cuando estaba más chicos, como eso de 9 o 10 años mi papá y mis hermanos la ponían y esta canción siempre me ah encantado, es como magia que entra a tu oído, y es hermoso por que se siente ❤ Y la sigo escuchando a mi edad actual (17 años) esto es arte, no lo dejen morir 🌷
Mossy Moose
I feel like the reason no one hears much from mellow droneis because they're so giddamned weird sounding. In true velvet underground fashion, they will eventually find a special place in people's hearts and hopefully be regarded as one of greatest acts of all time. One can hope because they are mega talented and deserve to be seen as such.
Gabby
They are seen as such. Fuck commercial radio!
Preston Hau
I think if you look at music historically, the popular music of the time always burns fast and bright and fades out within 20 years, but music that becomes classic usually were sort of indie in their time and is maintained through cult like fan ship
Jorge Blanco
Still listening to it after 13 long years.
definitely not gage
This song came out in 2006 man. 10 years bro
The Construct
It came out earlier then that. I had his demo in 2002 that had this song on it. :) Was a 6 song E.P. The CD was clear too. Was so amazing!
MaximumSuds
They are making a reunion!