Justin Vernon
Justin Vernon
Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernonis an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Vernon is also a member of the bands Volcano Choir, The Shouting Matches and Gayngs...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth30 April 1981
CityEau Claire, WI
CountryUnited States of America
change express falsetto high low singers sound trying voices
Those old Appalachian singers use a falsetto sometimes. They can change their voices to sound high or low or really scratchy. When you're singing, usually you're trying to express some kind of pain or joy. I think that voice allows me to do a lot more of that.
encouraged five good grew high leave school spent trying work
The way I see it is that I grew up with a good set of values, but it was never too strict. I was always encouraged to be a free-thinking individual. I spent the first five years out of high school trying to make it work in Eau Claire, then I had to leave because there wasn't enough going on in town.
band business certain cooler large opportunity plays sells standpoint trying
There's a large opportunity for Bon Iver to be a special thing, even from a business standpoint - just trying to do cooler things. Every band sells t-shirts and plays certain auditoriums, but I'm sick of being like everyone else, because I'm not.
trying remakes knows
I don't know why you'd spend any of your time trying to remake something that you don't actually like.
mean trying complicated
I'm not trying to say something super complicated. I allow myself to say certain things that mean a lot to me.
understanding trying littles
I've been trying to catch up to it. Just trying to get with it, feel behind it a little bit, but that's good actually, probably. That way, I'm still sort of understanding it.
song thinking trying
And it's been a process of digging through the songs and trying to make them born on stage again. I think they are very different. I think they come off very differently. I think they come off, I don't know if it's masculine or outward, extroverted than introverted. I didn't know. It's just been a process.
hands trying hey
I'm trying to be like, "Hey, dude, you're super happy, this is everything you've ever dreamed of - if you don't have somebody to hold hands with right now, everything's going to be OK, bro."
bar cities drive eight escape general land minutes needed outside walk
Just in general as a person, not necessarily as a songwriter, being in cities wasn't the right fit. I couldn't escape and be in the woods in 10 minutes if I needed to. I like that in Eau Claire, I can walk to a bar or a coffee shop, and there's city-ish things, but I can also drive and in eight minutes be at my parents' land outside of town.
wisconsin
Growing up, all I did was write about the fact that I'm from where I'm from. I was a big champion of where I was from and Wisconsin in general, and the Midwest.
running settled
Honestly, before I settled on a name for the Bon Iver project in general, Chigliak was in the running for what I was going to name the band.
specific
I really have to be in a specific headspace to even begin to illuminate an idea that would create another Bon Iver record, and I'm just not there.
barely home lifestyle
I'm barely at home enough to enjoy the simple lifestyle that I want to live.
falsetto gospel reaction singers
The falsetto stuff, it must be a reaction to the black gospel singers that I really enjoy listening to.