Meet David Bazan, an indie rock musician from Seattle. He was the force behind the now defunct Pedro the Lion. The front man of Headphones. Currently he performs under his namesake.

Under Pedro the Lion, Bazan marketed his remarkable sense of assonance. His songs were based on theology. He spent the better part of a decade battling his religion and inner personal issues. His loss of faith and questioning of his world turned into a drinking problem. In an attempt to rid the demons and see angels, he went solo.  Read more...

The Lonely Forest are about to head out on tour in support of their “big brother” Chris Walla and the rest of Death Cab for Cutie. I had the chance to check out their set and talk with the guys on their last tour through Minneapolis in April and wanted to share my thoughts and overall recommendation of the band with the fine readers of Driven Far Off. Also be sure to check out the full tour dates and ticket links for their roadshow with Death Cab and their album Arrows (read review | buy).  Read more...

Tim Kasher of Cursive/the Good Life fame is embarking on his solo tour. The solo tour is in support of his upcoming solo debut The Game of Monogamy.

I wasn’t exactly sure what the show would entail as the record isn’t entirely long. Would we get Cursive, the Good Life or covers? Kasher played essentially all of his solo songs and despite the record not being released yet, that didn’t stop the crowd from screaming along.  Read more...

Jenny and Johnny is composed of Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice. Lewis of Rilo Kiley fame is name enough to sell out venues before the bands debut record ever dropped.  Read more...

When I go to shows, I like to keep myself in the dark about the openers. I suppose I do this in hopes of being utterly surprised. Usually it’s the bad kind of surprise and I find myself, bored and disappointed. For this show, however, both openers nailed it. The first band, Linfinity, was overly loud, strangely energetic, and a treat to watch.  Read more...

To catch an artist at the start of their tour always feels lucky. Like maybe you’re going to experience a more refreshed version of the performance and in most cases, this is probably an accurate assumption. But in regards to Jarrod Gorbel, I don’t think it really mattered.

The venue was filled with young, pretty, well dressed girls and a handful of perfectly groomed boys, all of which appeared to be in love with Jarrod Gorbel. Both as a musician and as the man himself.  Read more...

After contemplating of hoping on to Bart and heading to San Francisco to catch the Economy Sucks Tour, I decided that very morning that I’ll make a spontaneous trip on my own to catch Anti-Flag and Broadway Calls. Once out on the Bart I turned on my ipod to listen to Anti-Flag, only to be disappointed and sadly finding out that I didn’t have any of their songs on my mp3 player. However, I did have the Bouncing Souls album which they covered 3 songs of Anti-Flag songs. Finally arriving in beautiful, rainy San Francisco, I hoped on the bus headed towards Slim’s arriving about 2 hours before the show started. Standing with my red umbrella and trying to keep warm I witness a tour bus parking right in front of me. Turns out, Anti-Flag we’re running a few hours late and had just arrived in San Francisco. Right at 5:30 pm my friend from Berkeley arrived and we called Neltie, Anti-Flag’s tour manager, to let us in. Once settling onto a bench inside Slim’s, Anti-Flag and their crew started to set up their equipment and performed sound check. That was my first time seeing Anti-Flag live, and in a room of only a handful of people, it was great. They sound check to 3 songs and were off stage. As 7pm hit the clock, the rest of the folks outside Slim’s were let in and greeted with the opening act band Oregon called Broadway Calls. Broadway Calls have an amazing energy live and are a bit more on the poppy-punk sound. There were a few folks in the crowd who sang and fist pumped along,while the rest stood waiting for Aiden or Anti-Flag. While watching Broadway Calls perform, a overheard a young girl tell her friend “They are so generic sounding.” Although they may be, they got the crowd clapping and me tapping along to their songs. Later through out the show, I figured out the young girl was there for this band from Canada called Cancer Bats. Let me just say that Cancer Bats or Aiden aren’t my cup of tea and noticed that all the folks, mostly older, that were there for Anti-Flag stood in the back of the venue or near the bar. There at Slim’s I wondered if I was too old for the kind of music Cancer Bats and Aiden played, I’m only twenty. It was almost 1opm and Aiden were just a few songs into their set when I decided to leave and head back to San Jose. Although I missed Anti-Flag, I was still able to hear them perform 3 songs during their sound check without a huge crowd.

The World is Watching
Angels & Airwaves broadcast peace and love from Nashville
by Trace William Cowen

photo by Trace William Cowen

Mathematically, I had to do it. Angels & Airwaves, free show (the annual Journey’s Backyard BBQ), three-hour drive to Nashville, so-so shopping mall – it made too much sense to ignore. So, after a quick Waffle House breakfast (honestly, the atmosphere alone can fill your stomach) perfectly complimented with four cups of coffee, I turned my girlfriend’s Camry gently in the direction of Nashville…well, Franklin, Tennessee. Thankfully, I kept a mildly detailed mental journal of the day ahead and will do my absolute best to transcribe it here.  Read more...

Alkaline Trio and American Steel @ The Catalyst on April 6, 2008.  Read more...

Yellowcard…and Four Other Bands: An Observation

by Trace William Cowen

Photo by Seth Cowen  Read more...