Headed by brothers, Marty and Matt Bohannon, the Bohannons are one of America’s undiscovered musical treasures.

A massively under-appreciated band that has been doing it their way for 20+ years. Brothers Bohannon along with drummer Mike Gault and bassist Justin Colburn are releasing their latest studio album ‘Night Construction’ today. Difficult times and difficult places have always been at the center of the writing and ‘Night Construction’ is proof that dreams are escape, good and evil are real and that there is hope for justice out there somewhere. To accompany the album release the band is also sharing a video for the title track.

“We are living in song”

Are you all coming from Chattanooga, Tennessee, what’s the local scene there for a band like yours?

Marty Bohannon: It’s healthy I’d say. The town is growing. The predominant genres are country and hip hop so we are a ways off from that, even though we draw inspiration from it. The younger psych-rock bands are doing great too. Psychic Dungeon, Dolphin Group, Breznik to name a few. Terrestrial Troubadours are a favorite psych-country outfit. It’s one of those magical collectives.

Would love to hear how you first got interested in music and what led you to pick an instrument?

Our parents were kinda folkies. Lots of John Prine, John Denver. We still play their jumbo Sears Silvertone at most shows.

Were you in any other bands before starting Bohannons?

Matt was. Up With the Joneses, God vs. Todd and we both have solo bands on the side we perform under our names, Matt Bohannon’s ‘Please Hold for No One’ is out now via Let’s Pretend Records and my album ‘A Scar is Born’ will be out later this year.

The band itself has been going for more than a decade. Time really flies fast. Do you feel that you matured musically through the years?

I think it’s more like we listen better, hear more. Whether it’s fleshing out an idea sonically or expressing ourselves to one another.

You have an exciting album scheduled for May 5th via Cornelius Chapel Records. Are you excited about it?

We are so stoked! It has been done for a while but there’s not been a better time for it to be born. The world two years ago was crazy. Now it’s crazy in a different way. It’s a fair document. A detailed account.

Tell us about ‘Night Construction,’ how much work did you invest in the songs?

I’d say, and I’m sure my brother would agree, the songs write themselves. We are living in song. Right now another song is coming to life. The times will manifest themselves into our fingers, into the strings, into vibrations. “Work” is all we do I guess. And sleep some? When it comes to organizing a new body of work it’s an edit out affair. The new collection should also compliment past volumes or it wouldn’t be the strange mess that is The Bohannons.

Can you share some further words about the writing, recording and production side of the album?

It was written in different dimensions. Kind of a cross hatch of colliding times. Fused together with dystopian beliefs, history (proven and unproven) and time. A not quite lucid experience. Like when you dream you are awake but are not. I was working late nights into the sunrise. That is a strange place.

We worked at Chase Park Transduction in Athens, GA for several recordings. That’s where we met Henry Barbe. Dial Back Studios in Water Valley, Mississippi is our “escape to make a record” haven. It’s quiet. And Delta quiet is different from any other quiet. It surrounds you. Gives you a beautiful blank slate to start the creative process. Our main engineer and past producer Bronson Tew was working in the Pacific Northwest at the time, so studio owner Matt Patton suggested hiring Henry. Both studios have Sony consoles so we could mix/ overdub closer to home once we had the bones.

<a href="https://bohannons.bandcamp.com/album/night-construction">Night Construction by Bohannons</a>

How would you compare it to ‘Bloodroot’?

I’d say ‘Bloodroot’ was darker? Most of the transference on that record dealt with life to death or death to light. More like a series of short stories. ‘Night Construction’ came out of the desperation of the Trump era, fear and the excitement of watching it all go away as quickly as it appeared.

Do you feel that the album was influenced by the unpredictable events that happen in 2020?

Yes! Antifa, George Floyd, Trump, misinformation, the parallel reality, the white washed past, the rewrites in our memories. It’s all there. But it asks as many questions as it answers?

It would be fantastic if you could comment on each of the albums you released. What are some of the recollections that come to your mind when hearing again ‘days of echo,’ ‘Unaka Rising,’ ‘Black Cross, Black Shield,’ and ‘Luminary Angels’?

‘days of echo,’ hmmm? We went to Chicago to make a country-tinged record with Steve Albini. Makes absolutely no sense but we do push ourselves out of our comfort zone intentionally. Maybe the only record that bears the names Steve Albini and Vance Powell, who mixed the record at Sputnik in Nashville. It was the first time I remember saying to myself, “I have no limits.” Later I would find out I did, money. Wouldn’t have it any other way looking back.

‘Unaka Rising’ was tracked by Drew Vandenberg at Chase Park in Athens, GA. Probably our most quickly recorded album that really shows the teeth of the band. I loved this era of the band because I think my brother and I were answering each other’s songs. “Oh that’s badass, now check this out.” A beautiful hunger in that record.

‘Black Cross, Black Shield,’ it’s inevitable the amount of loss that parallels life and art. I was also at odds with my hometown for not accepting me. And I was disgusted with the structure it was built on. Definitely a lot of growing in the making of this record. Member changes are very steep mountains. We lost punk patriarchs, contemporaries, co workers and family in this trying time. It was a way to say “I’m mad you had to leave but I’ll continue to fight for you.” My latch key kid brothers and sisters were taking the hard way out and rock ‘n’ roll was all we had to get us through.

‘Luminary Angels’ was a reset. Back to storytelling. Back to escape. I worked with a girl named Kiki Fumar. She was from a small municipality in the mountains called Luminary. There was a family, the Angels, she said they slept in trees. And there you have it. My mind goes wild for that type of exchange. So much of the small town south has the most nonsensical characters. Give me some urban legend and an odd character, I’ll finish the story.

‘Bloodroot’ was like tying all the previous records together. The ratchet strap. All previous themes were revisited and judged. Checking in to see what condition our condition was in. Heavy? Check. Weird? Check. Surreal? Check.

Tell us about the gear, pedals, effects, amps etc that you’re using in the band.

Well I have to say my contribution tone and texture wise is lower in the mix and live performance than my brothers. He has a myriad of pedals and effects that I can’t really explain completely. My rhythm tracks are usually a touch of vibrato and verb through my tele, a Fender Vibroverb and the Boss phase/distortion pedal. Pretty minimal. My brother stacks a lot in tracking. Live it has to almost come off the rails to work. I stay in the wash.

What’s next for you? Are you planning to tour to promote the latest album?

Yes. Shameless plug but we run a bar here in Chattanooga. Cherry Street Tavern, y’all come see us now ya hear? It’s our hub to host our friends and favorite bands. It also gave us a way to keep up our chops playing and recording during the pandemic. May/ June dates are being set up now in the southeast, Midwest. Ideally support for a bigger artist and festivals would be ideal but we really just want to put our old warpath back together. Also writing the next album!

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Oh man, I’m obsessed with Sunny War. ‘Anarchist Gospel’ is so bad ass. I love WITCH (We Intend to Cause Havoc!). It’s like an African Skynyrd. Chifundo brings me to my knees. GOAT (Sweden) on Sub Pop is exciting. Drunken Prayers ‘Cordelia Elsewhere’ has been in rotation since its release. Anything Big Star. Anything Guided By Voices. A lot of old and new here but that’s me too.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

Thanks to y’all and hello to all the new ears out there. I hope you enjoy ‘Night Construction’ and find our past volumes. This was fun. Thank you Klemen! Help us get our asses over there!

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Sydney Williamson

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