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Thom Dunn is a Boston-based writer, musician, and utterly terrible dancer. He is the singer/guitarist for the indie rock/power-pop the Roland High Life, as well as a staff writer for the New York Times’ Wirecutter and a regular contributor at BoingBoing.net. Thom enjoys Oxford commas, metaphysics, and romantic clichés (especially when they involve whiskey), and he firmly believes that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is the single greatest atrocity committed against mankind. He is a graduate of Clarion Writer's Workshop at UCSD ('13) & Emerson College ('08).

Portrait of a Struggling Artist as a 38-year-old man on the eve of destruction →

Greetings from the B-Side Brewery! Have you drank enough water today? Gotten out of the house? Walked down to the polls? Taken five deep breaths? Smashed your phone against the wall? Okay cool just making sure.

If you still need a distraction from *gestures broadly at the world*, I invite you to check out the latest episode of the Struggling Artist Podcast, featuring yours truly! Host Trev Allen invited me onto the show to ostensibly talk about the history of the Roland High Life, and also how the hell to exist in the world as a creative person. Inevitably, our conversation also spirals out into a talk about ADHD and why Hawkeye is the best Avenger, as these things are wont to do. I like to think our chat has some nice glimmers of hope as well, as we talk pretty earnestly about how to balance artistry and all the various demands of “real life.”

If that’s not enough of a distraction, the fact that the New York Times Tech Guild is currently on strike could also help stop you from constantly refreshing your browser. The Wirecutter Union, of which I am a part, is technically separate from the Tech Guild, but we do stand in solidarity with our colleagues’ goals. While I can’t tell you what to do about or how to respond to this strike, I can encourage you to check out Strikle instead, or maybe soothe yourself with the dulcet tones of Billy Bragg. Or check out some unionized Chippendale dancers, idk.

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Time To Punch The Waves Back Into The Ocean →

Every year, as the temperature drops and schools start up again, my mind always returns to the same thing: "What We Did On Our Summer Vacation," my favorite episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Most people who’ve met me would not be surprised to learn that I have an earnest and genuine fascination with that particular Nickelodeon kids show, and have for a long time (Buy me a beer some time and I’ll tell you about how I almost went on a blind date with the actress who played Ellen Hinkle). And “What We Did On Our Summer Vacation” is a perfect distillation of everything the show had to offer: quirky characters, the whimsical magic of suburban boredom, and of course, weird deep-cut celebrity cameos that go way over kids' heads (yes, that is Michael Stipe from REM).

First, there’s that unforgettable episode opener: the moment when Younger Pete and his personal superhero, Artie, the Strongest Man In The World, attempt to punch back the ocean waves to prolong the summer. It’s obviously futile battle for them. But that futility also feels like such a succinct metaphor for growing up. (Perhaps even moreso now that we’re living in a time when we’re all so acutely aware of rising sea levels.)

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This month's gigs: July 22 at Exhibit A Brewing

Come catch the Roland High Life on Friday, July 22 at Exhibit A Brewing in Framingham, MA. It’s an outdoor show, and we’re on early at 7pm — so there’s really no excuse not to come out and rock out, right? We’ll even have merch!

But even if you can’t make it, we’ve got some stuff coming in August and September, too. See ya at the show!

We're back, baby! Come see the Roland High Life LIVE!

That’s right — my indie rock band the Roland High Life, which has mostly been a studio-only project for the last long while, is finally doing live shows again!

Our first show back is later this month at the Jungle in Union Square Somerville:

We even got some fancy new merchandise to show off too!

See ya there!

This Saturday — Alejandro & The Fame In JP!

Boston's premiere all-male Lady Gaga cover band plays the Midway Cafe in JP! Doors at 8pm! Be there! I can literally walk my equipment over to the club from my house! Wooohoo!

Oh yeah, and here's the Facebook event. Whoops. Sorry, I got excited.

And remember: just dance, motherfuckers

Cosmic Banditos! (-itos)(-itos)(-itos)

This weekend, I had the pleasure of accompanying Cosmic Banditos on their first gig in Baltimore, Maryland. I filled in on Woodrow and lap steel for a set at the annual Music4Change concert. Here's some video (more after the break) [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGWssnIdbk]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjZxpVI8KTg]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwE-XiN3UYE]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOIlFYzeKMk]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vbrKYkE7mA]

Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-BAT-BOY!

For the next 10 days, you can find me in the pit (well, okay, technically balcony, but it's still called the pit) playing guitar for MetroStage Company's production of BAT BOY! The Musical, directed by the lovely and quite talented Miss M. Bevin O'Gara. Here are the performance dates, for those of you who are interested:

  

  • Friday, June 3 at 8pm
  • Saturday, June 4 at 8pm
  • Sunday, June 5 at 2pm
  • Thursday, June 9 at 7:30pm
  • Friday, June 10 at 8pm
  • Saturday, June 11 at 8pm

Performances take place at the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre in Central Square, Cambridge.

And the synopsis (in case you're somehow unaware of the "Bat Boy" trend that once ruled The Weekly World News):

Based on a story in The Weekly World News, BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL is a musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia. For lack of a better solution, the local sheriff brings Bat Boy to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a "normal" boy by the veterinarian's wife, Meredith, and teenage daughter, Shelley. Bat Boy is happy with his new life, but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him, prodded by the machinations of Dr. Parker, who secretly despises Bat Boy. Shelley and Bat Boy, who have fallen in love, run away together from the ignorant townfolk and have a blissful coupling in the woods, but their happiness is shattered when Meredith arrives and reveals a secret. Soon the entire town arrives and hears the shocking story of Bat Boy's unholy origin.

Alejandro and the Fame: Live In Concert

For those who missed (or those who simply want to relive it), here's the complete (minus the talky parts) Alejandro & the Fame on the Day Before the Rapture. It was pretty epic [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz9Z5AOnGBA&w=480&h=303]

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Alejandro & the Harbingers of the Apocalypse

Friday night was the first performance of my all-male Lady Gaga cover band, Alejandro & the Fame. In light of the then-impending rapture, we changed our name to Alejandro & the Harbingers of the Apocalypse. We have since returned to the Fame. Audio/video to come, but for now, here's some pictures to tide you over: Alejandro & the Fame, Boston's premiere all-male Lady Gaga cover band, at the Huntington Theatre Company's 35 Below party

Yes, I'm wearing leopard print leggings and jean shorts. No, I do not own the leopard print leggings. Yes, I did make my own jean shorts.

Photos by Justin Seward

The Backyard Committee at Cafe Nine

Thanks to everyone who came out to see The Backyard Committee at Cafe Nine in New Haven last night (especially my Dad, even though he fell asleep before we went on). I felt a lot more comfortable with the songs this time around, so I think it went pretty well (and if the Canadian guy who was dancing is any reliable indication, I'm right). The Fatal Flaw from Boston (literally, around the corner from me) also played, so thanks to them for coming down. Joel Reader is a great guy, and if you asked 16-year-old-Thom if he'd be headlining a show over Joel from the Mr. T Experience, he would totally freak (25-year-old-Thom, meanwhile, has a much more well-adjusted worldview, at least comparatively)

The Backyard Committee Review from the Hartford Courant

"Whatever ineffable attributes Sembos brings to the Alternate Routes, there's no mistaking what he has done with the Backyard Committee: He's made an inviting album of songs that linger after the last note fades. The guitarist and singer displays a knack for crafting solid pop songs shot through with bits of folk and country, for a warm, pleasingly worn-in sound."

— The Hartford Courant, Jan. 11, 2011

Catch me playing keyboards with the Backyard Committee next Monday, January 17 at Daniel Street in Milford, CT, and don't forget to download the album for free before the show.

Upcoming Gigs with The Backyard Committee

My good friend Mike Sembos (of The Alternate Routes) has recently recorded and released a new full-length album under the name The Backyard Committee:

The Backyard Committee is a band based out of New Haven, Connecticut that blends genres ranging from Americana to punk rock into a jam-friendly framework. Singer/guitarist Mike Sembos (The Alternate Routes, superfallingstars, Kennesaw) writes the songs, and they’re played by a rotating cast of his musical friends. Each member of the “committee” is encouraged to bring his or her own unique voice to the project, be it on stage, on tape, in the artwork or in the crowd. The group’s debut self-titled album was released in December 2010, and it’s posted indefinitely for free download on their website below. All music ever released by the band will be made available for free in digital form in an attempt to make the band experience less of a business venture and more of an art collective.

The album is an excellent collection of indie/Americana tunes, and I'm excited to say that I'll be joining him onstage for a few gigs this winter on keyboards. Catch us at Daniel Street in Milford, CT on January 17, and then again at New Haven's own Cafe Nine on February 24.

And download the damn album! I mean, c'mon. It's free. Sheesh.