 by Rob van Alstyne
A little less than three years ago, back in the nascent stages of the iPod era, local songstress Haley Bonar appeared to have it all. Barely out of her teens at the time, Bonar was already riding the gorgeous malleability of her breathy singing voice—equally stirring in moments of hushed vulnerability and brazen sultriness—to a wave of acclaim most seasoned Minnesota musicians would kill for. In short order, Bonar’s rustic folk-pop had already managed to catch the ear of indie-music legends (slow core trio Low plucked her out of Duluth coffeehouse purgatory to help record and release her sophomore album The Size of Planets on their nationally distributed imprint Chairkickers Music Union) and major label music executives alike (rumors abound that major label subsidiary V2, home to Grandaddy and the White Stripes, were chomping at the bit to sign her to a long-term contract). National tours with luminaries such as Richard Buckner were going swimmingly and all signs pointed to 2004 and many more to come as the Year of the Haley. Then … the bottom fell out.
 “The
drama aspect of it all has been kind of hyped up,” says Bonar, slightly
hesitant to delve too deeply into the matters that resulted in a lengthy musical
silence from her during the latter half of 2004 into early 2005. Clearly it
was a trying time, as both the proposed deal with V2 and her relationship with
former drummer/boyfriend David Frankenfeld—at the time her lone band mate—fell
apart in close succession. An album from this period was recorded but ultimately
never released because Bonar was so unhappy with it. Things got bad enough that
Bonar packed it in and moved back home again (Rapid City, South Dakota) to live
with her parents for a few months. Even in her darkest hour, however, Bonar
claims she never thought about leaving music.
“The ‘music business’ and playing music are two totally separate
entities,” offers Bonar, still a month shy of 23 but sounding like a grizzled
veteran of the industry. “I was walking away from the business—because
it’s so cutthroat and huge and all about money—but I never thought
about
quitting music.”
A little more than a year on from that dark period comes Lure the Fox,
Bonar’s third record and a testament to her powers of resilience. All
the elements that made Bonar a rising star are on display yet again—the
aforementioned dexterous windpipes, an ear for melodies timeless enough to feel
immediately familiar but with enough interesting wrinkles to avoid feeling derivative,
a songwriting muscle equally strong whether being flexed behind an acoustic
guitar or vintage keyboard—all delivered with an urgency that comes from
taking nothing for granted. Fans of Cat Power and Lucinda Williams take note
as these seemingly disparate musical talents can be found embodied right here
in town in Bonar’s music, a catalog driven equally by placid obtuse pop
maneuvers (“Us”) and enigmatic rough hewn dirges (“Devilish
Man”).
“Once I got my head back on straight I decided to move to Minneapolis
and make a record as cheaply as I could,” recalls Bonar of Fox’s
gestation process. “Things fell into place pretty quickly after that and
I’ve been lucky to play with some great people. Right after one of my
first shows after moving here, Mary Lewis, who is Mike Lewis from Happy Apple’s
mom, came up to me and said that she had read about my situation in the Star
Tribune and wanted to help me out and that she was starting a label. She basically
gave me a grant and that was a really huge deal as it covered the expenses for
me to go record at Pachyderm for a week. I’ll pay her back as I sell records
and all of the profits go back into her account to help other bands put out
a CD. So it’s a really good situation.”
It may have been a long ways off from V2, but it suited Bonar just fine and
August of 2005 found her headed to Cannon Falls to record Lure the Fox,
a batch of primarily sparse and dour songs that in many cases she had been playing
live for more than a year, with new bandmate Christopher Morrissey (bassist
for Mason Jennings) and a new drummer. Disaster threatened to rear its ugly
head yet again when the drummer-to-be pulled out of the recording sessions the
day before they were to begin.
A last minute call was made and Bonar managed to procure a helping hand behind
the drum kit that most would kill for in the form of Dave King—percussionist
for the Bad Plus, Halloween Alaska—who a musician friend of mine once
referred to as “the Michael Jordan of Minnesota drummers.”
 “I
think we had about two hours of prep time with him and he didn’t even
need it because he’s just that great,” recalls Bonar of the serendipitous
turn of events that resulted in King drumming on four of Lure the Fox’s
eleven cuts. King’s deft percussive skills help take cuts like the simmering
character study “Ransom” to the next level but the album is clearly
Bonar’s show: she handles all keyboard and guitar duties in addition to
heading up production on the record.
Bonar’s well aware such a high degree of control would have been hard
to come by if Lure the Fox was a project with V2’s dollars behind
it. “Everybody questions the decisions they make,” admits Bonar
reflecting on her turbulent recent past. “After my second album came out,
the hype was there and the majors were in my face and there was definitely that
‘sign here and we can make you this kind of artist’ moment. At first
I thought ‘yeah, let’s get a big advance and not do a coffee shop
job anymore,’ but it really wouldn’t have been the right thing for
me to do. I know that can sound wrong of me to say, just because there are so
many people who would kill to be in that position, but you have to be completely
mentally prepared for it. A lot of people don’t understand how the logistics
of the majors work; you could make a record and if they don’t like it
they can sit on it forever … you’re the slave and they own you.”
So for now Bonar’s operating on a significantly smaller scale, pressing
up and self-releasing 1,000 copies of Lure the Fox while still seeking
out larger distribution opportunities and embracing the opportunities she feels
are a good fit (such as a recent national tour of packed clubs in February opening
up for Andrew Bird). A makeshift band of highly talented collaborators (Morrissey,
guitarist Bill Mike, drummer Ryan Lovan, vocalist Wendy Lewis) will help Bonar
celebrate the ‘official’ Twin Cities release of Lure the Fox but
the future beyond that is hazy for now … just like that of most other
early-20s city dweller artists. “I feel like I’m back at square
one,” says Bonar. “I’m working two jobs and doing a DIY release
again, but I can’t say I have any regrets.” ||
Haley Bonar plays the CD release show for Lure the Fox on
Fri., Mar. 17 at the Cedar Cultural Center with opening act Redstart. 8 p.m.
$10 adv/ $12 door. All Ages. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-338-2674.
For more information on Haley Bonar check out her official website
at HaleyBonar.com or download an mp3
of Bonar’s song “Us.”
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