LITTLE ROCK — It has been quite the whirlwind for Justin Vernon of Bon Iver since 2008. That was the year he dropped on the world an elegiac, folksy album of heartbreak and beauty titled For Emma, Forever Ago.
Cut from the same sonic cloth as, say, Iron and Wine or Will Oldham’s projects and marked with Vernon’s highlonesome tenor, For Emma landed Vernon on a truckload of year-end best-of lists. The album, recorded alone in a rural Wisconsin cabin, made him a household name among indie-music fans and he even ended up collaborating with Kanye West on the latter’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch the Throne.
The self-titled follow-up - intense, atmospheric, sprinkled with electronic soundscapes and a bit more adventurous than its predecessor - was released in 2011 and wrangled the band a pair of Grammys for Best New Artist (beating out more mainstream artists like Nicki Minaj and dubstep’s favorite son, Skrillex) and Best Alternative Album.
Vernon and his nine-piece version of Bon Iver (the name is a take on the French phrase “bon hiver,” or “good winter,” which Vernon took from an episode of the ’90s television series Northern Exposure) are playing Little Rock’s Riverfest Amphitheatre on Sunday.
It’s Vernon’s second time here; he brought Bon Iver to Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack soon after For Emma ... was released.
We tracked down the Eau Claire, Wis., native and found him taking a day off in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he was getting a new tattoo of a woolly mammoth.
You have been on the road for most of the year. Have you learned anything new about your songs as the tour has progressed?
“Yeah. We have definitely gotten better in six to eight months of touring. As a team - the band, management and the audio guys - we all work together to make each other better and to also be better human beings. It’s going good. Something has changed and we have snapped into a new zone where it sounds really good. Our bass player, Mike Lewis, said, ‘A good show is when you feel like you’re 80 years old and never have to think twice aboutwhat you’re playing.’”
Are you able to write on tour?
“No. I work on other projects, or I work on a remix here and there or a side project, but when I sit down with a guitar and try to write, nothing really happens in that department.”
You didn’t write any of the songs on
Bon Iver on guitar, right?
“None of them came about that way. Some utilize guitar pieces, but there wasn’t a time when I sat down and wrote a song on a piece of paper with a guitar.”
When did you start playing music?
“Pretty early on. My dad gave me his guitar. I really got into John Prine. It was probably a little unhealthy for a 12-year-old to be as into John Prine as I was [laughs]. But I started to understand a lot of the Midwest mental state of mind by listening to John Prine’s music.”
Do you come from a musical family?
“Yeah. My mom was a music major. My dad played music and taught me my first chords.My brother is in a band and my sister was in the marching band in high school.”
So, what’s it like to have Kanye West call and say he wants to work with you?
“It was exciting. I’m a big Kanye West fan. In the world of rap music, he stands apart from everyone. From an artistic standpoint, he’s doing it with real musical class. It was a really easy and comfortable situation.”
Is it weird to hear one of your songs sampled?
“You get more and more used to it, especially after hearing people who have done remixes [of your songs]. That really used to take me aback and I’d think ‘What’s going on,’ but now I’m used to it.”
Can we expect any covers at the Little Rock show?
“I don’t know. We have been working on a Jayhawks cover and also a Bjork cover and a few new ones. When Levon Helm died, we played “Ophelia,” so we’ll see. There are a lot of [bands] that don’t get to come through your area, and we’re just excited to be coming there.”Bon Iver
Opening act: The Staves
Price: $38.50-$49
Where: Riverfest Amphithe
atre, 100 E. LaHarpe Blvd.,
Little Rock
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Info: Ticketmaster.com
Weekend, Pages 34 on 05/31/2012