Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION has been busy. His 4th studio album, Angel Miners and The Lightning Riders, came out on April 24th (the early days of quarantine!), so there's new music to talk about. When it became obvious that 2020 was a wash in terms of touring, the singer started up an IG live series talking about mental health and creativity, among other topics, with industry peers. But Bruno also understands the power of pausing, and after the murder of George Floyd on May 29th and the resulting resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, that’s exactly what he did. As did the team here at setlist.fm. After rescheduling a few times, we conducted this interview on June 18th. We talked about what he’s working on, both personally and professionally, music’s role in the current climate, the importance of educating ourselves and looking ahead at the future of live music. Yes, it was a lot. Take a look at our interview below:
Setlist.fm: What were your plans for 2020, and what are they now?
Aaron Bruno: Honestly, I was gonna just be on tour in the middle of this whole record cycle. And now, I'm always creating music, so I have several projects I'm working on. I mostly love being at home and creating. The honeymoon phase of the creation of a song that I think is important or that I like, there's nothing quite like it. So I'm able to do a lot of that right now. And I do like being home. I've spent the last several years on the road a lot. So this is the first time I've just been home for over a year.
Setlist.fm: What's it like to have a new album out during both a pandemic and a historical movement?
AB: I was really happy to release a record during the stay-at-home order because people were at home and were really thirsty for new music. And I wrote this record after losing my studio in the California Woolsey Fire. It was such an insane experience that got me really focused and thinking about how to deal with evil. And that could be used as a metaphor for really many different walks of evil in life. Once we were forced into sort of isolation, the lyrical content of the record felt appropriate for the emotions of what we were going through.
Setlist.fm: What song of yours is best for a protest playlist?
AB: That's all I've ever really been singing about, how to navigate the dark times. To choose a song, I mean, "Knights of Shame" off the first record. Sometimes when the world feels like it's ending and crumbling down all around you, you have to figure out some sort of way to lean into some sort of hope. And I hope that song kind of guides you through all of those emotions, I would think. But there's a lot of up-tempo songs. You feel like just raging and gettin' through it with a song like "Soul Wars” or even right now "Mayday!!! Fiesta Fever.” The last song on this new record is called "I'm a Wreck” and it's about how I feel mentally sometimes, especially now. And I think the whole world could relate to that. It takes you through this journey and then it lets off some steam at the end, so maybe that would be the best one.
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Setlist.fm: What do you think the first show back is gonna feel like?
AB: I'm just excited to go through the emotions of it I guess. I think the first thing that I will personally do will be some sort of streamed concert live for some sort of invisible audience.
Setlist.fm: What about a drive-in concert?
AB: I don't know how I would feel playing for cars. I would love to go to one because I would assume that they would have some sort of channel you could tune into on your own radio, right? It'd be nice to control the EQ of my stereo for one. Maybe I could bring my dogs to the concert. See, now we're talkin’. Maybe order some food. I mean, that sounds like a pretty good deal. I mean, I'm excited to adapt and figure out any way we can to play. And that'll be pretty exciting. I think now more than ever, we need to connect.
Setlist.fm: What’s the internet audience like compared to a live audience?
AB: I think we connect through posts and live conversations. In some ways, because of the quarantine I feel closer to our fans than ever. But nothing will ever be close to the real thing of interacting in person 'cause you see people's faces and their emotions in their eyes.
Setlist.fm: Are you planning on starting up your IG Live series again?
AB: I would like to, but I felt like it was important to not clutter anyone's feed because there are issues that are way more important than what I've been talking about. 'Cause mostly we were talking about mental ways to stay positive through the lockdown and isolation. It started with COVID and I had a lot of plans then, and now it's morphed into a lot of injustice.
I felt like it was really important to take a pause and let people have more of a voice. And I've been trying to educate myself as best I can to see what I can do personally to help.
Setlist.fm: Have you found any really good resources?
AB: I've mostly been communicating with people who are far more educated than me about these issues, and trying to learn from them. I don't have any great answer, so I'm trying to just become more informed. There's been a few things that I've found that may be some organizations I want to team up with and figure out ways, and certain friends who have been really awesome and active. I want to find a way to cause awareness, but not necessarily brag about how much I've donated or say, "Look at me, look at what I did.” 'Cause it's not about me at all. I hope we continue to try to help each other as time moves on. And it's not just a thing of now, but a new way of life I suppose. And hopefully I can be a very helpful part of that.
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