BandCampWes: Don ’15 Launches Solo Career from Butts Double

Robert Don ’15, the St. Louis-based singer, songwriter, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist who casually performed at LouFest last summer with his excellent “pirate rockabilly” band Since 1902, has embarked on a solo career of sorts from—why not?—his Butts double. His first release is Honestly Honesty, a brief EP that contains two promising tracks Don wrote and began recording on his own during his freshman year. Honestly (honesty), it’s pretty good.

“Silence,” the lengthier of the two, offers three minutes of shuffling, jazzy interplay (not far off from Since 1902’s LP) and about one minute of breezy indie pop, with multitracked vocals that sound a hell of a lot like Menomena’s Danny Seim. “In Good Time” is a louder, carefully layered folk stomp, with striking backing vocals and production by 1902 bandmate Justin Enoch. The song made its live debut at last semester’s Musical Madness, with drumming assistance by Dylan Awalt-Conley ’15.

 As Don explains the project:

I wrote both songs while at Wes and recorded parts of each in my Butts dorm room as well as my home in Saint Louis. Justin Enoch, my good friend from Since 1902 (and Audience), sang some of the background vocals on “In Good Time.” Besides that, I played all of the instruments. It’s name your price, so it’s available for free! Also, the site banner was made by Sarah Koppelkam ’15 and reworked for the interwebs by Corey Sobotka ’15.

Don also plays bass in Ratched and the Lunatics, which drew the coveted BNFB (Best New Freshman Band) designation from none other than the real MRoth after the band performed at April’s Real Food Celebration. If you haven’t yet heard Since 1902’s No Excuses Wednesdays, do so here. It is really one of the fabbest, jazziest, and most melodically thoughtful releases on my last.fm “Wesleyan” tag.

 Snag Honestly Honesty for whatever price you want here.