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The Bonapartes! The Bonapartes are Coming!

by Meghan Jones
03/11/2006



The Bonapartes, a 5-person ensemble hailing from Washington, D.C., are starting an East Coast tour, and Athens is near the top of their list.

Ben Griggs, the guitarist, and Scott Westfall, providing the pipes, knew each other from their previous roles in another D.C. band known as Ambassador Now!. They met and adopted Nick Daughtry (sometimes known as Baj Mahal), to be the bassist, and went on to assemble Dexter Fontaine, previously of the Shakedowns, for the drums, and Eamonn Aiken, formerly of Bellflur, as the second guitarist to complete the sound.

"The scene in D.C. is pretty small, almost inbred, with bands sharing musicians. Everyone seems to know each other, so the competitive urge is dampened," said Griggs when we spoke to him this week. "DC often gets compared to New York, but people forget that D.C. only has 650,000 people and many of them are transient, working on the Hill or going to school for a few years and then moving on."

The band was christened The Bonapartes after Griggs read a book about the Russian revolution. He spotted the word "bonapartism," and, the band being a bunch of self-proclaimed history nerds, thought it would be a cool word from which to derive the name. Used to describe a man who took over the popular will of the revolution and used it for his own ends, perhaps their name foreshadows their imminent musical success?

The band already plays at venues all over D.C. with quite a reputation for ear-catching tunes that make you dance, rock your face off, and stay in your head for days afterwards. When asked about the D.C. music scene, Griggs said, "Everyone know D.C. for the hardcore scene. A lot of that is still around, but now its mixed with a burgeoning indie scene. We’re on Dischord, but we’re not really a traditional Dischord band."

This current tour is to announce and celebrate their 6 song, self-titled EP, which was released last December on the Dischord label. Four songs from the album, one of which is a live recording, are available at thebonapartes.com and also at myspace.com/thebonapartes. Their songs are reminiscent of the Psychic Hearts, but with a hint of British pop and a bit more garage influence. After all, the majority of their earliest practice time together was spent "in a decrepit little shack."

The Bonapartes are playing this Wednesday, March 15, at the Caledonia Lounge with The Title Ceremony, a Wilmington, N.C. band, and Athens’ locals Iron Hero. Their show at Lenny’s Bar in Atlanta was cancelled, so this is your only chance to see them until they make it back to Athens in July.