23 July 13th–July 19th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | All’s Well Bogan Via want you to know that ‘Everything’s OK.’ BY CHRIS COPLAN B ogan Via haven’t released an album since 2018’s “Hard To Kill.” Heck, there hasn’t even been a new single since 2020. That doesn’t mean, however, they haven’t remained steadily busy. “We’re making music all the time,” Bret Bender says. “I lock myself up in my office most nights of the week regardless. And I’ll probably be doing that till the day I die.” Bender says the group, which are rounded out by Maddie Miller, have “10 times the amount of material that we’ve ever released.” So, why the extended delays between new projects? “I hate this idea of productivity,” Miller says. “It’s just such an American ideal. I resent the idea of having to just work constantly and prove that you’re creating constantly. It’s something I really struggle with. Especially because Brett always does want to create constantly.” It may also be the sheer demands that come once the recording is actually over. “It’s a matter of getting the energy together and feeling like we’re ready to go for it again,” Bender says. “It takes a lot to decide you want to promote an album.” But, like so many other artists in recent years, plans and strategies have shifted, and Bogan Via have been trying to make music their full-time gig as of late. It’s a change made even more complicated because, despite the band’s infrequent release schedule, Bender grapples with patience. “It’s hard for me to let things come naturally,” Bender says. “I’m always kind of like go, go, go, go, go.” He adds that he’s often the “impatient, anxious artist who just wants to record it, master it and then put it on Spotify the next day.” Luckily, there are some ways to know that new music is finally ready to enter the world, and that’s going to be essential for Bogan Via going forward. “It’s something you just feel compelled to share, I guess,” Bender says. “Like, I feel like we actually did something good.” That very sentiment is why the duo are finally releasing a new album, “Everything’s OK,” due out later this fall. For Bender, the six-track effort is the culmination of a grander personal journey, not just on learning to focus more, or landing some sweet new job, but a decid- edly novel outlook on life. “I definitely think the reason for making music shifted for me,” he says. “I had a little bit of a spiritual awakening starting through the pandemic.” Bender was able to explore certain subcultures and practices that he’d always been curious about but never fully approached. “I’ve always just been a curious person — those curiosities went from the kiddie portion of the water park to every portion of my life — much to Maddie’s chagrin,” Bender says. He adds, “I happened to get into aliens and the esoteric. You start going into your shadows and your past and realizing, ‘Oh, shoot, maybe this is why I’m this way. Or, maybe this is why I do things like this.’ Just trying to heal personally on those deeper levels. Plus, trying to come through and wanting to make music to provide that for other people and communicate that story.” Is it safe to say, then, that the record is somehow deeply spiritual? It’s a tad more abstract than such a basic premise. Bender says, “There’s definitely a line of spirituality in this album, but it doesn’t beat you over the head. It’s really about building a community and Bogan Via’s new LP “Everything’s OK” is due out Oct. 20. Maddie Miller ▼ Music >> p 24
