New box set chronicles Bon Iver's Raleigh origins as DeYarmond Edison
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Members of DeYarmond Edison, pictured left to right: Justin Vernon, Joe Westerlund, Phil Cook, Brad Cook. Photo: Courtesy of D.L. Anderson
Before Justin Vernon became Bon Iver, one of indie rock's biggest musicians, he was part of a small band grinding its way through the clubs and art galleries of Raleigh in the mid-2000s.
Driving the news: Now nearly two decades since it dissolved — and Vernon decamped from Raleigh for a Wisconsin cabin to write Bon Iver's first album — his old group DeYarmond Edison is getting a box set release from the storied record label Jagjaguwar on Aug. 18.
- Much of the band's music, which has a bend toward roots rock, has never been released before, except for some fan recordings and on an old Myspace account.
- The box set includes more than 80 songs across five LPs as well as a 114-page biography of the band by Grayson Haver Currin, the former music editor of INDY Week who covered the group during their Raleigh era.
Why it matters: While it only existed in Raleigh for roughly a year, the influence of DeYarmond Edison's members continues to reverberate in the Triangle and across the country.
- "I learned more in that year than I've learned in the decade since," Vernon once said of his time in the city.
Zoom in: DeYarmond Edison's members trace their history back to Wisconsin, but moved to Raleigh in 2005 to try out a bigger music scene.
Many of its members never left, including drummer Joe Westerlund, who went on to form the band Megafaun in 2006, and brothers Phil and Brad Cook.
- Phil Cook remains an influential musician in the Durham music scene, releasing excellent solo albums and performing with the local folk rock group Hiss Golden Messenger.
- Brad Cook has become one of the most sought-after record producers, working with musicians like Waxahatchee, The War on Drugs and American Aquarium.
- Westerlund has also gone on to have a prolific solo career and has played with local artists like Sylvan Esso, Jake Xerxes Fussell and Watchhouse.
Highlights from the upcoming release include an early composition called "Hazelton," in which Vernon employs a finger-picking technique that is nearly identical to "Holocene," one of Bon Iver's most popular songs.
- For Triangle listeners, though, the most interesting listen will be the LP called "That Was Then," which takes performances from the band's residency at the now closed Five Points venue The Bickett Gallery.
Pre-order the box set here.