American band Bon Iver is a huge name in the indie music scene, branching out into mainstream success with songs like “Skinny Love” and “Holocene.” At the helm is vocalist, frontman, and founding member Justin Vernon, who initially started Bon Iver as a solo project before it became a band.
Bon Iver has released various acclaimed albums and EPs, collaborated with various artists, and is now branching out into new genres with its latest work titled SABLE, fABLE. Though the band and its music have evolved, change wasn’t always a welcome idea for Justin Vernon.
Before starting the band, his struggles, from losing at online poker to breakups to loneliness, threw curveballs at him and prompted him to leave everything behind to stay isolated. However, these events also helped him create music that changed his life for the better and continues to inspire other artists.
A bad gambling loss was one of the main reasons he went to that famous Wisconsin log cabin
Around a year before his fateful visit to the cabin in the woods where he’d spend his time writing Bon Iver’s debut album, Justin Vernon lost money in a bad online poker run. When he lost $220 playing, despite the loss, it woke him up to the gravity of his situation. His interest in poker coincided with “The Moneymaker Effect” in the early 2000s after an accountant turned ACR Poker Pro Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker in 2003, catapulting US online poker to new heights.
Though he was no professional, it was an engaging hobby, and playing online was exciting and novel at the time. However, blowing his money on online poker (when he had very little money) didn’t help his financial situation at the time.
He had just broken up with his band DeYarmond Edison, ended a relationship, and struggled with mononucleosis, which affected his liver. Losing what little money he had in a poker game was a tipping point that he calls a microcosm of the other events in his life that reminded him he was not in control of his situation. He even mentions the loss in “Re: Stacks,” the final track on For Emma, Forever Ago. After the experience, he moved back to his hometown of Eau Claire, where he’d eventually drive to his father’s hunting cabin.
The cabin in the woods
The idea of spending a few winter months in a solitary cabin writing music was often mythologized and viewed as almost magical to others, but for Justin Vernon, it was a tough and lonely period in his life. He spent much of the first three weeks watching television, maintaining the cabin, or hunting for food, but he eventually decided to plug in his laptop and play around with song ideas to break free from his rut.
He experimented with singing in falsetto and layering his vocals to create a choir-like sound. He worked long hours, and the days often melded together. The stay at the cabin was also where he came up with the moniker Bon Iver, derived from the French phrase bon hiver or good winter. Eventually, he emerged from the cabin with nine tracks that became Bon Iver’s debut album.
At the time, it felt far from a renewal, but he eventually regarded For Emma, Forever Ago as a triumph for his mental health. It helped him take personal steps to improve his life. After self-distributing the album on the social media platform MySpace in 2007, it became an independent hit and was re-released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim. It helped launch Justin Vernon and the Bon Iver band into mainstream stardom.
Current success
Justin Vernon has come a long way since that online poker loss and his time in his father’s cabin. Bon Iver has become one of the biggest names in indie music. For Emma, Forever Ago became a massive hit for the indie folk genre, and the band’s next album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, also saw award-winning success. Bon Iver has collaborated with both indie and mainstream artists, such as Taylor Swift and Charli xcx, lending the band’s signature sound and lyricism to projects in different genres.
The band’s music has also become an inspiration for many indie artists. The song “Skinny Love” from the debut album was further popularized by singer Birdy, whose cover helped launch her music career. Singer-songwriter Ella Voss also covered a Bon Iver song on tour in 2018. Justin Vernon and Bon Iver have become pillars of the indie folk genre and are continuing to grow and evolve their sound with their latest projects like SABLE, fABLE. Bon Iver and Justin Vernon also use their platform to uplift meaningful causes, such as holding music events that help benefit their gender equity and anti-domestic violence campaign called 2 A Billion.
Visit River Beats for more on the latest in music and entertainment.
American band Bon Iver is a huge name in the indie music scene, branching out into mainstream success with songs like “Skinny Love” and “Holocene.” At the helm is vocalist, frontman, and founding member Justin Vernon, who initially started Bon Iver as a solo project before it became a band.
Bon Iver has released various acclaimed albums and EPs, collaborated with various artists, and is now branching out into new genres with its latest work titled SABLE, fABLE. Though the band and its music have evolved, change wasn’t always a welcome idea for Justin Vernon.
Before starting the band, his struggles, from losing at online poker to breakups to loneliness, threw curveballs at him and prompted him to leave everything behind to stay isolated. However, these events also helped him create music that changed his life for the better and continues to inspire other artists.
A bad gambling loss was one of the main reasons he went to that famous Wisconsin log cabin
Around a year before his fateful visit to the cabin in the woods where he’d spend his time writing Bon Iver’s debut album, Justin Vernon lost money in a bad online poker run. When he lost $220 playing, despite the loss, it woke him up to the gravity of his situation. His interest in poker coincided with “The Moneymaker Effect” in the early 2000s after an accountant turned ACR Poker Pro Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker in 2003, catapulting US online poker to new heights.
Though he was no professional, it was an engaging hobby, and playing online was exciting and novel at the time. However, blowing his money on online poker (when he had very little money) didn’t help his financial situation at the time.
He had just broken up with his band DeYarmond Edison, ended a relationship, and struggled with mononucleosis, which affected his liver. Losing what little money he had in a poker game was a tipping point that he calls a microcosm of the other events in his life that reminded him he was not in control of his situation. He even mentions the loss in “Re: Stacks,” the final track on For Emma, Forever Ago. After the experience, he moved back to his hometown of Eau Claire, where he’d eventually drive to his father’s hunting cabin.
The cabin in the woods
The idea of spending a few winter months in a solitary cabin writing music was often mythologized and viewed as almost magical to others, but for Justin Vernon, it was a tough and lonely period in his life. He spent much of the first three weeks watching television, maintaining the cabin, or hunting for food, but he eventually decided to plug in his laptop and play around with song ideas to break free from his rut.
He experimented with singing in falsetto and layering his vocals to create a choir-like sound. He worked long hours, and the days often melded together. The stay at the cabin was also where he came up with the moniker Bon Iver, derived from the French phrase bon hiver or good winter. Eventually, he emerged from the cabin with nine tracks that became Bon Iver’s debut album.
At the time, it felt far from a renewal, but he eventually regarded For Emma, Forever Ago as a triumph for his mental health. It helped him take personal steps to improve his life. After self-distributing the album on the social media platform MySpace in 2007, it became an independent hit and was re-released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim. It helped launch Justin Vernon and the Bon Iver band into mainstream stardom.
Current success
Justin Vernon has come a long way since that online poker loss and his time in his father’s cabin. Bon Iver has become one of the biggest names in indie music. For Emma, Forever Ago became a massive hit for the indie folk genre, and the band’s next album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, also saw award-winning success. Bon Iver has collaborated with both indie and mainstream artists, such as Taylor Swift and Charli xcx, lending the band’s signature sound and lyricism to projects in different genres.
The band’s music has also become an inspiration for many indie artists. The song “Skinny Love” from the debut album was further popularized by singer Birdy, whose cover helped launch her music career. Singer-songwriter Ella Voss also covered a Bon Iver song on tour in 2018. Justin Vernon and Bon Iver have become pillars of the indie folk genre and are continuing to grow and evolve their sound with their latest projects like SABLE, fABLE. Bon Iver and Justin Vernon also use their platform to uplift meaningful causes, such as holding music events that help benefit their gender equity and anti-domestic violence campaign called 2 A Billion.
Visit River Beats for more on the latest in music and entertainment.
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