Author Archives: Emmett

We VBs have always fancied ourselves an adventure band. As inspired as we are by the organizational skills of Bill Bellichick, the sense of duty of character actor Stephen Tobolowsky, or the commitment to comfort of William Howard Taft, we … Continue reading →

I was recently dismayed to learn that one of my favorite music acts, sound collage duo The Books were closing up shop for good. You can read some allusions to the problems that led to the split between members Nick … Continue reading →

We are big fans of brothers, older and younger. We’ve got a set of bros within the band and are ourselves all brothers in some capacity. Check this Slate article about the Murray brothers dominating family acting. Sometimes brothers can … Continue reading →

JJ Abrams, creator of the television series Lost, talks about his love of mystery and specifically his love for his unopened mystery box in this Ted talk (it’s 18 minutes long and not the crux of this post so if … Continue reading →

The Van Burens are believers in intertextuality, the concept that we derive all of our creative ideas from past experiences, that there are no “new” ideas. We think of the unwitting recurrence of past experiences as rhymes or echoes of … Continue reading →

It’s this time of year that we examine our lives and evaluate all that we hold dear. As part of this process we discuss and analyze those figures who have crossed us that offer guidance through the storm, that shine … Continue reading →

As part of our beanseries we bring to you the greatest meeting of important people since the Yalta Conference. This is “conversations between zach and taft,” a journalistic account  of the meeting between VB guy and muse Hartford Zach and … Continue reading →

The VBs were out painting the town red last night. While we enjoy playing our own shows, we always take the opportunity to enrich ourselves by taking in some live music. I had the pleasure of joining VB-friend-of-the-program, California, and … Continue reading →

The Van Burens are not above playing grab ass and crop dusting each other around the campfire after a gig, but we also like to get down and dirty discussing our respective personal philosophies of man and society. One element … Continue reading →

Some of you may recognize this gentleman as Good Guy Greg: the man who leaves you a note when he dents your fender, buys your hard-to-find favorite Peanut Butter M&Ms for you when he sees them in the store, and … Continue reading →