Song of the Gay: The Drums - Heart Basel

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear.

All this week we are celebrating Seattle Pride and PrideFest 2017 by featuring all LGBTQ artists for our “Song of the Gay” podcast. Today’s Song of the Gay is “ Heart Basel” by The Drums, from the 2017 album Abysmal Thoughts on ANTI-.

The Drums - Heart Basel (MP3)Brooklyn band The Drums was formed in 2008 by Jonny Pierce along with childhood friend Jacob Graham. Adding drummer Connor Hanwick and former Elkland guitarist Adam Kessler, they released their self-titled debut album in 2010 and follow-up, Portamento, in 2011. Kessler left prior to their third album, Encyclopedia (2014), and in 2016, Graham left the band to focus on his puppetry career and his other band, Sound of Ceres. So, for 2017’s Abysmal Thoughts, The Drums are now the solo project of Jonny Pierce. He wrote all the songs by himself and played every instrument, realizing his own personal vision for the band.

Pierce, who is openly gay, wrote a piece for Talkhouse and discussed the difficulty of his upbringing and coming out:

I grew up in a poor and dirty town called Horseheads, NY. I am the son of two pentecostal preachers who have always been outspokenly anti-gay and this made for a childhood that was riddled with self-doubt, confusion and a lot of self-hate. I remember being anxious all the time and turning to music as an escape. Music bought me to New York City, where I live now as an adult. But I am coming to find out that being an adult doesn’t mean much at all. We are all just kids in bigger, older bodies. We all still know very little about the world and even less about ourselves. I find that the past still dominates a lot of my daily experiences – sometimes to the point of feeling paralyzed. The goal is to heal, and I think I am – but at a much slower pace than I am comfortable with.

Today’s Song of the Gay is “Heart Basel”. While the song is cheery and upbeat, the lyrics are much darker:

I went through the most significant breakup of my life during the making of “Abysmal Thoughts.” During that vulnerable period, I attached myself to this guy who did not care at all for my feelings, but was good at pretending that he did. In retrospect, I think I knew deep down that he didn’t give a shit about me. But I continued to let him treat me like garbage because I thought if I had this handsome guy with me that somehow I wasn’t doing too bad. Of course now — with some professional help — I see that I was just lacking self-love and while it’s unhealthy to stay in that headspace for very long, it does make for good songwriting. “Heart Basel” is a song about him treating me “kindly” at Art Basel in Miami and then treating me like garbage after he got what he needed. You live and you sometimes learn.

Abysmal Thoughts was released last Friday ANTI- Records. The Drums are kicking off a world tour in Seattle at Neumos on July 17. And, KEXP will soon be airing an exclusive interview with Jonny Pierce. Until then, look for more music and updates on The Drums' website and Facebook page, and watch the recently released video for "Blood Under My Belt", also from the new album:

Be sure to tune in to KEXP for the rest of this week for more of the "Song of the Gay" podcast songs, and to find out more about the Pride events happening around Seattle, including KEXP’s Pride Party, this Sunday, June 25th, at 5 Point Café in downtown Seattle at the historic Tilikum Place park.