The Von Bondies

The band bounces back with hits of its own

Comments (0) By Christina Fuoco Thursday, Mar 18 2004

The Von Bondies' Jason Stollsteimer (or as they call him in the U.K., "Jason Von Bondie") won't even mention "his" name. The White Stripes' Jack White, who produced the Von Bondies' debut, Lack of Communication, is persona non grata to the scrappy Detroiter. In late December at the Magic Stick nightclub in Detroit, White cold-cocked Stollsteimer, knocking him on the ground and leaving him with an orbital goose egg that was broadcast around the world.

Musical knockouts: The Von Bondies roll with the punches.

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scheduled to perform an all-ages show with The Reflection and special guests on Tuesday, March 23. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets, $8, are available from Ticketmaster, 480-784-4444.

Mason Jar, 2303 East Indian School

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But on March 9, Stollsteimer and the rest of the Von Bondies got just rewards. For their Jerry Harrison-produced major-label debut, Pawn Shoppe Heart, the band had its CD release party at none other than the Magic Stick (without mentioning you-know-who's name) -- and White pleaded guilty and apologized on top of it. Stollsteimer's camp isn't commenting on White's sentence of probation, but a few days before the plea, Stollsteimer explained the situation.

Stollsteimer spoke frankly about the incident. "It's the state of Michigan versus (pause) him. It's nothing to do with me. I'm just the victim. If the incident was a fight, then I would be on trial too. But it wasn't a fight. I was attacked from behind. The newspapers blew it out of proportion. They said it was a fight. There was no punching going on by my part at all. It was a one-sided thing. I didn't know who it was until I was on the ground."

His injuries were painful -- his eye still waters uncontrollably -- but his band couldn't have asked for more publicity. The album, Stollsteimer said, is in the top 10 charts all over the world. "We never even thought our record was going to be in the top 50," he said. "It's been great. We're just a rock 'n' roll band from the Midwest."