Currently appearing in national ads for Bushmills whiskey, Justin Vernon was less enthused about appearing in the international Grammy Awards telecast. He apparently did not like what the show's organizers had in mind.
The Eau Claire musician better known as Bon Iver, who is set to play "Saturday Night Live" this Saturday, told Billboard magazine that he turned down a request to perform for the Feb. 12 telecast because it was to be part of a collaboration. He did not say who he was asked to play with, and he even said it involved "awesome people." However, he nonetheless found it insulting that the spot was not to feature his own music or his full band.
"We kind of said '[expletive] you' a little bit," he said in the interview. Here's the gist of his mixed emotions:
"We just felt like it was such a large stage, we're getting nominated for this record that we made. Me and Brian [Joseph] and a bunch of our fucking friends and we were given accolades for it, and all of a sudden we were being asked to play music that had nothing to do with that. … Rock n' roll should not be decided by people that have that job. Rock n' roll should be the fucking people with guitars around their backs."
Ironically or not, Vernon made those comments at a promotional event for Bushmills whiskey, which started running ads with him last month. He is also featured in a cool new commercial for the Grammys, which is posted below. He said he was happy to promote the show that way because it also promoted his music "without disturbing the medium of what it actually is."
One guesses the collaboration in question would have been something like last year's spot with Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers, who wound up backing Bob Dylan together (Vernon no doubt wouldn't have turned down that offer). Performers so far announced for this year's telecast include Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Adele, Taylor Swift, the Foo Fighters, Coldplay with Rihanna, Jason Aldean with Nicki Minaj, Glen Campbell with the Band Perry and Bruno Mars. Oh, and Katy Perry.
Vernon had already expressed mildly disinterested feelings about the Grammys when he earned a surprising four nominations. Those include the big ones for record and song of the year (for "Holocene"), plus nods for best new artist and alternative album. Can't wait to hear what he'll have to say should he make it to the podium.
