Tonight, Springfield, Missouri band, Ha Ha Tonka, brings their Southern-indie, light country, talents to Rumba Cafe. I had the opportunity to speak with lead singer, Brian Roberts, about our shared German-language skills, their new album, and the band’s connection to Columbus.
Briana Henry: I know it won’t be your first time in Columbus, are there certain things you look forward to when you’re in town?
Brian Roberts: We always look forward to coming to Columbus. Our tour manager is from Columbus and when he’s not on tour, he runs sound at Rumba.
BH: How was spending time with Anthony Bourdain? He’s pretty picky when it comes to the bands he lets on his show.
BR: It was beyond anything we could’ve hoped for. Anthony Bourdain is a huge fan of Winter’s Bone, and that really was the focus of the episode. They wanted Ozarkian bands, and we were included.
BH: Do you have any plans to release another album, or spend some time in the studio? Is that the September 24th date I saw online? That’s actually the day after my birthday.
BR: Yes. Well, now that I know you share a birthday with my father, fuck the record company, I’ll just fucking announce it. It’s called Lessons.
BH: People seem to be interested in that test vinyl that was put on Facebook not too long ago. Do you have plans on giving it away?
BR: I think we’ll have a couple of them, so we’ll do a special pre-order.
I resisted the urge to speak broken German with Mr. Roberts (he’s fluent and spent time in an immersion program), but you can catch him and the rest of Ha Ha Tonka in all of his foul mouthed glory at Rumba Cafe tonight at 8pm. Supporting the band are Ezra Furman and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Tickets are available at the door or online for $10.
