Bobby Long Has Band, Will Travel

It would be easy, but somewhat inaccurate, to say Long was at the right place at the right time. As a friend of actor Robert Pattinson before the latter became known portraying the angst-ridden teen vampire in the “Twilight” movie franchise, Long was able to place a song he had written with Marcus Foster – “Let Me Sign” – in the first film of the series.

But Long’s emergence goes back to a CD called Dirty Pond Songs, a 10-track collection he recorded in his bedroom. Sounding somewhat rough yet more mature than his years, Long went the solo circuit, playing club dates and selling his CD at the end of his shows while his grass-roots fan base grew..

But don’t expect Long’s next album to originate in his bedroom. In April he signed with a real label – ATO Records – and has been making his self-financed studio debut with producer Liam Watson, who picked up a Grammy for his work on The White Stripes’ Elephant.

Long also formed a band made up of musicians he met while performing a few dates in the past few weeks and his upcoming summer tour features the artist performing solo on a few gigs and backed by the band on other engagements.

Let’s get specific. Long’s upcoming dates with the band are June 15 at New York City’s Highline Ballroom; June 16 in Allston, Mass., at Harper’s Ferry; June 17 in Fairfield, Conn., at Stage One; June 18 in Philadelphia at World Café Live; July 6 in San Francisco at Bottom Of The Hill; July 7 in San Diego at Anthology, July 8 in Las Vegas at Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel and July 9 in Los Angeles at The Troubadour.

Solo dates are June 23 in Evanston, Ill., at The Space; June 24 in Columbus, Ohio, at The Basement; June 26 in Grand Rapids, Mich., at Mixtape Café; June 28 in St. Louis at The Firebird; June 29 in Kansas City at Record Bar; July 3 in Seattle at El Corazon; July 4 in Vancouver at Backstage Bar; July 17 in Camden, N.J., at the XpoNential Music Festival and Aug. 14 in Denver at the Mile High Festival.

More dates to be announced soon. For more information, click here for Bobby Long’s MySpace page.