Library Bards

Library Bards are a nerd parody band based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of reality personalities Bonnie Gordon (ABC's The Quest) and Xander Jeanneret (TBS' King of the Nerds).[1] They are known for taking pop songs and re-writing them as nerd-centric parody songs. Topics of their songs include Sci-Fi, Cosplay,[2] Gaming, and Fantasy.

Library Bards
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
GenresNerd Parody, Comedy, Singer-Songwriter
Instrument(s)Orchestra, electronic
Years active2014–present
LabelsDFTBA Records
MembersBonnie Gordon
Xander Jeanneret
Websitelibrarybards.com

History

Xander and Bonnie had known each other before being cast on their respective reality competition shows. Both had gone on to become the "fan-favorites"[3][4] of their shows, and wanted to continue performing at comic and pop culture conventions. Their first song "Gandalf" (a parody of Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off") was created in collaboration with the fan site theonering.net,[5] and debuted before the final installment of the Hobbit films. The song debuted as #1 in the comedy genre in Los Angeles on the music website Reverbnation, #2 nationally, and #3 globally in December 2014.[6] The Library Bards continue to hold a top spot in the Comedy genre in Los Angeles.[7]

Music

Both Bonnie and Xander collaborate on writing the lyrics to each of their songs, and they employ a third party to create the backing tracks for the music. Past collaborators have included Jake Kaufman, Bonecage,[8] Breakmaster Cylinder,[9][10] and Ben and Michael McGeehee.[11]

Nerd Parody Music

The Library Bards consider themselves a "Nerd Parody Band", which focuses on topics and "fandoms" that are generally considered nerdy or geeky. Some have placed them in the category of Filk music, and the Library Bards work within that category as well. They have been featured on the comedy music Dr. Demento show[12][13] and on The FuMP.[14]

Touring

Amazing! Tour (2015)

The Library Bards started touring Comic and Pop Culture conventions in 2015, including the Amazing! Comic Con series. The list of cities included:

  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Ventura, CA
  • Houston, TX
  • Honolulu, HI
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Oklahoma City, OK

Level Up! Tour (2016)

The Library Bards continued to tour over 50 comic and pop culture conventions in 2016, including:

  • WonderCon (LA)
  • Pasadena Comic Con (Pasadena)
  • Orlando, FL Concert
  • Anime Fan Fest (New Jersey)
  • Amazing! Hawaii Comic Con
  • BayCon (San Francisco)
  • Ninja-Con (LA)
  • LA CosplayCon
  • Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con
  • Anime Expo (LA)
  • San Diego Comic Con
  • Wizard World Chicago
  • FuMPFest (Chicago)
  • Amazing Houston Comic Con
  • NerdBot Con
  • Santa Clarita Valley Comic Con
  • Louisiana Comic Con (Lafayette)
  • LosCon

BARDCORE Tour (2017)

The Library Bards toured for their first full studio album, BARDCORE, bringing their high energy performances to the stages across the country, including:

  • The Pack Theater (Los Angeles)
  • Long Beach Comic Expo
  • MarsCon (Minneapolis)
  • Tulare Sci-Fi Con (Tulare)
  • LouisiAnime (Baton Rouge)
  • FantasticKon (Santa Clarita, CA)
  • BurlyQuest (Los Angeles)
  • WonderCon (Los Angeles)
  • WhedonCon (Los Angeles)
  • WyrdCon (Los Angeles)
  • BayCon (San Mateo)
  • FuMPFest (Chicago)
  • Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con
  • Anime Expo (Los Angeles)
  • San Diego Comic Con
  • Amazing Hawaii Comic Con
  • Quest-Con (Mobile, AL)
  • Game-A-Con (Las Vegas)
  • Van Nuys Comedy Club (Los Angeles)
  • Long Beach Comic Con
  • LosCon (Los Angeles)

Discography

Studio albums
  • BARDCORE (March 2017)[15]
  • BomBARDed (10 September 2019)[16]

EPs
  • Library Bards EP (CD only, July 2016)

Compilation albums
  • The FuMP Vol. 55 – "Gandalf" (January–February 2016)[17]
  • The FuMP Vol. 59 – "Warriors for Hire" (September–October 2016)[18]
  • FuMPFest 2016 – Live! (CD & Online, January 2017)[19]

Music videos

The Library Bards have released several music videos for their songs. Most popular is the music video for "Gandalf", which was in collaboration with the Lord of the Rings Fansite theonering.net.[5] Typical Library Bards music videos feature popular cosplayers in the nerd community, as well as appearances by voice actors and other talent.

Year Title
2014 Gandalf
2015 Black and Red
Grammar Got Run Over Once Again, Dear
2016 Warriors For Hire
Pokeball
2017 Geeky Girl
Now You Have The Bridge, Spock
Finn and Poe
2019 Comic Fan
2020 DND

Television and media appearances

Bonnie Gordon appeared on ABC's The Quest and Xander Jeanneret was a finalist on TBS' King of the Nerds[1] Season 2. Since these appearances, the Library Bards can be seen as a pair on CBS' Celebrity Name Game twice in 2016, and Bonnie Gordon appeared on SyFy's Geeks Who Drink. The Library Bards also appear on the LGBTQ Streaming application REVRY

Bonnie Gordon is also a voice actress for the English version of Street Fighter V, providing the voice of the character R. Mika[20] Gordon provides the voice of the Narwhal Magisword, Dolphin-Chan and one of the Barnacles in Cartoon Network's Mighty Magiswords episode "Unconventional Dolphism", created by The FuMP member Kyle A. Carrozza with FuMP member Luke Ski as storyboard artist, writer and voice actor. Gordon reprised her roles as the Narwhal Magisword, as well as the character Nana Mewfles in the episode "For the Love of Narwhal". Gordon and Jeanneret previously did a cover parody of the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" based on the series, titled "Warriors for Hire!".

Xander Jeanneret is a voice actor for the independent fighting game Divekick, providing the voice of the Announcer.[21]

The Library Bards provided a musical trailer for the Geek and Sundry streaming show Callisto 6, in which Gordon plays main cast character Lindy "Hopps" Hopper and Jeanneret plays recurring cast character Cobalt.

References
  1. "The Something Something Cast". September 10, 2015.
  2. Tara M. Clapper (Aug 26, 2015). "Deadpools and Harleys Abound in 'Black and Red' by The Library Bards". geekinitiative.com.
  3. "Chatting with Xander Jeanneret: King of the Nerds, LGBTQ+ Geek Culture, and More! – The Geekiary". thegeekiary.com. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. "Geekadores – Entertainment Spotlight – The Library Bards". geekadores.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. "Check out the top 14 TORn videos of 2014!". theonering.net. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  6. "THE LIBRARY BARDS – Featured Guests". con-volution.com.
  7. eMinor. "ReverbNation Local Charts". reverbnation.com. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  8. "Bonecage". Bonecage. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  9. "Breakmaster Cylinder". Breakmaster Cylinder. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  10. Library Bards feat. Breakmaster Cylinder, Princess is Captive, retrieved 2017-03-09
  11. Library Bards, Black and Red, retrieved 2017-03-09
  12. "The Dr. Demento Show #17-01 – January 7, 2017". dmdb.org. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  13. "The Dr. Demento Show #15–42 – October 17, 2015". dmdb.org. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  14. "Artists Of The FuMP – The Library Bards". thefump.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  15. "Bardcore by Library Bards on Apple Music". iTunes. March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  16. "BomBARDed by Library bards on Kickstarter". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  17. Gandalf! – The FuMP, Vol. 55: January – February 2016 – The Library Bards | Listen – Lyrics | Music Review!, retrieved 2017-03-09
  18. "Warriors For Hire (Parody of We Didn't Start The Fire) by The Library Bards". www.madmusic.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  19. "FuMPFest 2017: June 16–18, Chicago IL". www.fumpfest.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  20. "Capcom Employs New Voice Talent for R. Mika in Street Fighter V". Shoryuken. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  21. "Xander Jeanneret". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
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