Jazz virtuoso Stephen Bruner aka Thundercat releases “Dragonball Durag”, the second single from It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder), out April 3rd. The new track, produced by Thunder and Flying Lotus, encapsulates his love of humor in music and his passion for the cult Japanese animé Dragon Ball Z.

“I have a Dragon Ball tattoo… it runs everything. There is a saying that  Dragon Ball is life,” Bruner explains. As for the durag: “There are two types of people in the world, the guy with the durag and the guy who doesn’t know what a durag is. The durag is a superpower, to turn your swag on… it does something, it changes you. If you have one in the wardrobe, think about wearing it tonight, and it may pop off because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Comedy is an integral part of Thundercat’s personality. “If you can’t laugh at this stuff you might as well not be here,” he muses. He seems to be magnetically drawn to comedians from Zack Fox (with whom he collaborates) to Dave Chappelle, Eric Andre, and Hannibal Buress, whom he counts as friends. However, the humor always balances out with a darker, melancholy edge.

“This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,” Bruner says about It Is What It Is. “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life, you come across places that you don’t necessarily understand… some things just aren’t meant to be understood.”

North America
2/28 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre – SOLD OUT
2/29 Portland, OR – PDX Jazz Festival – SOLD OUT
3/1 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo *
3/3 Arcata, CA – Van Duzer Theatre
3/4 Chico, CA – Senator Theatre *
3/6 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
3/7 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *
3/8 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory North Park *
3/10 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren *
3/12 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre *
3/13 Omaha, NE – Slowdown *
3/14 Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore *
3/15 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *
3/17 Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre ?
3/18 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre ?
3/19 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre ?
3/21 Boston, MA – House of Blues ?
3/22 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore ?
3/24 New York, NY – Webster Hall – SOLD OUT ?
3/25 New York, NY – Webster Hall – SOLD OUT ?
3/28 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring ?
3/29 Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival
3/31 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works ?
4/1 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel ?
4/2 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse ?

* Support from Guapdad 4000
? Support from Teejayx6

Europe
4/9 London, UK – Roundhouse
4/11 Manchester, UK – Academy
4/14 Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
4/15 Paris, FR – Elysée Montmartre
4/17 Berlin, DE – Astra

Japan
4/21 Osaka, JP – Big Cat
4/22 Nagoya, JP – Club Quattro
4/23 Ebisu, JP – Yebisu Garden Hall