Bombadil began in early 2005 after guitarist Bryan Rahija and bassist Daniel Michalak decided to start a band while Duke University students studying abroad in Bolivia. They recorded several demos at an elementary school during their spare time.
After returning to the United States, Michalak recruited his brother John to write drum parts for the songs and the three spent the holiday break pulling the songs together. Pianist and friend Stuart Robinson joined the band a couple months later.
After a busy year of touring and writing music, Bombadil signed with Ramseur Records of Concord, NC after playing a show with The Avett Brothers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The group immediately set out recording a debut EP, which was released in May 2006. John Michalak left the band to pursue academic interests and was replaced by James Phillips in the fall of 2007. Stuart Robinson left the band in 2009 to pursue academic interests.
The group released a full length album entitled A Buzz, A Buzz on April 29, 2008. The band toured throughout the United States, and played festivals like Bonnaroo,FloydFest, Pickathon, and Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion to support the album. Their second album, Tarpits and Canyonlands, was released on July 7, 2009.
From July 2009 to December 2010, the band was on hiatus as Daniel has been suffering from nerve damage in his hands.
The band gathered in Portland, OR to record a follow up to Tarpits and Canyonlands in November 2010. The album was recorded by drummer James Phillips in a barn onPendarvis Farm (the same barn where The Decemberists recorded The King is Dead). The album, released on November 8, 2011,is named All That the Rain Promises. The title is a homage to the mushroom collecting book All That the Rain Promises and More.
In the summer of 2012, the four members moved back to Durham to record an album, slated for release in November 2012 with running title Metrics of Affection. As of August 2012, Bryan will spend the next two years in graduate school while the other three members plan to continue performing and recording.
