Tim Kingsbury of Arcade Fire Announces Solo Project

Arcade Fire bassist and guitarist Tim Kingsbury just announced a new solo project. Like bandmates Will Butler and Richard Reed Parry before him, he'll fly the Arcade Fire coop for awhile to go it alone, performing under the name Sam Patch. The project will debut with a performance at Montreal's Passovah Summer Fest on August 27. Kinsgbury will be backed by singer-songwriter and autoharp player Basia Bulat and Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara.

Kingsbury has also played bass with Montreal's Wolf Parade, and has composed music for film, too, collaborating with Marcel Dzama and Kim Gordon on the short piece Une danse des bouffons.

He joined Arcade Fire in 2003, before the release of the band's debut, Funeral. Kingbury and Will Butler replaced former band members Brendan Reed and Dane Mills, who quit the band during a performance in 2003.

Kingsbury isn't the only one taking advantage of some Arcade Fire downtime. Bandleaders Win Butler and Regine Chassagne are working on starting a Haitian restaurant in Montreal and Win is dedicating serious time to spinning records as DJ Windows 98.