The Violet Bones
Over the last couple of years Violet Bones have earnt a reputation as a great live band and they are now about to release their debut album.
Chemicals is the new song to be lifted off the album and I caught up with Simon to discuss the new song and what lies ahead for the band this year.
- You are about to release you new single Chemicals so what can we expect from the track?
It’s a kind of upbeat and bouncy sort of indie/punk pop song. It’s short and to the point it’s an energetic song - it’s a fun single.
- This is the first track off the new album Decline of Vaudeville so how does this single introduce us to the rest of the album?
Well we chose this single because, as I said, we wanted something that was straight to the point, which is what we are all about.
It’s upbeat and positive and that is sort of the idea of the album as that is the kind of band that we are so we thought that it was a good idea to have chemicals as out first single.
- And you are on tour at the moment if so how is it going?
Yeah we are on tour and we are in York at the moment and it has been really good. We have had some really good shows and some really good responses from the fans. On top of that our merchandise is selling well, which is always good.
- What does the album say about you as a band and you personally as a musician as you have penned all of the songs on this album?
Lyrically I write all of the songs and then we all work on them together. What the album says about us is that we are a band that does have something to say, while we are not political, we do notice things that go on in life that go on around us.
So that is what the album is about really it’s a view of where we live and relationship.
- How have you found the response to the single and the album so far?
Really good, it’s quite cool actually doing a gig and having people sing your songs back it kind of takes you back a bit. So it’s a good time for us.
- You have touched on the writing process and the band coming together to work on them so how so you find that process?
It’s ok, obviously it is different with different people, but I will write the song and then bring it to practice and rehearsals and stuff and we will all chip away at it to make it sound the way we want it to sound. Sometimes that process is quicker than others but generally it works pretty well for us.
- You have been gigging for a few years now so why has it taken so long to record a debut album?
We recorded a few EP’s before and touted them about. But I think that we were ready as we had found our sound and found the way that we wanted to perceived. So we wrote and recorded the album and the time just felt right and it just felt good to get the record out there I guess.
- How much do you personally enjoy the recording process?
I really enjoy it I think I can speak for all of us when I say that recording this album has been really good fun and working with the guys that we did on a production level we could collaborate with the producers.
It was really good because recording in the past it has just been us and a sound engineer but this time it really was an enjoyable experience recording this album.
- How much freedom does the label give you to make the sort of music that you want?
It’s 100% freedom and I guess we have really grown with them over the last year I suppose. We write the songs that we want to write and we do work with them on a level of showing them what we are writing but it is never ‘don’t write this’ or ‘don’t write that’. They are very supportive of our sound and I guess that is why we work together.
- As you have said you have penned all the songs for the album so which artists do you take influence from?
We listen to a broad range of bands between us all and we listen to bands such as The Clash and new bands such as Tribes and Mona and bands like that.
Also we listen to the bands like New York Dolls we gigged with them and they have an influence on me and maybe their energy, not so much now but back in their heyday.
But then there are the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, you can’t get away from those types of influences we like the Beach Boys, so a lot of older bands. That’s where we are really; a punky vein runs through our influences.
- The band started out as 9FoldPunch so why the name change to Violent Bones?
We have been together since were fourteen and we are all best mates who have grown up together. A few years ago we felt it was time to change out name because our sound had changed and we had grown up and realised that this was what we wanted to do as a living.
So we said right this was our starting point and we took it from there really.
- And what was the influence behind the name Violet Bones?
I was visiting my grandma in hospital, believe it or not, and there was a lady in there called Violet Bone and I thought that it was a pretty awesome name, it’s a random way of getting a name I suppose.
It was on the list of names we wanted to change to and we all decided that that was the coolest name and the best name to change to.
- We are always hearing about how difficult it can be as a musician in this country at the moment so did you face struggles in the early days of Violent Bones?
It is a lot of ups and downs and there is nothing harder, especially a band like us that thrives on a good crowd and a good interaction to drive one or two hours or even just up the road to a gig and there are not many people there - it can be a bit disheartening.
Then you can get writers block so there are all these little things. But when you do a good gig or write a good song, like I said we have made an album that we are all really happy with, those are the ups and they outweigh the downs.
It is difficult and it is a difficult business to be in but at the same time it is an enjoyable one and rewarding.
- You have a reputation as a great live band so what did you take from your experiences supporting the likes of Ash & The New York Dolls?
Those guys they are real professionals I guess and they really know they stuff. When you watch bands like that it’s like a different league they are tight and you can tell that they know each other inside out.
And so gigging with band like that you have got to up your game and you are forced to rehearse as much as you can and to get as tight as you can - you have to try your best to be in the same league as them.
- As you said you are on the road at the moment so for anyone who is heading to one of your shows what can they expect from it?
You can expect plenty of energy, it’s lots of fun and we like to think that we have come on stage and blown people away.
There are not many bands around that seem to be really energetic these days but we like to think that we give people have a good time and have a laugh. We want to create a good atmosphere and have a laugh - that is what we are all about really.
- And are we going to be seeing you play some festivals later on this year?
We are just booking a few festivals the moment, it is that crucial period now when you have offers coming in for later on in the year, so we will be doing some festivals and we will be updating our website as that information comes in.
- You have got a huge following of fans so for any of them reading this interview do you have a message for them?
Keep coming to our gigs (laughs).
- Finally what's coming up for you for the rest of this year?
I think we are going to book another tour pretty much as soon as we have finished this one and maybe hopefully head out to mainland Europe - it is just constant touring this year; but that is what we love and where we thrive.
We are best as a live band so yeah it’s just going to be plenty of gigs as well as releasing a couple more singles and then the album. It’s looking like a pretty busy year.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw