Interview: Bones UK “Music is such an incredible platform to say something.”

Mixing pop melodies with a garage punk vibe are Bones UK.  As the name implies they’re a band that are from the UK but have now relocated to the US.  Gary Trueman chatted to Rosie Bones about MeToo and the music industry and why they upped sticks and crossed the pond.

 Your upcoming album is very direct and forthright.  With the success of the recent Me Too campaign do you think the music industry could see abusive men being outed in the same way we’ve seen in other areas such as the film industry?

“I think abusive men or women should always be outed in any industry. People being led by the fear of not speaking up about abuse or bad behaviour in case they lose their jobs or get ostracized is a terrible thing. And been going on in all industries for way too long.”

How important is it that women stand together globally particularly given the track record of abuse in some countries?

“Obviously very. “

How important is it for men to also speak out about gender inequality?

“Incredibly important. Women’s rights are everyone’s rights.”

Specifically within the music scene do you think there has been an improvement over the last couple of decades in terms of how women are treated?

“I think so yes. We personally haven’t had any horror stories (except for the “girls can’t play guitar” comment) but we know people who have.”

You are from London but have now relocated to the US.  Was there any particular reason for the move?

“The weather. Haha. No seriously…..no……the weather. We wanted to explore a different place to tour in and move the band forward in. We got told the American rock scene would get what we were doing more. So we packed our bags and made the move.”

Your music pulls from a wide variety of the music spectrum.  Do you think this is something that is happening a lot at the moment, that the traditional genres are disappearing through natural creativity?

“We hope so. I mean there are definitely still people who aren’t doing that…. but there’s some amazing creativity coming around. I think because of the over saturation of the music industry and there being so many artists, people are feeling the pressure to really push genres and their music and visuals to get their heads above the water. It’s an exciting time.”

Are there any artists you admire that have influenced your own sound or that you admire for standing up for what they believe in?

 “Bowie’s a huge one for us. But we have so many influences…lots aren’t even musicians. So many pieces of art or culture that inspire us every day.”

While being in some ways confrontational your album is also very accessible musically.  It’s quite harsh but has pop hooks too.  Was it important to you to make something as many people as possible would want to listen to so more people hear what you have to say?

 “Absolutely. We don’t want to just be shouting slogans at people over rock guitars. Music is such an incredible platform to say something but we think its important to get people to listen through things being accessible and hooky. Get them stuck in people’s brains.”

When and where will you be touring in the near future?  Are there any plans to come back to the UK?

 “Touring with The Struts in America. No plans to come back to the UK yet.”

Are there any subjects you’d like to write about that you haven’t covered yet?

 “Oh my god so many. Already started working on the second album.”

If you could go forward in time by 50 years what would you hope to find?

 “Flying cars.”

If Bones UK were able to bring back any artist that we’ve lost to play a gig with who would it be and why?

“Prince, Cos he’s a fucking genius “

Interview by Gary Trueman