BROKEN BONES : Interview (2002) ENGLISH VERSION

BROKEN BONES

Interview by Hans Cany (2002)

Answers for the whole band by David Bridgwood (Drums).

 

Hello Dave ! When and why did the BROKEN BONES first split up, some years ago ?...
They split up because they felt they had gone as far as they could at the time and they had become disillusioned.
For how long do you play drums in the BROKEN BONES ?... Were you a fan before you joined the band ?... And how did you meet each others ?...
I was a fan of Discharge then Broken Bones, I knew Bones through the local band network and about 7 years ago formed Chokehold with Bones and Oddy. Broken Bones was reformed 4 years ago.
	At its very beginings, the band took its origin from guitarist BONES, who left DISCHARGE in '82 or '83 to form his own band called the BROKEN BONES, is it right ?...
	Yes, it's right he quit Discharge for a few personal reasons and wanted to do something fresh.
After the legendary "F.O.A.D" album from '87, the BROKEN BONES changed their singer... Was there any special reason for that ?... Did the various changes modify anything within' the band's soul and sound ?...
			Nobby left to live in the States, Oddy took over vocals, Nobby rejoined and then left again, the band went a little metal in the latter stages.
			You always used a dark imagery in both your lyrics and artworks, and we can also notice a kind of heavy and darkened tension within' your music's sound. What is it due to ?...
			It is due to alot of anger with the subjects we cover when writing.
Your new album "Without Conscience" deals a lot with the generalized violence due tho the huge quantity of guns spread amongst people in the USA. Can you explain why you choosed to express yourselves about this specific issue ?...
If you compare USA to UK and the huge differences in gun related deaths you will know why guns should be banned. After Columbine, Oddy felt the need to express himself about the issue.
	And from a general viewpoint, what are the various topics your lyrics use to deal with ?... Are you really what we might call a "political' band, or anything else, in fact ?...
	Not so much a political band but needing to get alot of issues and put them forward in out lyrics and music.
Back in 1983, the BROKEN BONES recorded a track entitled "Terrorist Attack". What's your viewpoint about what happened in Manhattan, on 11 september 2001 ?
What happened at the World Trade Centre was a tragedy, and no one expected it to happen, but the American Government are not totally blameless in more ways than one.
Listening to "Without conscience", the way it sounds reminds me a bit of the most recent releases from TERVEET KÄDET, a legendary finnish Metal-Punk band from the early 80's , and still in activity. Did you ever hear about them ?
We've heard of them, but never listened to their music. (Send us some).
				Do you still play your old tracks at gigs ?
				The set is half and half.
				Do you still have contacts with other punk bands from your early days ? If so, which ones ? And do you sometimes play gigs with them ?
				Discharge and Conflict go without saying and bands like Vice Squad we've played gigs with and we still see GBH from time to time.
Nowadays, do you more consider yourselves as a Punk band, or as a Thrash Metal or Hardcore band ?
Punk/Hardcore				....
And outside the band, what are your main activities and interests or hobbies ?
Drinking, watching bands and football.
During the first part of its existence, the band's members seem to have a rather "wild" look, wearing spiky hairs, black leather jackets, metal chains and nails, and so on... Nowadays, the way you dress is totally different. How do you explain this evolution ?
Punk is not just about wearing leather jackets and having spikey hair it's more of an attitude; in the mind.
Many fans worldwide desperately search for BROKEN BONES merchandises, like T-shirts, videos, posters, and so on... Unfortunately, such stuff have become very hard to get for ages... Is there a possibility to order these goodies directly from you ?
The website should be up and running soon: www.broken-bones.co.uk . Hopefully we will be selling merchandise on that, otherwise e-mail djbridgwood@btinternet.com and I'll sort you out.
What are your main projects, now that the band is resurrected ?... Do you plan gigs or new recordings for soon ?...
We are currently writing a new album which should be released in August, and getting Tez (who's just rejoined) bedded in.
Well, thank you very much for your answers ! Anything more to add ?...
Look out for us playing at a town near you, and if any promoters are interested in putting gigs on with us contact me.
THE END

Non-exhaustive DISCOGRAPHY :
. "Dem Bones" - Album 1984 - Fall Out Records . "Live at the 100 Club" - Live album 1985 . "Seeing Thru My Eyes" - Mini-Album 1985 . "Wealth Rules" - Compilation 1985 . "Bonecrusher" - Mini album 1986 . "Decapitated" - (Singles collection 1983-1986) - Fall Out Records . "F.O.A.D." - Album 1987	. "Trader In Death" - Mini album 1987 . "Losing Control" - Album 1989 . "Stitched Up" - Album 1991 . "Religion Is Responsible" - EP- 1990 . "Death is imminent"- Compilation 1993 - Cleopatra . "Complete Singles compilation" 1996 - Cleopatra . "Without Conscience" - Album 2001 - High Speed Records
BIOGRAPHY :
The sound of Broken Bones is the sound of punk at its most primal, the crashing roar of wild, wild youth taken to limits even the Sex Pistols never dreamed of. When the band formed in 1983, punk may not have been dead, but it was certainly dying. Then Broken Bones came along and the reverberations are still being felt today, in the battle cries of Bad Religion and the swagger of Rancid, in the white heat of Slayer and the debauotiery of Ministry. Some people have called Broken Bones one of the biggest Hardcore bands of all time and one of the most vital,various U.S mega-bands such as Metallica have acknowledged them as one of their influences. Broken Bones was formed by guitarist Bones in early 1983 a few months after he quit Discharge, one of the most distinctive, and successful bands to emerge from the punk movement in the early 80's. Bones recruited his twin brother Tezz (also a former Discharge member) on bass, vocalist Nobby and drummer Baz to the line up. Bones unveiled his latest juggernaut with a solid year of gigging, leading to the release in January 1984 of the screaming "Decapitated". Fired by the popularity which Broken Bones had already inspired, the single promptly rocketed into Britains independent top ten. The follow up single "Crucifix" was then released in May, inevitably it scored just as highly as the predecessor, and proved that Broken Bones meant serious business. Retaining the services of Discharge producer Mike Stone the band recorded there first album "Dem Bones" with which the bands distinctive early sound would stand head and shoulders over pretty much every punk album of the time, and today is still regarded as a classic. Live shows became increasingly riotous celebrations, the established press was paying attention. Not since punks heyday in the late 1970's had a band seemd poised for great things. That chance was lost when over a year elapsed before B/B third single. A year never the less which saw the band consolidate its vinyl reputation with neverending touring. Broken Bones 1983 live album "Live at the 100 Club" remains the acid test for anyone who claims to be real punk today, a record which forges and unimagined middle ground between hardcore, metal and the apocalypse.	The much anticipated third single "Seeing Through My Eyes" was well worth the wait, with "Never Say Die" following up, and then came the Bonecrusher album which was released only in the U.S and mini album "Trader in Death" which immortalised some of B/B best loved songs. Times were changing both in and outside the group. By 1986 in Britain, punk was officially old hat (if only briefly, as it turned out). In America where B/B was readily adopted by the hardcore set, it was still a marginal interest, big enough to keep a band on the road but that was about it. The groups line up was changing as well, Tezz had left after "Crucifix", and replaced by Oddy, then Nobby left and Oddy took over vocals as well. By 1986 Oddy went on to join Conflict, and the returning Nobby and Tezz were joined by a second guitarist Karl Morris (Exploited) for the studio/live album "F.O.A.D". More followed in F.O.A.D's footsteps, unheralded harbingers of the mayhem which passes for metal today and in 1989 the band took a more thrash metal diretion and released the album "Losing Control", gone were Nobby, Baz and Tezz, and Quiv appeared on vocals.Two more were to follow with the 12 inch release "Religion is Responsible" and another album "Stitched Up" that seemd to be it. Until now, in 1998 the Bones reformed,Bones guitar as ever,Oddy back on bass, Quiv vocals and new drummer Dave solely to capture the intense uncompromising sound of their early releases.They started to do a few live shows and a tour of Europe,then April 2001 saw the release of their first full length record for 8 years with searing metallic hardcore riffs,thunderous bass over frenetic drums,all topped off by Quivs growling vocals,they leap out of the speakers and sucker-punch you around the head with a glorious haze of hardcore mayhem,Themes tackled include America's questionable gun laws,relationship breakdown and mental illness,all assaulted with an old-skool,UK/HC savagery that will put many US'punk' bands to shame, which make's Without Conscience on a par with the first album "Dem Bones", "Wall to wall noise"!!!!!!! FOR SURE ! THE MASTERS OF THE ART ARE BACK,ARMED AND READY TO SHOW THE PUPPIES WHAT HC IS REALLY ALL ABOUT.