1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
I have been performing with my project String bone since 2008, although I really started writing the songs in 2006. So essentially it’s a solo project with support musicians. The main instruments performed on the records are acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, fiddle, piano, bass and drums. I often do vocal collabs and have had guests such as Sarah Jane Scouten,
Ginger St. James and Mae Moore sing on my records. Also I’ve had some impromptu performances by people passing through town, some on the spur of the moment, like Manitoba Hal on Ukulele. He can riff on that thing.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
It was suggested to me by my first bass player Richard Miron in 2008 and it just stuck. I thought it fit the vibe of the music and it just reminded me of the vibrations of a string between the two bones - the nut and bridge - on a guitar. And a lot of my songs are about the vibrations of life, so there was a thread there that worked for me between my instrument and my songs.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based out of Stratford, Canada - the one in the province of Ontario, not the Stratford Canada in the province of PEI, which would be a great place to be based out of! It’s a pretty small town and the local scene is very limited, but supportive. The local scene really stretches a wide cast from Toronto to London and Hamilton. It’s all within about a 2 hour radius and includes Stratford and a few other cities and we all know each other. Canada is fairly small in population and the scene is pretty tight. Everyone knows everyone whether we hang out or perform together or not. I assume it’s like a lot of places. The big local exports that have been doing really well in the Americana scene are Orville Peck, Whitehorse, Lindi Ortega and they are based out of Toronto. Then I would suggest Deni Gauthier, Sarah Smith, Dashboard Rattle, My Father’s Son, Ginger St. James, Basia Bulat. I could go on, but , ya, there’s a few for ya.
4. How would you describe your style?
I’m firmly in Americana - a hybrid of Folk, Country, Blues and Rock - storytelling songs, acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle, pedal steel with and without drums. So there is this current of folk/singer-songwriter meets country with a bit of blues-soul and a bit of rock edge on some songs. Some ballads, some faster songs and mostly in the vein of my influences like Lucinda Williams, Wilco, Steve Earle, Blue Rodeo, etc.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
I have released an EP ‘Killing Town’ (2008), and two full-length records ‘nadir’ (2009) and ‘Love & Highways’ (2016). There are a total of 23 songs. Killing Town EP, which is now out of print had four acoustic versions of songs that are on ‘nadir’. But I haven’t uploaded that record yet. I should do that soon! On ‘nadir’ I was joined by Bob Egan who used to play in Wilco and Blue Rodeo. He has since retired, but it was great having him on that record. There are a lot of collaborations on both records. In addition to those mentioned earlier, both records were produced by my now good friend, Shannon Lyon. He also plays electric guitar brilliantly on both records as well as a number of other instruments on many of the songs. Also, I was joined by Roman Tome who used to drum for New Country Rehab. One of my favorite local bands, but they are no longer together, but they were great. He played on four songs and sang harmonies on one, ‘Somber Eyes’.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yes, the new single ‘Two Stars Collide’ drops on Friday, Oct. 16th, 2020. This is a new collaboration with a young(er) musician/producer by the name of Nathan McKay. He and I come from two very different musical disciplines. He is an electronic musician, who uses Ableton, loops and samples primarily. Of course, I am an acoustic guitar player who has never worked with samples, so it has been a new experience to write and create music with Nathan. He has so many great ideas and we just hit it off. So, while this next single is a bit of a left turn for me, I think it’s a good turn. It’s more uptempo and a little more pop-oriented. The song we wrote was actually written as a dance song. Seriously, I’ve never written a dance song before, but with Nathan putting all these beats and samples in place, it really energized me and I was like this Alt.country guy at a rave. It was really weird. He took me to this different approach and it worked. So, we decided we would release three versions of the song because of that. So this first single will be a Folk-pop mix. Then we will release the dance mix, how we originally wrote the song. And finally I decided to go all in with an Americana mix with electric guitars and pedal steel and real drums!! Haha! I couldn’t help myself. But I’m really looking forward to seeing the reaction.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Since lockdown, I’ve only played a couple of outdoor gigs. At this point it’s all studio work and writing new songs.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
I have another record in the works with a producer in Las Vegas and it will be a real stripped down record of some old nostalgic songs I learned when I was a lot younger. Songs I came across that I loved and a few popular songs by the likes of REM and Lou Reed. They will be released throughout 2021.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Here are all my socials and links for streaming and merch.
Streaming/viewing & download:
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/browse
Bandcamp: https://stringbone.bandcamp.com/
Merch
String Bone Web-site: https://www.stringbone.ca/music
Socials
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/String_Bone/
Facebook: https://www.facebook/StringBone
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/String_Bone
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
I hope they remember the songs. The melodies, the meaning of the lyrics, the vibe and emotion. There are a lot of meaningful songs there to get swallowed into. Thanks for your time and for doing this with me.
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