AAA Backstage Archive

Q&A: Timber Bones

Gold Coast reggae-rock outfit Timber Bones are making their way up the East Coast in support of their single Walking Through The Fire. We threw a few questions at them to get to know them a bit better before their show tomorrow night at The Zoo in Brisbane.

You look like you had a pretty good time filming the video clip for Walking Through The Fire, what was filming the hectic night and morning after in real-time like?

It was a rollercoaster ride of makeup fx, dishwasher moonshine, and unconsciousness. The clip was filmed out of sequence on the fly by our close friend and camera wizard Sean Patrick McAuliffe (Time is Happenin' Studios). Friday night we held a house party and had our friend Aquila Young and her band come out to do a set. We had stowed 10 bottles of "vodka" in our dishwasher for safekeeping so once the night was really going we took the stage and filmed a set. The rest of that night is a mystery to everyone in the band except Luke (vocals), who insists he has enough dirt to get through at least six Timber Bones Christmas-es without giving a single gift. The alarms were set for 5am so we could get makeup done again and head down to the beach to catch the right sunlight. There was a real solemn vibe hanging over the people passed out all over our house in the morning, it was a serious hangover. We stumbled around Palm Beach for a few hours utterly destroyed and cold from laying in the surf and got all the establishing shots before heading back for another round of showers and makeup. Sam (Drums) coaxed us into a round of moral-boosting beers and we headed off for a killer set at the Miami Shark Bar. The next day we woke up sober, our cameras flew back to Sydney, and we had a sweet music video after volley of edits. The overall experience of that film clip has become deeply engrained within all of us at Timber Bones. We have a saying now, taken from Kurt's (Keyboard) first words the morning after the party, "I'm not the same as I was before".

The video clip for your other single Hunt features sock-stop motion, how did the idea for the clip come about and how long did it take to film?

The idea for the clip was the brainchild of both Timber Bones and the great lens-lord, Sean Patrick McAuliffe. Having listened to all of Timber Bones unreleased tracks Sean chose Hunt as his personal favourite. The soundscape, the themes and the timing changes all made it an excellent candidate for a music video. We just sort of let Sean do his own thing, he holed up in an attic somewhere in New York City for two months and 7,800 shots later he sent us the best thing we've ever seen. Edits happened and we sent it around, next minute we've won the New York Metropolitan Film Festival for best music video and its being screened to crowds over in the States. The total process from conception to release was about three months.

You’ve publicised all the money you make from music is used to slap Kendall in the face, how’s his face holding up at the moment?

Broke and untouched, just like him. But he's alive, and you bet he's gonna feel the sweet slap of those fat stacks if it's the last thing he does.

How did Timber Bones come to the decision to buy a bus?

Our manager Big Dave and our drummer Sam are our go-to guys when we have an idea. They think about it and tell us why it won't work. One cold Melbourne afternoon while trying to work out where to put our lives while we tour we had the bus idea. We took it to Big Dave and Sam and they couldn't really find any reason why we shouldn't do it. So here we are five months later sitting in a shed on a cane farm living out of a bus.

What’s the wildest tour moment you’ve had so far?

Cramming a heap of people into the laundry at some house party after a set at QPAC with She Cries Wolf vocalist Luke Harris and two cartons of beer. There were hand-axes and everyone was chanting "Violin! Violin! Violin!"
Oddly it was probably the low point of the party. Also if (the house owner is reading this) then sorry about the cake, the icecream, the mattress, that necklace, the walls, and the beer bottles in the light fixtures/roof.
You said the house was getting demolished! WHY WOULD YOU TELL US THAT?!

Who's been the biggest influence on your music?

It's a hard question to answer as we all come from different musical backgrounds. Theres a couple of bands and musicians that we always go back to when we're feeling drained and uninspired. Jeff Buckley and Michael Jackson seem to remain our biggest sources.

Which Australian artists can you not get enough off at the moment?

Well we wake up every day to The Smith Street Band and at least once a week go out to our little studio hidden in the hills and listen through "Currents" by Tame Impala together, who isn't doing that though? She Cries Wolf gets a solid blast while we're grinding bolts on the bus. Willowbeats is our trippy chill-step for the drives home through the forest, if you like world peace, fisherman pants, and alternative lifestyles then you need to go get their "Alchemy" EP right now, check out the track Blue.

Christmas is just round the corner, what’s the present you’d be least thrilled to receive?

A copy of that horrendous christmas song we recorded about a month into being a band. After that egg nog hangover we decided to leave christmas to the Bublé.

What’s the next big thing for Timber Bones after the next run of shows?

It's a secret....

Timber Bones are headlining The Zoo in Brisbane tomorrow night with support from Ella Fence and The Bassethounds. Get Tickets HERE