Messed!Up
With garage punk vibes and banger melodies, Grammy-nominated two-piece Bones UK hit the scene hard back in 2019. After rocking the stages with bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, and their ‘mentor’ Jeff Beck, the duo was embraced by critics worldwide, and they garnered a massive and loyal following.
When the duo popped by Sporthalle in Hamburg to support Queens of the Stone Age, our long-time collaborator Renés Redekiste popped by Sporthalle in Hamburg to catch the band for an interview.
René sat down with Carmen and Rosie a few hours ahead of their gig in Sporthalle and talked about living in LA, their mentor Jeff Beck, and being on the road to support super bands.
An American journey coming to an end?
You just told me that you flew in yesterday.
Rosie: “Yeah, we flew into London, did one show there, and then shot a music video. Then we had two days off and flew to Hamburg yesterday. All of Carmen’s guitars and pedals went missing on the flight. We found them…”
Carmen: “…this morning”.
Rosie: “This morning! And so we were all a bit like ‘Aaah!'”
“I’ve got a trapped nerve in my arm – but we’re here”.
In the past days, I read a lot about you and all I saw was pure passion. Moving to LA, being a perfect match from the first moment, and many other things. But did you ever think, ‘Fuck it, we’re not going to make it’?
Rosie: “Yeah, all the time, and we still do. It”s really interesting. I mean, It’s tough! You have to try not to base your career on affirmations or good things happen to make you feel worthy. But you know, we got nominated for a Grammy. That definitely was a moment when we were like ‘Oh, we are doing something good!’. But most of the time you’re like ‘Is it good? Do people like it?’. You have highs, you have doubts, and you’ll find it hard”.
Carmen: “Like a rollercoaster, ups and downs”.
Rosie: “It’s really tough being an artist. But then you get up on stage and you remember why you love what you’re doing and it’s fun again. In a sense, it’s a really fucking cliche, but when people come up to you after shows telling you that what you have been doing has affected them positively – that is why you sort of go ‘Oh, okay, we’re doing something cool’.”
Any little girl, or boy or neither who comes up and says ‘Your music gave me the confidence to be myself’ or ‘It got me out of a tough time’, that’s what it’s about because you get these accolades and it means something for a minute. But they don’t mean really much and then the doubt comes again. Affecting humans, that’s the best gift”.
And that fills your songs even more with life than a Grammy does?
Both: “Yeah – definitely!”
Was there something specific on your mind when you wrote “Ride”? Or is it more like a general feeling, like bigger, stronger, faster? Or maybe you had a specific person in mind?
Rosie: (laughs) “We live in America. So in America, there’s definitely a bro culture. It’s not just men, it’s women as well. There’s a comparison culture of you got to have the best and you got to have the biggest thing, and that’s really toxic because if you don’t have the best or biggest thing then you feel lesser then. It’s about toxic masculinity. But also women can have toxic masculinity as well, right? You know it’s like, ‘Biggest tits!’ “
Carmen: “Bigger is always better is the concept. Everything is based on how much you have or how big it is. We don’t really believe in that.”
Rosie: “There’s a line in it which is, ‘You can’t buy cool’. And it’s this mentality that people have; if they have money, they can buy cool, they can buy rock ‘n’ roll, you can buy the leather jacket and look cool and be ‘Yeah!!’. But it’s like rock ‘n’ roll and punk is a state of mind, it’s not like you can buy it. It’s not your shoes. You can buy the shoes, but they gonna wear you if you don’t wear them, you know? So it’s about that. It’s about punk is in your heart, it’s not that you can buy it.”
You did a cover of “I’m Afraid of Americans”, just a year before you moved to America in 2017. After seven years in the US, have you found what you were looking for?
Rosie: “Uuh!”
Carmen: “I think we just wanted to change. We’ve been in London for a while and it was time to change. I think we’re always gonna do that, we’re always gonna keep on changing.”
So you’ll move somewhere else?
Rosie: “Yeah, definitely! I think our journey to America is kind of drawing slightly to a close. We’ve been there for eight years. When we started the band it was the right move because the rock ‘n’ roll scene in America made more sense to us. But you know, we’ve kind of done it. We’ve done a lot of American now. It’s a new chapter. We want to spend more time in Europe. We haven’t been on tour in Europe for ages. It’s about doing that again. And Donald Trump’s running for president again.”
You think that’s going to happen?
Rosie: “I wouldn’t say it’s out of the realms of possibility. I’m afraid of Americans.” (laughs)
Being mentored by Jeff Beck
Last year your friend and mentor Jeff Beck died. Many questions have already been asked, so I tried to think of something special. Did he give you some kind of advice?
Carmen: “I just think the way he was really inspiring is that he never stops playing. He never stops trying to find a new sound or rediscovering stuff and that was really inspiring because every record of his sounds very different than the one before. He taught me how to use baby powder on my hands before going on stage so I don’t slip because of the sweat.”
Rosie: “Ooh, it’s a good tip! And another thing that Jeff told me is that he was like the biggest… You know he was such a genius but was still very insecure. It’s a beautiful lesson. You see it so often, these people who – when you look at it from afar – have got it all. But that’s what made him keep pushing and searching and working with new people because he was never like ‘I’m the king of the world!’. He was always trying to better himself or trying to do new things because he was vulnerable. He was sensitive – a sensitive soul.”
Carmen: “He cared very much. He showed you he gets nervous as well.”
Rosie: “He wasn’t like ‘Rock, I’m the fucking god!’ He was nervous. That’s a beautiful thing to me to remember, isn’t it? He was a guy who was worried about playing well.”
A good example of his curiosity is when he showed up to your gig and was like ‘Okay, let’s see what these girls are doing’. So he came to your gig when there were like ten people?
Rosie: “We just sold out that show. The same venue, the one that we played in London where Jeff came – we just sold it out. That’s so cool! It’s called The Lexington!”
Carmen: “It’s upstairs from a pub.”
Rosie: “It’s sweaty!”
Speaking of rock stars like Jeff Beck. You have played with many brilliant artists for example Stone Temple Pilots. Now you’re here with Queens of The Stone Age. Is Mike Shuman going to join you on stage tonight for your team-up called “Won’t Settle”?
Rosie: “Oh, you’ll never know. But he’s not. Those things can sometimes be good and they can sometimes not be good, so we’re just cautious. We’ve done it before. You get up and play and it’s like, ‘Uooh’.”(laughs)
It’s not that cool?
Rosie: “Sometimes it’s cool if you’ve had a chance to rehearse. We didn’t have time to rehearse this one with him. Michael, he’s very proud, so without rehearsals – no. But we’ll be playing the song, and maybe there might be a surprise appearance?”
Are there sometimes moments when you’re like, ‘Uh, wow! Is this real?’
Rosie: “Yeah, sometimes.”
Carmen: “Just being here tonight.”
Rosie: “Yeah, today! You get nervous of course. You just focus on the show.”
Come on! You’re still nervous?
Rosie: “Yeah! Each night we are.”
Carmen: “It means you care. I think if you do a show and you’re not a bit nervous before it means you don’t care enough.”
Lesson from Jeff Beck?
Carmen: “Yeah!”
Rosie: “Exactly!” (laughs)
Last question; what are your plans and wishes for the future?
Rosie: “New album! Happiness! Joy! Love with music.”
Carmen: “Fun!”
Rosie: “Not taking it too seriously.”
Carmen: “And there is gonna be touring and the new record!”
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The interview is a collaboration between Messed!Up Magazine and Renés Redekiste.
Journalist: René Biernath
Photographer, live: Julia Schwendner
Photographer, interview: Jan Iso Jürgens
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Bones UK pages
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