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This week’s Round Table is a bit different than usual.  I had the opportunity to sit down with the band Dinosaur Bones a few weeks ago.   The quintet from Toronto have been together for the past two years and are also one of the most promising bands coming from their hometown in Canada.

Our interview was scheduled about two hours before their set but they unfortunately had a hard time getting to Montreal because of the bad weather when they left home.  I waited to finally meet Branko and Ben right before their set.  We walked to a coffee shop and we had a really good conversation about their band and their music.  This is when I realised my voice recorder had just died on me.  I still can’t find to this day any good explanation for what happened.  The guys were nice enough to help me out as Ben, the lead singer, gave me his email and kindly replied to some questions when they got back home.  So here it is; the formula is different than usual but also very interesting as it is written entirely by Ben.  Among the bands that played that night, Dinosaur Bones surely stood out because they were the only ones really exchanging with the crowd and that showed the most charisma.  The rumour is true:  I am convinced that they are aiming for great things.

1. How is the tour going so far?

-We’re home now, but the tour was great. We played some new places like Philadelphia and Washington DC and also got to revisit some places we’ve played before, like Manhattan and Montreal.  We played for some really excellent crowds and we were really happy and surprised at the response in some of the cities.  Overall it was definitely a success.

2. Do you have any crazy stories that happened on tour?

-We were on our way to South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin Texas and we hadn’t gone more than two hours, when our van decided to die on us.  It was late at night and we ended up getting towed into London Ontario.   Magically, everyone we know in London was out of town, so the six of us ended up sleeping in the van in the parking lot of Canadian Tire.  Worst start to a tour ever!  Luckily, we were up and running first thing the next morning and made it to Austin right on time.

3. What is going on with your future full lenght album ? Did you find any record label ? Do you have any project in the future?

-The full length album will be out this fall and we’re all really excited about it.  There will be more news about the release super soon.

4. If I would steal your Ipod right now, what would I find on it?

-Ummm, a lot of classic stuff like Bob Dylan and the Beatles; but also a bunch of new stuff like Spoon, The Walkmen, Jason Collett.  My ipod seems to be full of music from the 60’s and 70’s and brand new albums, but almost nothing in between.

5. Is there a place/venue in the world you would love to play in ?

The UK festivals are at the top of my list.  Getting to play Glastonbury or Leeds would be pretty unreal.

6. I read that you went to Concordia University here in Montreal, What good memories do you keep from the time you spent there?

-Montreal is an amazing city, I really love it.  Dinosaur Bones as an idea was born in Montreal (although it took form in Toronto), so it feels really good to come play there and see the audiences slowly grow.  It’s absolutely one of our favourite places to play.

7. Do you think it is still possible for a band with the state of the music industry to make it around the world like Arcade Fire for instance?

-Absolutely.  Artists don’t sell records like they used to, but audiences who go out to see their favourite bands play really couldn’t care less about the state of the music industry. They just have a hunger for music that affects them. And that desire isn’t going anywhere.  It’s definitely a hard time to be in a band, but there are enough examples of musically ambitious bands succeeding to keep us optimistic.

8. What do you think of the scene in Montreal?

To be honest, I don’t know that I’m in a position to have an informed opinion.  There is no question that a lot of great music has come out of Montreal in the past five or six years that really put Montreal’s independent music scene on the map.  But as a band from Toronto, we’ve never fully experienced the scene first hand, we’ve only ever seen or heard it from afar.  Although hopefully the more we play the city the more we’ll be able to experience the scene for ourselves.

9. What is the first and the last album you bought?

-I’m not even slightly ashamed to say the first album I ever bought myself was Rage Against The Machine’s “Evil Empire” (I was about twelve).  The most recent thing I bought was the new 7″ vinyl by Toronto band The Darcys.  Great band.

10. If there would be something you could change in the world, what would it be?  If we would give you the opportunity to be President or something close to this?

-If I were president, there’d still be music videos on Much Music.

11. Is there a person you come across in your life that marked you enough to be the subject of one of your songs or to inspire you for one of them?

-Yeah there’s definitely a few people that have had a big impact on me, one or two of whom have definitely found themselves the subject of more than one song.  I think it’s pretty much impossible for a writer–or any artist for that matter–to not be influenced by the people in his or her life.  I’m certainly no exception.

For more on Dinosaur Bones, their music and upcoming tours, please visit:

http://www.myspace.com/dinosaurbonesband
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21774254304
http://twitter.com/Dinosaur_Bones

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