Bonehawk

A chat with Matt Helt, Nate Cohn, and Matt Smith of Bonehawk as well as fans Ramone, Chris, Wes, James, Curt, Mike, Michelle, Louis, and Terbly. We talk about how the fans fell in love with the awesome grooves of Bonehawk. Our conversation wanders into our thoughts on their incredible new album, Iron Mountain. We journey into stories of epic sea quests, recording at Ghetto Records, awkward moments in rock, Record Store days at Green Light Music, Pizza and much more.

Are You Down with the Bonehawk?

We started off with the fans and how they became fans of Bonehawk. Ramone kicked things off saying he learned about Bonehawk from Chris who runs the outstanding Kalamazoo record store called GreenLight Music. As Ramone describes, when Chris wants to tell you about a band you might dig, his catchphrase is “Dude!, You down with…”. In this case, “Dude! You down with the Bonehawk?”

Ramone’s first encounter with the band was actually after they had played at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids with Valient Thor and Nashville Pussy. Turns out that Trans-Siberian Orchestra was playing the same night. Ramone and Chris made it over to the Pyramid Scheme, but missed Bonehawk. However, he did get to meet the guys, catch future shows, and along with Chris are big time fans.

Awkward Moments

Speaking of the Nashville Pussy show, Matt Helt talked about meeting Blaine during load in. Evidently, Blaine was enjoying a Subway sandwich when Matt says “Hey! What’s up man?”. Matt got the long stare with no reply until Matt awkwardly walked away. I can speak from experience, that I’ve felt the awkward goofiness of meeting someone you admire and totally feeling like a dork.

Chris meets Bonehawk

Chris discovered Bonehawk through a long standing friendship with former guitarist Chad Houts. Chad brought out Bonehawk’s stellar debut album Albino Rhino to GreenLight Music. Which as an FYI, this monster album has been re-released on vinyl. It is definitely worth being in your collection if you dig big grooves, guitar harmonies, and burly riffs. Chris is a staunch supporter of local music and in particular loves the music of Bonehawk. The new album, Iron Mountain, has been on display at the front counter and selling well.Many new Bonehawk fans are discovering the band through Chris’s praise of the band.

Killer Music and Merch is Essential

In addition to killer music, Bonehawk excels at killer merch. Ramone shared a story of getting Bonehawk booked on the Kalamazoo RibFest featuring Blue Oyster Cult. Bonehawk destroyed the stage and then proceed to setup a merch booth featuring a million different t-shirts, koozies, records, and condoms (ok, condoms are an exaggeration, but you get the idea)

Meanwhile, the legendary Blue Oyster has a single shirt in two sizes. To say the least, Bonehawk’s music and merch drew in a slew of fans. This is how you create a buzz: great music and great marketing.

Wes and James meets Bonehawk

Chad Houts also brought Wes into the Bonehawk fold. He met Matt Helt and they shared cold beverages and cheese balls. Wes’s first encounter with Matt Helt and Nate was actually pre-Bonehawk when they were in a band called Nobody’s Favorite. Wes kept up the friendship with the guys and remains a fan of their music today.

James got into Bonehawk through his friend Max in Ann Arbor (Hey, I know that guy :)). They caught the band in Hamtramck with Bison Machine and Kommander. For those who love heavy stoner riffs played with passion, this was an outstanding line-up. This one show hooked James and he’s been following the band religiously. James feels the new Iron Mountain album is one of the best rock albums of 2020. A complete Pure Michigan rock journey.

Seaquest to find the Rock

Bonehawk put out a shirt at the end of 2019 with their name and underneath it an image of an iconic landscape just off the coast of the Thumb area of Michigan called Turnip Rock. Get it, turn up rock. James took a voyage in search of the rock featured on Bonehawk’s shirt. He captured an image of himself with the shirt at Turnip Rock which the band enjoyed. If you get a chance, take a kayak out to Turnip Rock and bring along some Bonehawk jams for fun.

Curt and Lewis Discover Bonehawk

Actually, Curt is a long time friend of Matt’s going back to school days. Back when they would rock some Mario Kart. Curt actually jammed with Matt in his first band. While Curt isn’t playing much himself these days, he is stoked that Bonehawk has turned up the volume on the Michigan music scene.

We found out that Louis is a brand new fan. He saw the picture with Nate advertising this episode of Fans With Bands and decided to check it out. You see Louis is a big fan of Nate’s other band Mustard Plug. They are a legendary ska punk band. Louis is happy to support local music and get into the music of Bonehawk.

Bonehawk Beer

Louis mentioned that working up in Ishpeming at Cognition Brewing, there isn’t a lot of live music (even without a pandemic going on ). However, Cognition plans to expand in 2021 and bring in some live music. We talked a bit about the band collaborations that Cognition has done with Burial Oath and Arctic Sleep. The brewing team has a love for heavy music and beer, so I’m thinking that a Bonehawk beer would be a perfect way to celebrate the pure Michigan rock fury of the band.

Iron Mountain

The new album from Bonehawk called Iron Mountain is stacked with monumental rock music. The songs flow like a rapid river and take you on a trip through their patented guitar harmonies, crunching riffs and rhythms. We talked a bit about how this new album reflects the growth and solid foundation the band has achieved in their sound and songwriting.

While they love the first album Albino Rhino, the new album is a more cohesive whole. Matt indicates that Nate’s musical approach has helped Bonehawk become a better band with greater sonic focus. Nate adds that each album is completely different with Iron Mountain being grittier, deeper, and slightly more nuanced.

Bonehawk at the Livery

While the band can’t tour to support Iron Mountain, Bonehawk is still reaching out to the fans virtually. Their latest project is a live performance recorded at The Livery in Benton Harbor. Nate shared that the band has been rehearsing and writing new music with new members Matt Smith and Cam Mammina.

Music during a Pandemic

Nate mentioned that putting out a new album during a pandemic isn’t optimal given they can’t tour. However, Ramone pointed out that this year has been a boon for new music. As we talk, it becomes clear that we all feel that music has been sustaining during this period of crisis. Chris added that while Green Light Music has had to pivot to shorter hours and fewer days open due to pandemic mitigation tactics, their sales are equal or even slightly better than the previous year.

Another boon to Green Light Music has been the extended series of Record Store Days this year. Bonehawk teamed up with Green Light Music to sponsor giveaways for each of the record store days. This has helped both the store and the band to reach even more music fans. Yet another testament to the power of music, marketing, and collaboration.

Terbly

We swung the conversation back to Terbly to get his story on becoming a Bonehawk fan. Terbly self-identifies as a “Matt Helt Groupie”. He has known Matt since childhood. He has followed his musical exploits starting with a 14 year old Matt playing in McCurly’s Caterpillars. Terbly’s favorite show was seeing Bonehawk open up for Local H at Shakespeare's pub. This was yet another awkward band encounter, this time with Local H. 

Ghetto Recorders

James asked about Bonehawk’s experience working at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit. Matt and Nate had actually gone there with their prior band Nobody’s Favorite. They really enjoyed working with Jim Diamond. His studio featured a ton of vintage effects and amps. I can imagine it was a candy store for any recording musician. They came back to Ghetto Recorders with Bonehawk to record Albino Rhino and a split EP (with Kingnomad) for Ripple Music. 

Jim was closing down the Ghetto Recorders and this was the second to last session. While there, Matt noticed an old Bic turntable that was the same turntable that his parent’s used to have when he was a kid. He bought the turntable from Jim and Matt’s mom found that she still had the original owners manual. Quite a fun find and a great memory that keeps giving with every spin of a disc.

Second Coming of Heavy

Talking about the recordings at Ghetto Recorders led to a discussion about the music recorded on the split. Matt Helt said he doesn’t really enjoy the songs on the split EP. While he had no issues with the recording that Jim did, he felt the band missed the mark. He’s even thought about potentially re-recording them.

Chris and Ramone were quick to point out that they feel the songs on the EP are some of their favorite Bonehawk tunes. Matt felt that perhaps he had some issues that he just hadn’t been able to let go of. We all offered our encouragement to treat this as a therapy session and just let it all go.

Mike Reviews Iron Mountain

Fans Mike and Michelle joined our chat to share how they became Bonehawk fans. Mike is the stellar drummer of the now defunct Blue Snaggletooth. Mike and Matt met at the record release show for Albino Rhino. Apparently Mike was staking out his territory in the club for his drums. Matt came by and said “Dude. Just chill out. It will all work out” in his easy going manner. Ironically, both Matt and Mike are two sides of the same coin. Both shared that they are a bit OCD when it comes to setting up for a show, but demonstrate (or conceal) that stress in their own loveable ways. This meeting has led to a lasting friendship.

Mike mentioned he had received an advanced copy of Iron Mountain and offered to share his notes with us. Overall he loves the album, so there wasn't any criticism to level. Except for the placement of the last song “Lake Of The Clouds” which Mike felt made for an anti-climatic ending. However, the rest of us felt that the placement was perfect. It just goes to show that everyone is entitled to their opinion and we can agree to disagree on occasion.

Wrap it up with Pizza

You’ll want to listen to the end to hear about what makes for a perfect Bonehawk pizza. Then head over to Pizza King in Portage to order one. Dig into the fun stories, laughs, and much more in this episode of Fans With Bands with Bonehawk. We hope you enjoy it! 

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