Healthy Junkies - Interview

14Dec 2015 by Thomas

When did you first get into music? What or who inspired you?

Nina- I grew up listening to such bands as Led Zeppelin and the Doors, my parents have an extensive vinyl collection. They still listen to these bands now but through Spotify mostly. I started writing my own tunes on a keyboard at the age of 8.. I would record myself singing over keyboard, with a built in drum machine. When I was 12 I discovered Boy George and was fascinated by his look. The next band to really inspire me was Nirvana. They had already come and gone by then but when I first heard them it changed something inside of me permanently.

Phil- My mother was a concert pianist and later taught piano to keep the family. We would frequently go to classical music concerts, and so when I took an interest in the cello I was encouraged. I switched to the guitar aged 12, plugging in an electric guitar and whacking up the volume felt so good, and from that moment I never really looked back. My older brothers and sisters handed me a box of vinyl 45s containing songs from bands such as the Kinks, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann as well a bunch of LPs with bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. I remember when I first heard ‘Free bird’ by Lynyrd Skynykrd. I walked around listening to that tune all day, tried to learn the 20 minute guitar solo only to find out later that there were 3 guitars playing it. Punk rock, new wave and grunge were later discoveries all having a massive effect on me. Bands like The Buzzcocks, The Rezillos ( who we are supporting on 18^th December) , Nirvana and Bowie( especially the Ziggy Stardust era) have massively influenced me. Also reading loads of books by great authors who use words beautifully and so effectively like for Phil: Henry Miller, Jack Karouac, Hemmingway, Scott Fitzgerald and translations of some of the French greats like Flaubert, Balzac and Zola (Thanks to Nina, who gave me those books)

Nina: All the great French writers and poets especially Arthur Rimbaud and Baudelaire.

Who did you grow up listening to, and does that impact on what you create now?

We both tend to listen to bands from the past for our inspiration, always did really. We’ve already mentioned a few but also the whole glam rock thing especially Marc Bolan and Trex. The punk movement of the 70s with bands like the Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, The Uk Subs( Who we’ve also supported a few times now) then in the nineties Nirvana lead the grunge movement, they are still a huge inspiration to us and many others.

The most recent bands we like are The White Stripes and anything Jack White does, Queens of the stone age and Royal Blood are pretty cool too.

How long have you been playing/writing?

Pretty much all our lives. Writing is something we both did from from an early age and is a necessary part of us now. If we don’t write for a longish period time, even if its just scribbling down thoughts we start to go a bit stir crazy.

How often do you play live (include details and links for any upcoming gigs)?

Quite often really. As well as every first or second Saturday of the month at our own monthly club night, we play other London venues and all over the UK.

Here’s a link to Punk’n’roll rendezvous https://www.facebook.com/Tufnell-Rock-Tower-446629358706896/?fref=ts Like the page and you will receive updates.

We are playing on 18^th December supporting The Rezillos in Bristol https://www.facebook.com/events/975503972462496/

Then in Manchester supporting Dirt box disco on 20^th December. I believe that is sold out but here’s the link anyway https://www.facebook.com/events/587091304767778/

Then on 31^st December at The Prince of wales feathers, Warren Street London

https://www.facebook.com/events/941683702560559/

Then back to The Unicorn for Punk n roll rendezvous on 8^th Jan 2016.

There is a full list of our gigs on our website www.healthyjunkies.co.uk

What has been your favourite moment in music?

Playing in front of 100s of crazy Bretons at a party on a sheep farm in Brittany, France. This includes after we played at the merch stand meeting loads of people, selling so many CDs and Tshirts all to the most enthusiastic crowd ever. The sheep were in the barn next door, we never got to meet them unfortunately.