When it came time to record their new EP, ‘Live To Tell’, Sydney’s almost all girl rock band, Bonney Read, were in for a shock.
With Mark Opitz (Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, Hoodoo Gurus, Cold Chisel) in the producer’s chair, the group’s singer, Jesse Cooper, says he was brutally honest. “He was tough in the best possible way of course. The best thing in regards to the experience we had with Mark was that he brought us back down to earth in the sense of getting back to basics with music itself. Almost like letting the song write itself,” Jess says.
“We've been through a bit of a phase where we obviously pulled a lot of material together, and we got to the point where we were thinking a bit too much about the musical side, and thought it had to sound a particular way.
“The best thing that came from [the recording sessions with Mark] was just going back to letting music write itself instead of getting caught up with the idea of what you think music has to sound like for radio or particular markets, that sort of thing.”
Breaking into the Sydney rock scene hasn't been easy for the four-piece band, but after a sustained effort, they're finally seeing results. “It's taken a little while, but now that we've started to get some momentum, breaking into the rock scene is an amazing feeling to be honest. We've been doing this for a little while so to finally make some noise around Sydney and Australia especially is overwhelming in a sense.”
When it comes to composing new music, it’s a group effort from the quartet, with everybody bringing something to the table. “All of our songwriting processes have been the four of us, so we'll come together for a jam session or a practice and be like 'yeah, I've got this riff', and then one or all of us will go 'sweet'. I'll start humming along or thinking up random words that fit to the riff ... it's always been a collective effort.”
Written by Daniel Conaghan
Bonney Read’s latest EP, ‘Live To Tell’, will be released on June 5.
Bonney Read Tour Dates
Thu May 29 - Beetle Bar (Brisbane)Thu Jun 5 - Brighton Up Bar (Sydney)
