Bonk Joyner: That’s what he said, the interview

Bonk Joyner of Some Girls, All Leather, and Leg Lifters decided to take some time from his oh so busy and drunk schedule to answer some questions, because we just needed to know. He pulled the van to the side of the road took a deep breath and the interview went a little something like this.

Being a man of many names, faces, noises, projects I’m not sure whether to call you Nathan or Bonk can you please let us know who you are today? And where in the world did Bonk come from?

My name is Bonk Joyner. It came from my lust for absurdity, nonsense, humor, and throwing red bull all over myself at the club.

You’re on tour right now and you guys are playing every night for almost a whole month, how the fuck do you do that and where are you tonight?

We are in St. Louis tonight. I do it in a van (that’s what she said, actually maybe Ladyhawke said it in the back of the van?) that goes forwards and backwards side to side. It’s rough at times but when you love something you put up with all it’s ups and downs.

What’s the first thing you are going to do once tour is over, besides take a nap?

Eat a burrito.

You were in Some Girls, are now in All Leather, Leg Lifters, and have a project Big Ears and keep the tracks coming out like a factory pumping goods out (that’s what she said). Can you tell us a little bit about each project and how they are different to one another and what you do in each one?

Some Girls was a punk band. I came in really late in its career though. I wasn’t actually on any records. All Leather is a different direction than I have ever taken anything before. It’s punk, it’s annoying, and it’s danceable at times. It challenges me as a guitar player to fill up the role of a guitar player and a bass player. We wanted to do something that was new and exciting that didn’t sound like anything. Pulling elements from everything that we were listening to or into whether it be musical or just life in general. I think we achieved a new sound with our new record, “When I Grow Up, I Wanna Fuck Like A Girl”. Leg Lifters is a production thing. Everything from remixes to videos to design. We did remixes for Bad Religion, The Faint, Sweethead, etc. yadi yada. The videos we do are mostly to promote upcoming tours or shows. We just use it as another creative outlet. Big Ears is just me in front of a computer trying to make myself dance. It either takes a lot of alcohol for me to dance or a really really good song. With big ears I just try to entertain myself. It’s a tedious process of back and forth. I have a ton of songs that I throw away because I have such a high standard for the dance music that I create on my own. I want every song to out do the last song that I created.

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Big Ears- “Luvvers III”

Rest of interview and bonus track

For Big Ears and Leg Lifters you seem to have a big Dutch House influence, what other influences are big in your production? Any small influences?

Anything Latin!!!!!

What are some bands, producers, or DJ’s that are tickling your pickle right now?

Synchronized swimmers, up jumps dumps, whiskey mask, gummy bear and the cocaine habits, hump day n night feat. Kid putty, and friendch Frys.

Can you tell us a band or artist that most people wouldn’t know you liked? Any guilty pleasures?

I have a lot of guilty pleasures. Musical and non musical.

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Leg Lifters- “Stiff Lower Lip”

So let’s get this out of the way. As you know we posted a review of your video for “Mystery Meat” and as you can tell I wasn’t completely sold on the video. Can you explain a little about the video, what it means, and what’s up with all the gay stuff in All Leather?

I can’t tell you the meaning behind Mystery Meat. JP writes the lyrics and i don’t censor him in any way. I guess maybe it seems bad that I’m unaware of what he is singing about, but in my opinion I don’t want to hinder someone from saying what they feel. We are both pretty much on the same page politically and agree on most topics so I trust that he’s not singing about the KKK or some asinine shit. So the video was formulated around his lyrics. He actually wrote the video treatment for that video. I think this is more of a question for JP and not me.

As far as the homoeroticism that is lying in our bands image, well, we support the gay and lesbian community. All Leather was born in a gay bar in San Diego, so there are a lot of “gay” references in the lyrics, images, and videos. We aren’t going for shock value in the norm but instead we want people to question us and question why homosexuality is so shunned in our culture. We just want to stimulate the everyday thinking of most people who frown upon the gay community.

How did All Leather start and how did the whole Dim Mak thing happen?

JP was working in a club atmosphere and he would hear songs that he liked but didn’t know who they were. We were hanging out one day and I told him how I was getting into djing and electronic music. He asked if I had heard of a certain song that he kept hearing in the bar that he worked at. I knew of the song and we just got to talking about how most electronic music has a repetitive lyric and they aren’t really saying much. So we said let’s do an electronic band but with live instruments and have some good lyrics and vocals. We got together with a drummer but the rehearsal space that we were gunna use that day was occupied. So she said we could jam in her apartment but she had to use her electronic drum set. We were totally blown away by what it could do. Then we were a band with an electronic drum set. We cranked out 5 songs. Went and recorded them with my friend who was excited to record an electronic drum set. We were happy with the product so Jp and me said “hey let’s send it to Steve and see if he’ll put it out”? We knew Steve Aoki from playing shows at the Pickle Patch. He was already a friend of ours from way back in the day. He listened to it and liked it so he offered us a record deal and we took it.

Your album was supposed to be released and wasn’t because of “technical difficulties” care to talk to us about that, or how it has been working with Aoki’s label?

There was a glitch in the manufacturing of the CD itself. It skipped. The layout was missing the insert with the lyrics and information about the record. The layout template had been changed. It was a mess. However Dim Mak came together and fixed all the problems so we could have physical copies to take on the road with us. Working with Dim Mak has had its ups and downs but in the end I know that they care for us as a band.

Tell us about the Bloody Beetroots and “Mystery Meat”. Recently you played with them in San Diego and all people seem to remember from the show is you and Justin going on stage and giving them the thumbs down. Care to explain?

Just to clarify, I wasn’t on stage it was only Justin. The Bloody Beetroots did a remix of our song, “Mystery Meat”, When we got the remix that they had made for us, which was supposed to be used as material that Justin could sing on when he toured Australia with them, nothing was really changed. It was more like an edit in my opinion.

We played in San Diego with them recently and they played that remix. Our gripe with it was that they were playing to a backing track. It just seemed like thievery to us. So JP acted and told it like it is. It was a thumbs down performance of that song. To top it off I read an interview that they did where they claimed to be playing the feedback on the beginning of the remix. That they were “True Punkers”. That was my feedback, unedited.

Tell us what an average day for Bonk looks like.

I wake up; drink coffee, head to the leg lifters/three one g office and work on what ever needs to be worked out. Then I head to the bar to work or drink.

What motivates you?

Latinos

What makes you lazy?

Moombahton

Tell us one last thing you want people to know about Nathan Joyner or one thing you might want to clarify.

I’m a sucker for knock knock jokes and exercise bikes.