UK stoner rock trio Jukebox Monkey have released their second studio album, Smiles Becoming Teeth. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
The follow up to 2017's debut full-length Grey Skies Red Planet, Smiles Becoming Teeth is a true labour of love for the band, pieced together in-between lockdowns, deaths, and personal upheavals.
Speaking about the inspirations behind the album, the band say, "This album is about the disintegration of the family unit. The transitory nature of relationships, and that of families in particular, is the overriding theme throughout this record."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I'm Niki, I play bass and sing in Jukebox Monkey, I once met Steve Guttenberg. I’m Dabs, I play guitar and sing in Jukebox Monkey, I really, really like tacos. I’m Pete, I smash drums and don’t sing in Jukebox Monkey, I love cats.
How would you describe your music?
Niki - Heavy, groovy, melodic, joyous misery.
Dabs - Metallic alt stoner rock!
Pete - Different, groovy, a bit odd at times and fun to play.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Niki - All 90s alt. rock, Monster Magnet, Helmet, Queens Of The Stone Age, anything that’s really noisy and really pretty at the same time (like me).
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Dabs - Anything dark. Paradise Lost, The Cure, Nick Cave, The Mission . . . which is interesting, because we sound like none of those things!
Pete - I started playing drums by putting on a load of different CDs in my late teens and tried to busk through figuring out what these dudes were doing. I used to bumble along to Hendrix, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Cream. I was s*** at it all for a fair time but I learnt an awful lot! I’ve always loved Clutch, they’re special.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Niki - Jean Michel Jarre, Destination Docklands, October 1988.
Dabs - I could tell you, but that would give away my age, and we can’t be doing that. So, I’ll lie and say Kyuss.
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Pete - Traffic, in Orlando on holiday when I was a kid I think.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Niki - Ignoring all the crap I bought as a child it was probably Hysteria by Def Leppard
Dabs - With my own money? It was a thing called the Michael Jackson Mix. I was nine. Things were different back then.
Pete - The first remotely cool one was As Ugly As They Wanna Be by Ugly Kid Joe.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Niki - Apples by Phoxjaw.
Dabs - I’m on a big goth trip at the moment, so I’ll say Wasteland by The Mission!
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Pete - Johnny Booth - Collapse in the Key of Fireworks, it’s utterly bonkers. Also, Coming Back to Life by Pink Floyd.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Niki - 'I got your number. I steal your thunder. I got your mother's maiden name tattooed on my arm.’ Subtle Hustle by Clutch.
Dabs – ‘I don't own a Firebird… perhaps this Datsun will do?’ - Firebirds by Clutch.
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Pete - ‘Swan diving off the tongues of crippled giants, international Business Machine, choking on bits of barley breadcrumbs, oh this burning beard I have come undone’ - Burning Beard by Clutch.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Niki - Go by Pearl Jam.
Dabs - Invincible by Tool. At least it’s long.
Pete - Dirty Laundry or Boys of Summer by Don Henley. Reminds me of my Dad.
Where can people find your music/more information?
