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Bunky |
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“I’ve seen some shit!” exclaims Emily Joyce, drummer and vocalist for the quirky outfit Bunky, while giggling with laughter from an undisclosed location in San Diego. A transplant from Boston, Joyce has lived and worked within the San Diego music scene since her arrival in “America’s Finest City” in September of 1996. The “shit” which she speaks of, are the many different variables that go hand in hand with existing within the world of independent rock. Having worked at music venues in Boston and San Diego, Joyce speaks honestly and shoots from the hip. “I’ve been plagued my whole life trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with my life,” she ruminates. “I still don’t think I’ve totally figured it out. But music is definitely one thing that I’ve found.” And we should all thank Jehovah that she found the music, or rather that the music found her. “I gave her an album that I made because she really seemed to strike me as really charismatic and goofy and she should be a star, like a singer or something,” says resident San Diego producer Rafter Roberts (and the other half of Bunky) from his recording studio also based out of San Diego. “I also gave the CD to her because I wanted her to like me.” He adds with a chuckle. Roberts is a musician’s musician, and is the impresario behind Bunky’s sound. It’s clear on Bunky’s debut album, “Born To Be A Motorcycle” that Joyce is the heart of Bunky, and in some ways, Roberts’ muse. “He gave me a CD of some of his music, and I was totally blown away,” Joyce recalls of when she first met Roberts in 1999. Adding, “Then I didn’t see him for six months.” Six months? Just where the fuck was Rafter during this six month hiatus? “I was probably in my garage.” He deadpans. “Making music and goofing around. I’ve been a life-long 4-tracker and screw around kinda guy.” “Then he called me and said he was thinking about starting a band with me and some of his other friends,” recalls Joyce. “And I was like, are you kidding? When’s the first practice?” Though before entering that first practice session, Joyce had to tackle the task of learning an instrument that she could command at will. She settled on the drums and quickly mastered the skins while also handling the bulk of Bunky’s vocals. “I remember the first time we played together,” Roberts says, “it was really awkward.” Yet despite that first awkward throwdown, Joyce and Roberts braved through the early stages of starting a band and eventually began gigging around San Diego as Bunky. “We didn’t play our first show until 2001.” Joyce assures me. While some bands are easy to label punk, ska, or even Dixieland jazz, Bunky does indeed defy all definitions and labels, as is evident on, “Born To Be A Motorcycle”. The record contains elements of everything from punk rock, classic rock, indie rock and a definite nod to jazz. Trying to sum Bunky up in a phrase: A romp. A joyous romp! Pure unadulterated fun, channeled and delivered via the medium of music. One of the most noticeable attributes to Bunky’s sound, aside from Joyce’s unbelievably beautiful and dynamic voice, is the presence of a horn section in almost every song. “We’ve kind of always had horns, but not necessarily a horn section until last year,” Roberts explains of Bunky’s own personal towers of power. “All our friends know our songs and if we call them and ask if they want to play with us that night, and they don’t have anything going on, maybe they’ll come down and play with us.” It’s casual like that, and in that casualness, Bunky is able to kick out the jams without hesitation or blunder. Having only played a handful of shows outside of Southern California, you would think Bunky would be gearing up for the standard get in the van tour of the states. Though as it currently stands, reality is dictating otherwise for a full on Bunky tour. Roberts is expecting a child soon, and even though their first album was just released in the spring of 2005, Roberts and Joyce are already hard at work trying to piece together their second album before Roberts’ brood is birthed into the world. “We’re going to try and wrap up our second album before the baby comes,” Roberts says of the progress regarding their next record. “I think that’s doable. We’re getting kinda close already. I’m just going to have to kinda feel it out and see how it goes.” Where Roberts fails to give insight as to what the second album may pertain, Joyce more than obliges with some info on what fans could expect. “I’m not quite sure if there’s a theme?” explains Joyce. “There are some more sad songs on there, some more heart-string pullers. And there’s some silly stuff. There’s a song about a dinosaur and a hippopotamus. I dunno. You’ll just have to wait and see I guess.” Given the time line it took for these two to put out their first record, fans can definitely expect Bunky’s second album to be released sometime this decade. I end every interview with a query of, “Do you have a message for the children?” Both Emily and Rafter were asked this question independently of one another. Their answers were profound and hilarious. Rafter Roberts: “Yeah, figure out how to have fun without TV or drugs. You see the thing is if they learn how to have fun without drugs, then they can experiment with [drugs] and have even more fun. You should be able to use drugs to have fun, but not rely on drugs to have fun. 2005 “Born To Be A Motorcycle” (Asthmatic Kitty) |
