Had the pleasure of speaking with Dustin the guitarist and vocalist for Black Bolt
Had the pleasure of speaking with Dustin the guitarist and vocalist for Black Bolt
COMIC BOOK
What inspired the name of the band and what are your influences?
Kyle (bass) and I were the first two members of the band, and we’re huge comic book fans. It’s also hard to think of good, unique band names that some electro-house DJ in Finland hasn’t taken already. So we decided we’d just choose a comic book related name and deal with the lawsuit later. We chose Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, from Marvel Comics. Despite what that terrible live action “Inhumans” show that lasted 5 seconds would have you believe, he’s a super cool character.
We’re mainly a punk-influenced band, and we all come from different “areas” of various punk scenes. Justin (drums) was raised on 90s skate punk, Kyle was raised on pop punk and hardcore, Steve (guitar) was raised on hardcore, emo, and post-hardcore, and I was raised on a lot of 70s and 80s punk, plus the 90s Epitaph/Fat Wreck Chords stuff. We all love a lot of music beyond that, but those are our “roots.”
Main influences: Leatherface, Jawbreaker, Pixies, Maritime, Archers of Loaf, Bikini Kill, Nirvana, Bad Religion, Saves the Day, The Clash, Rancid, Get Up Kids, Lawrence Arms, Joy Division, Dillinger Four, Iron Chic, RVIVR, Every Time I Die, Superchunk, Sonic Youth, White Lung, etc.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
For some reason our lyrics mention vampires a lot. Which is weird, because I don’t even like vampire movies.
Everyone in the band contributes riffs, chord structures, and ideas. We kind of just build off of each other. I almost always handle lyrics and vocal melodies. Sometimes I’ll get a cool vocal melody in my head and write simple chords to back it, and then everyone else flushes it out. Sometimes I’ll write a vocal melody that works with something cool that Steve or Kyle created. We’re not really a “defined process” sort of band. We just do whatever works or whatever feels right at the time.
Lyrically, we often delve into politics, morose introspection, interpersonal relationships, and the delicate art of partying.
VAMPIRES
VAMPIRES
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
For some reason our lyrics mention vampires a lot. Which is weird, because I don’t even like vampire movies.
Everyone in the band contributes riffs, chord structures, and ideas. We kind of just build off of each other. I almost always handle lyrics and vocal melodies. Sometimes I’ll get a cool vocal melody in my head and write simple chords to back it, and then everyone else flushes it out. Sometimes I’ll write a vocal melody that works with something cool that Steve or Kyle created. We’re not really a “defined process” sort of band. We just do whatever works or whatever feels right at the time.
Lyrically, we often delve into politics, morose introspection, interpersonal relationships, and the delicate art of partying.
INTERSECTION OF EVERYONE
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
It’s really that it just comes naturally. Writing weird, gruff garage pop songs over sludgy power chords with a little bit of shred and/or indie rock sparkle is just how we come together as a band. I don’t think we could force ourselves to do anything different than we already do. This is just what fits perfectly at the intersection of everyone in the band’s musical tastes, musical talents, and songwriting ability.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Really, it just comes down to playing the songs we’re excited to play. If we’re bored of a song at the moment, we may not play it live for quite a while. Or we may decide to bring a really old song back if it sounds fun– but remembering our old songs, even if they’re technically more “simple,” is always quite a process!
Memory is another thing. We’re really only capable of remembering maybe 8-10 songs at a time. So once we rotate something out for a very new song or an old song, it’s gone until we relearn it. We are probably the rock n roll equivalent of a goldfish.
We do try to order our live set lists in a dynamic way– grouping a couple songs in the same key together, varying the tempo, and always ending with a barnburner. We don’t want to bore the audience, and we certainly don’t want to bore ourselves. Every 25 minute set (including drinking breaks) we play is carefully crafted. I totally typed that last part with a straight face.
BARN BURNER
BARN BURNER
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Really, it just comes down to playing the songs we’re excited to play. If we’re bored of a song at the moment, we may not play it live for quite a while. Or we may decide to bring a really old song back if it sounds fun– but remembering our old songs, even if they’re technically more “simple,” is always quite a process!
Memory is another thing. We’re really only capable of remembering maybe 8-10 songs at a time. So once we rotate something out for a very new song or an old song, it’s gone until we relearn it. We are probably the rock n roll equivalent of a goldfish.
We do try to order our live set lists in a dynamic way– grouping a couple songs in the same key together, varying the tempo, and always ending with a barnburner. We don’t want to bore the audience, and we certainly don’t want to bore ourselves. Every 25 minute set (including drinking breaks) we play is carefully crafted. I totally typed that last part with a straight face.
WHAT WORKS
CLAWS OUT
What plans do you have for the future?
We just released our first ever music video. The song is called “Claws Out,” and it’s a loving tribute to/jingle for White Claw hard seltzer. It’s 50 seconds of catchy absurdity:
The song is from our forthcoming album, “The North End,” which is coming out sometime in the Spring of 2020. We’re still working on a few songs for the record, but we have 8 recorded already. We should be releasing the next single in mid November.
We also have a small tour planned with our friends Get Wet + in May.