Introduction
Stonekind, a dynamic heavy rock duo from North Carolina, masterfully fuse a range of sub-genres. Creating an unexpected and brilliant sound from the very first listen. Bandmates Davis and Jeff excel at crafting songs. Their music demands the listener’s full attention ensuring every moment matters.
Their success is built on rich vocals and dreamy guitar work. We had the pleasure of discovering Stonekind’s music on the Dingir Zu playlist and connecting with the duo. Don’t miss their weekly show – click the link below to listen back to previous shows.
Let us know what you think to the interview in the comments section below!
For Fans Of – High Desert Queen / The Lunar Effect / Crypt Trip
Interview
Who’s deigns your album artwork?
It’s actually been different for each of our albums. The phallic stone album cover of our EP was a photo I shot from a visit to the ancient stone circle in Avebury, England in 2016… see if you can spot the flying saucer in the background! It was a happy accident discovering it.
I was going through photos to find a good shot of one of the stone monoliths for a potential album cover and when zooming in and cropping this particular photo, I noticed the disc… it was the best thing we could come up with at the time haha. The artwork for Spirit of the Void was something my wife’s uncle did, and when we saw it we immediately asked if we could use it for our record.
There’s something intricate yet primordial about it that really fit the album. For Hollow Ground, we actually found the image on ArtGrab, which is a great site for artists to sell/license their work in an easily searchable platform.
Patrik Kindvall is the artist, and the desolate desert vibe of his piece immediately struck us as a fitting backdrop for the music.I fumble around in photoshop for way too long for the sleeve design / layout, and Jeff is also a photographer so he usually takes care of that part.-Davis
What made you decide to do some instrumentals?
Since we started jamming in 2016, writing in a guitar / drums format has always been the backbone and focus of our songs as a duo. Vocals are the last thing written/recorded and sometimes they just aren’t needed if they don’t add something beneficial to the music.
Sometimes just let the music do the talking! On Hollow Ground, two of the instrumentals are more or less brief interludes for the album flow, and the other two didn’t really fit with vocals. Then again, maybe we are just lazy.
In general, what is the music scene in NC like?
The NC music scene seems to be thriving. I grew up in Wilkes county, home of the bluegrass festival MerleFest. Seeing live music there as a kid was one my inspirations for picking up the guitar.
If you keep your ears open, there are some killer bands playing in the Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, and Triad areas frequently. Of course, we’d love if heavy rock acts got more attention at the state and national level than they do these days. – Davis
Hollow Ground , your second album was released earlier this year (2024) , what has the reception been like for it?
The reception to this record has been so good. Everyone in this scene has been supportive and positive… we are still in disbelief that folks are listening to our music, let alone buying a digital or vinyl copy of this record. To know someone out there is connecting with your music really makes it worth it.
Hollow Ground is bite sized at 35 minutes compared to some other bands albums. Was this intentional? For what its worth we love its length as it means we can squeeze another complete run through on our lunch breaks!
We wanted to keep the album at 40 minutes or less for vinyl. We actually tracked another song that is over 7 minutes in length that just didn’t quite fit time wise. It could have gone either way, but we plan on releasing it as a single in the next few months.
What is your favourite song off Hollow Ground and why?
Our favorite song from this album is probably “Masters of Man.” At an epic length of over 8 minutes, it seems to capture a lot of the sub-genres and influences we love. It’s also one of the more complex songs we’ve written… the fact we actually pulled it off is like yes!
For me, Jeff’s lyrics and vocal performances/harmonies on this song are some of his best. Then, that interlude comes in and takes you on a dark, enlightening trip.-Davis
What Davis said.Jk – it’s definitely the overall dynamic of the song and how it takes you to different places musically. Davis takes these bare bones drum/rhythm guitar tracks and turns them into something incredible. This particular song I felt like we nailed in the studio while tracking drums/guitar also. -Jeff
How are the songs on Hollow Ground different to your previous offerings?
I think we are just more comfortable in our purpose musically. The first EP was a “can we actually do this?” type thing. I was very self conscious about singing and just loathed it the entire time. The second release had a couple AH-HA moments for us musically and I think we leaned into it a bit more.
The reception of the first EP definitely motivated us to put our best foot forward. Hollow Ground just took its own form after a while; we had been through the process a couple of times so we weren’t so intimidated. We’ve discovered our strengths over time.
We noticed you have a song called Dune. Obviously there is a film with the same name is this a direct connection or something of a happy coincidence?
It’s funny because the opening riff was entitled “dune” on the first iPhone voice memo and we just stuck with it. That’s usually how it goes with us. A lot of times, the lyric themes will follow whatever the first working title is and then it’s no longer a working title.
I’m a huge fan of the Dune series especially the most recent film, and although this song wasn’t intentionally a nod to the Frank Herbert masterpiece, I’m sure it was not a total coincidence.-Davis
Where did the name for the band come from?
No idea, we couldn’t come up with anything better haha. We were unintentionally smart or lucky enough to have a band name that is easily googled. I suppose it was a homage to a group of people who wholeheartedly dig this breed of stonery tunes… the Stonekind of Mankind. You know who you are.
As artists when do you know that a song is finished? And who has the final approval in the creative process?
I’m not sure a song is ever finished haha. Some songs seem like they are given to you by some spiritual medium, but most of the time you are just beaten into submission and wave the white flag. The more we write, the less we obsess about little things. I think once the song starts losing the natural feel and emotion, you’ve gone too far.
If the foundation of your song isn’t sturdy, I don’t think putting more on it will hide that. As far as final approval, we both are on the same page usually but I would say Davis gets final say. He’s doing all of the post production work. He’s earned that final say! – Jeff
If you had to pick one line of lyrics across all your songs as your favourite what line would it be and what song is it from?
Oh man, that’s tough. Maybe “Soon the bells ring, to call you home, love thy neighbor, feed the loam” from Behold the Stone off of the previous record. It’s one of the more “hopeful” songs I think. Just imagining a world with less – less information, less stress, less burden. More time to connect with nature, your family and your community. -Jeff
Do you think there is any limitations to being a two-piece band? Also what is the best thing about being just the two of you?
We are just two middle-aged idiot dads… so of course that limits us on how many instruments we can play at once, how late we can stay awake at night, and how we can present this in a live situation. But really, as a two piece we are efficient with writing new music.
We know each other well enough to sense when something is working or not, and we’ve literally never had a significant disagreement about a song. Although we are not opposed to adding a new member to the band, we enjoy the simplicity and naturalness of just the two of us.
What band would you say influences you the most? Is there one of your songs which you think that inspiration can be heard in the most?
I don’t think we could narrow it down to one band. We’re getting old and most of our influences are primarily pre-2000… anything spanning from Sabbath, Robin Trower, Pink Floyd, Captain Beyond, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Kyuss, and Tool.
The important thing is to develop your influences into a blend of your respective tastes to create something different rather than trying to emulate what’s already been done. For this album, we’ve heard people mention Soundgarden comparisons in “Dune” and Alice in Chains in “Masters of Man.”
A fun one to end this with …. Who wins in a fight… Dracula or The night king from Game of Thrones? And why?
Dracula and the night king are both far too clever to fight each other… they’d surely team up and combine their talents in the dark arts to destroy the mortals. – Davis
I’m going night king only because he had Brent Hinds in his army.-Jeff
Let us know what you thought to the interview and Stonekind in the comments!
All the songs, used in this interview belong to their respective owners and this website does not claim any right over them. All images were provided by Stonekind.
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