Jawbone Talk New Album, Their Origins And More

 The band Jawbone are no strangers to JLTT and have released their second studio album, ‘Jawbone II’, out now via 5dB Records. Marcus Bonfanti (guitar/vocals) and Paddy Milner (keys/vocals) sat down to talk about the new record and more: 

Who is in Jawbone, how did you meet and what do you play?

Marcus – Jawbone is a 4 piece band from all over the place really. Evan (drums) was born in New Zealand, he met Rex (bass/vocals) in Perth, Australia which is where he is from.

Paddy (keys/vocals) was brought up down in Dorset and I (Marcus – guitar/vocals) am from London. We all met in London many years ago playing and recording in various set ups and for different artists and we became friends. We formed Jawbone to play the songs Paddy and I had been writing together.

Paddy – I concur with all that. Just to add that it’s testament to the wonderful international city of London that meant these kind of meetings of people could happen.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

Marcus – We had this huge music system in our front room, a friend of my Dad had given it to him. Our flat was small and this thing took up basically all of the lounge. It was amazing, it had a mic you could plug into it and slap back delay was the standard setting it sounded amazing. My parents would play their favourite albums, Beatles, John Lennon, Cat Stevens, The Stones, Joni Mitchell and I would sing along with them. I must have been around 4. 

Paddy – Most definitely my parents singing me to sleep, normally British folk songs. My father is a musician, plays a bunch of different instruments, and my mum had a nice voice. They’d often sing in the living room together, good times! Also, my father has always had bands, mainly playing British folk music in different guises, so there’d always be rehearsals at home. I naturally joined in as I got more adept on the piano and did the odd gig for local barn dances with his band ‘Captain Thunderbolt’ before doing my own gigs from my early teens onwards.

 

When did you begin songwriting?

Marcus – I remember me and my best friend at school in Chemistry Class deciding we were going to form a band. I’d just started playing guitar at this point. We must have been 15. We had the whole thing sorted: The band name, who was going to play what, the names of the next three albums and tours, what we would wear, who would do the interviews. We even had the first band practice booked. We had sorted everything…. Everything but the songs!

The next day my friend Alex brought in a book of poems he’d been writing. I took them home and started putting them to music and turning them into songs. I loved it and after that we would write songs together every moment we got.

Paddy – I can vividly remember the fist song I wrote. It was beautifully intentioned but fairly terrible – written for a Comic Relief song competition titled ‘Think of the People’. I put a little band together with a bass player and drummer to record it and we did it in the middle school music department with the help of the music teacher. I was 11 at the time and had just begun my journey into Blues piano, the style that really got me hooked on music.

 

You have released your second studio album ‘Jawbone II’. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

Marcus – Me and Paddy write the songs for Jawbone together at his place. He has a lovely room with a piano in it and access to some of the finest coffee in North London. We wanted to approach this record a lot like we did the first album. Writing the songs together, acoustic guitar and piano and then taking them to the band once we had the lyrics and melodies sorted. The difference on Jawbone II was that we had toured a fair bit after the first record and the band had really evolved on the road. We started using the three voices much more so when it came to the writing we could write songs specifically with the three part harmony in mind.

Paddy – Yep, think Marcus has summed it up well. As always we wanted to keep it raw and honest so recorded instruments live in one room then added the vocals live with all of us singing together. No crazy overdubs. We wanted to capture the band as live as possible, in a way that is reproducible on stage. The songs often came about through our chats before writing sessions.

 

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

Marcus – We recorded the album at 5dB studios in Kensal with Javier Weyler producing with us. It was a fantastic experience. If I remember right we did a couple of weeks tracking, another week focusing in on some vocals and then Javier mixed the record and we attended a few session here and there. It was a beautifully relaxed experience.

 

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

Marcus – When we get together to play music we have a pretty relaxed time. There is a lot of joking around and laughter with this band and many ‘in jokes’ that would take me way too long to explain and also I’d probably realise that to anyone not in the band… it’s not that funny. You know how these things are. Maybe Pads can remember specifics but all I remember is laughing a lot during the recording process. Especially during the vocal recording when we were all facing into each other round the mics, direct eye contact, it was fraught with danger. A few takes were abandoned because someone made someone else laugh.

Paddy – Hahaha, yep, lots of really silly in-jokes, gestures while recording, geeky musical gags. Schoolboy stuff! That’s one reason we love doing it, it enables us to regress to our younger years, a reminder of the time where we all found our initial passion and excitement for music.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Marcus – The gear at 5dB is fantastic. They have an array of vintage mics, outboard gear and their instrument collection is amazing too. I got to use some amazing amps to get the guitar sound on the record. Binson Echorec, 50’s Champ, a Dumble!!, loads of different Marshall amps from the 60’s. It really was a treat and the guitar sound we got on Horizons of Hope is probably my favourite guitar sound I’ve ever recorded. We were spoiled man!

The space echo got a load of use in the mixing stage, Javier really went to town with the vintage outboard gear during that process, it was great.

Paddy – Yep, an amazingly equipped studio. I was totally spoilt in keyboard world with a beautifully restored 100 year old Steinway upright that I’d helped the studio choose, plus Wurly, Rhodes and Hammond in beautiful conditions. The mixes were sent to tape, which added a cozy layer of warmth and saturation.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Marcus – I really like this question.
Happiest – Warm Up That Cup.
Angriest – we aren’t a very angry band but maybe Horizons of Hope?
Reflective – The Tide
What you saying Pads?

Paddy – Junkyard of Dreams is a pretty jaunty/joyful/jubilant/jolly number. Nothing’s ‘angry’ on the record although I agree Horizons of Hope has mixed memories of lockdown embedded in the lyrics and a groove that I can dig into more aggressively. The Tide is certainly a reflective song, dealing with mortality, initially inspired by the death of one of our heroes, the late great Dr. John.

 

Was it a difficult album to write?

Marcus – No not really. I suppose the only difficulty was that we were doing it between 2019 and 2022 when everyone in the world was experiencing massive change to their lives due to all the changing rules. So it was a little stop start for us but once we got into our flow these songs all came quite quickly. I suppose we had a lot to write about once the dust started settling from that time, lots of emotions coming out and fears and trepidation about the future. It was good to talk that stuff through with a friend and also gave us a really great starting points for the songs.

Paddy – 

Who designed the album artwork?

Marcus – That was done by a friend of Paddy’s, Matt Ashton. He is really great.

Paddy – Yep, Matt’s a fantastic designer and has made numerous record covers especially for his own band ‘The Leaf Library’ (check ‘em out too!).

 

One of the tracks is ‘Warm Up That Cup’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

Marcus – I referred to the coffee earlier, thats a big thing for the band. We really enjoy a good coffee together and that is the focus of a lot of our time on tour. I’d usually be running late heading up to Paddy’s house for writing sessions. So often I’d spend him a text saying “Sorry Pads, running late. 10 mins away. Warm up that cup”. We would start all our writing sessions with a coffee and talk about what we were both up to. The song is just that really. Two friends talking about what’s happening and then reflecting on friends we used to see but don’t see so much of anymore.

Paddy – Yep, its a conversation between 2 people, based on fictitious but common situations that hopefully resonate with a lot of people – work, life decisions, missed loved ones.

 

Earlier in the year, Jawbone toured as special guests on Imelda May’s UK tour. How did that opportunity arise? Do you have any interesting stories/memories from the shows?

Marcus – We know Imelda’s tour manager very well and he mentioned to her that we had the new record out and were looking to do some shows. Pads has worked with her before so she knew him and thought we sounded alright so invited us on just the two of us as she was touring a stripped down vibe too. Imelda was great to be on the road with, very generous, loads of fun and really supportive of us. She invited us up to play some Rhythm and Blues with her every night on her set which was great fun. Her crew and band are beautiful people too. It was just a really great couple of weeks. Although Pads, you hurt yourself and could barely walk for half of it didn’t you? It didn’t affect his performance but it did make his walk too and from the piano quite interesting to watch.

Paddy – What a great tour, loved it. Imelda was really welcoming and the whole crew was super easy going. Yes, I had a massively inflamed tendon that made it very painful to walk so I has hobbling around on a few of the shows, but it cleared up by the end of the tour so I could enjoy a pain-free couple of gigs! I tried to stye it out as some sort of piano-gangsta strut but not sure it was convincing.

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Marcus – Just to have got the songs across to the audience and felt the emotions of them myself and to have given people something exciting. A good reason to have left the house and seen a band.

Paddy – Yeah, to have made a positive difference to peoples’ lives whatever that means to each individual, and to have a shared human moment with others. Of course, part of this is wanting to have fun on stage as a group and finding some individual expression during the process.

 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Marcus – At the moment I’m back in love with my 1965 Gibson 330, I’ll probably use it on the show we have in London in July I’ll also bring my telecaster though… and probably my 74 SG too oh and my Harmony Rocket. Pads we are gonna need a bigger stage I think….

Paddy – Haha, yeah! Although it’s definitely not a gear-heavy band. Unfortunately for me, it’s just not practical to carry round an acoustic piano, Wurly, Rhodes and Hammond organ so I have to make do with digital keyboards instead – so I can’t say I love them like I do the proper originals but, as tools to get the music across, I’ll tolerate the increasingly good digital versions! One day, would love to have the full acoustic and vintage keyboards setup on stage but that’ll have to wait.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Marcus – London. Exciting. Interesting. Welcoming. Transient. Exhausting. 

Paddy – London: Still exciting, constantly changing, home.

 

How do you look after your voices?

Marcus – I should probably be a bit better with looking after my voice I don’t really warm up or warm down but I do know when my voice is tired and when I feel that happening I hit the ginger rather than take any of those other remedies. They are no good for you.
Getting rest is the thing that helps me. If I’m tired, like proper tired out, my voice is nowhere so I just try and get as much rest as I can to look after my voice.

Paddy – As Marcus said, sleep makes all the difference but that can be difficult on tour. Taking it easy, limiting alcohol and other related vices massively helps so those rock n roll moments are rarer these days although we still have our moments : )

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Marcus – ‘Islands in The Stream’ by Hemingway. It’s one of my favourite books. I know there is already a film of it but I haven’t watched it. I have my own image of what everyone looks and sounds like in my mind and I don’t want that altered. The novel meanders in that beautiful way Hemingway writes and he ultimately breaks your heart in and intently sad but beautiful way. Those are the kind of songs I like too.

Paddy – ‘Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck has haunted me ever since I read it the first time, although perhaps ‘enjoy’ isn’t quite the right word. Such a visceral exploration of the human condition and survival instinct. Set on a journey across the mid-west to California, the whole narrative leads up to the very last sentence which left me speechless. With the backdrop of the expansive American landscape contrasted with the intense inner journey of the protagonists and acute ending, there is lots of inspiration for a soundtrack of contrasts and direction.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Marcus – As a band our influences are very eclectic and I think personally too. I love the Beatles, they will always be my favourite band and they have influenced all aspects of what I do. Songwriting, guitar playing and singing. I love Little Feat, a band that I am surprised more people don’t know about so maybe that’s a recommendation too. Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Leadbelly, Lightnin’ Hopkins are always on my mind and my record player. I really like this newer artist Nilüfer Yanya too I would recommend her albums, I think she has three or four out. Really interesting and great use of some pretty cool guitar sounds too.

Paddy – So many influences! In addition to the ones Marcus has mentioned, most relevant to the sound of the band I would definitely say The Band with its balance of harmonies, different singers and rockin’ playing. Also some more British influences like the Rolling Stones or the Faces. For a recommendation, I was just in Austin, Texas and walked into the Continental Club to hear James McMurtry, was blown away by his lyrics and intensity of delivery on stage. I know he has a good following but perhaps not so widely known over this side of the pond.

 

Do you have any live dates in the UK/Europe for 2025?

Marcus – Yes! Just one at the minute The Water Rats, London July 2nd. More will follow but probably not till the end of the year.

Paddy – Watch this space for more!

 

What makes Jawbone happy and what makes you unhappy?

Marcus – Jawbone are happiest when we are all together making music. We had a rehearsal yesterday and I arrived feeling a really strung out as I’d had no sleep and a long journey to get there. I left feeling incredibly happy and so much better than when I arrived. Thats what Jawbone does to me. Every time.

What makes Jawbone unhappy? I dunno, we are a pretty happy band. Oh wait, instant coffee in the dressing room. 

Paddy – I echo Marcus, it’s just great to be in a room together, it’s always super easy musically and otherwise, a safe place with no pressure. It’s disappointing when we can’t all make the diary work and miss out on Jawbone action, but we’ve all accepted that’s the nature of this band. So when we do get together we make the most of it. 

 

 

 

Feature Image Photo Credit: Rob Blackham/Blackham Images

Jawbone’s new album ‘Jawbone II’ is out now via 5dB Records (anaiis, Ashaine White, MOULD).

Purchase/Listen: https://lnk.to/JawbonePR

Jawbone Headline Show – Wednesday 2nd July 2025 – The Water Rats, London, United Kingdom.

Tickets: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/jawbone-the-water-rats-tickets/14452143?REFERRAL_ID=twfb