Healthy Junkies have been making waves on the punk scene for the past decade with their infectious tunes and eye for rebellion. Jason Barnard speaks to Nina Courson and Phil Honey-Jones about their history and plans for the future.
Healthy Junkies (Svenja Block Photography)
When and how did Healthy Junkies form?
Nina (singer) and Phil (guitarist) met initially on myspace then actually in person in 2008 at a now defunct venue in Soho, London called Punk. Both were in separate bands which they eventually folded to form Healthy Junkies. Having gone through various bass players they finally met bassist Dave Whitmore in 2016. Same with drummers, line-up changes along the way for a variety of reasons, the main one being the demanding live schedule that Healthy Junkies have always had. The band are currently working with Raph Bouchara, David Gaut and Hugo Terva on drums.
How did you settle on the band name?
It was a bit of a joke really. Nina and Phil were experimenting with cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms as part of their research into how these things affect music and words. At the same time Phil was regularly cultivating a mushroom health drink called Kombucha. The irony of the situation inspired the name. That said we recently received a message from a man in Blackpool saying that he tried to make Kombucha but it made him so ill that he had to go to hospital. So if anyone is contemplating making and drinking Kombucha please do read up on it first.
Were you in many bands before?
Nina was in a band called Altercation and while at high school, The Blue Fairies. Phil has been in many bands. To name a few : HiroshAmour, Nurotica, HoneyGene, T23 and the psychedelic circus, Curfew, God’s garden.
Where are you from and where are you based now? Has that influenced you?
Nina: I am originally from Paris but now live in Tufnell Park, London. Being from Paris has mostly certainly had a marked effect on the person I am now. I read the poems of Arthur Rimbaud as a teenager. With his spirit of rebellion he is considered by some to be the first punk. Plus I come from a country of revolution. Protests and standing up for our rights have always been engrained into the French psyche. French literature and art has undoubtedly inspired my lyrics and melodies.
Phil: I am originally from Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire but currently live in Tufnell Park, London. Moving to London and being exposed to so many different people, cultures and ideas, hanging out with artists, musicians, people who are politically minded etc has definitely influenced me.
Can you tell me about the history of Healthy Junkies?
We started writing songs together, formed a band, hit the road, recorded and released an album and some videos. We were spotted early on at a gig in Canning town London by a guy called Steve Iles. Steve is an underground band enthusiast/promoter. He got us playing shows in the North of England on the punk scene and that influenced the songs and sound that we were to then make. We were first booked by the biggest punk festival in the UK in 2012: Rebellion festival in Blackpool. The punk family/community welcomed us and adopted us. We supported key bands in the scene such as the UK Subs, The Rezillos, GBH, Theatre of Hate, Vice Squad and The Professionals. Playing with these legends has definitely had a hand in molding our sound and live performance. We have toured Europe a few times getting footholds in Germany, France and the Netherlands. We toured the USA. We had been on the road for a solid 10 years before Covid put a stop to that. We worked online all through the lockdowns, releasing videos and streaming live shows. Now we are back out the road with a vengeance with some 25 more dates to go before the end of the year.
Your most recent album ‘Forever On The Road’ was originally written as a soundtrack to the DVD of your 2018 US tour. Can you tell me more about this?
We did a tour of the USA west coast in 2018 thanks in a big way to the support of Sirius XM DJ Rodney Bingenheimer for his support on the USA radio airwaves. We filmed the tour as we went along: Backstage shenanigans, interviews with the other bands, drama in the hotel, long distance van rides, live shows. We edited this footage down into a 3 disc DVD box set and released it along with a double album soundtrack called Forever on the Road. The original soundtrack to the DVD was mostly instrumental but during lockdown Nina added vocals to a bunch of tracks and Dave added his bass. All the tunes were remixed and became Forever on the Road parts 1 and 2. As it is essentially a sound track it seemed ok to try mixing in some different genres. We have always mixed and matched punk, grunge and psychedelic but now we were able to introduce horror filmscapes, hip hop beats, sixties garage, piano, cello and whatever else we thought would suit the film. It was freeing on so many levels.
Where was it recorded, was it a quick process?
It was all recorded at home as there was not an option during lockdown to use any of the studios that we usually record in. Phil initially recorded the soundtrack in a tiny room in his flat. This was done bit by bit over some months and eventually led to the release of the DVD. Then during lockdown we took it to another level. Nina and Dave added vocals and bass respectively and Phil remixed all the songs, gave it a complete makeover. This took a good few months and was kind of exciting as it was made during a time when we were all been told to stay home. We made a choice and decision to include Dave Whitmore in our household ‘bubble’ technically breaking lockdown rules which clearly stated that no household should mix. I am glad we did otherwise we would never have made the album.
Your single ‘Mayday’ highlighted the problem of mental health. Do you think these issues have been amplified by the pandemic?
Absolutely yes. Mental health levels were going through the roof before lockdown and 18 months of pandemic have hugely exacerbated the problem. People are going stir crazy. Locked in and spending so much time online, exposed to all sorts of fake and real information. Social media has turned into a bitching playground cesspit with many people unable to debate without allowing their dialogue to dilapidate into furious insults or patronizing sarcasm (actually I don’t mind a bit of sarcasm !). Plus having our freedoms taken away for a length of time whether you agree with it or not has been hard for everyone. Mental health issues are at a critical level and there is no doubt that more chaos and madness is yet to come. Social problems, division within communities, countries and even continents has never been worse.
You’ve also recorded a great cover of Nirvana’s ‘Something in the way’. Was that also a song linked to your US tour?
Nina is a huge Nirvana and Kurt Cobain fan. We went on a Kurt pilgrimage when we first visited Seattle and Washington visiting his homes, the bars he hung out at, the venues he played and of course under the bridge in Aberdeen. The tour came about partly because of this. We got talking to people in some of these venues and they booked us to play there. One example was Kaos radio in Evergreen college. We just turned up at the radio station, introduced ourselves, saying we were from the UK. They must have taken a liking to us because they booked us in for a live radio session which we did when we returned with the band. Recording Something in the way seemed the most natural thing in the world to do and we really were attempting to evoke the spirit of Kurt on this tune.
What impact has the pandemic had on you and the group?
It actually came at a good time for us because we really needed to stop the bus and get off as it were. Playing such an intense schedule of shows is truly great for what is but you do not have the head space, time or energy to really reflect upon what it is you want to achieve in your life, what direction you want to go in or think about anything else at all for that matter. We made the most of the situation and adapted as best we could to the circumstances. It all seems a bit like a surreal dream now looking back on it. Like, what happened there? What was that all about? And of course, it is not over yet. It also brought us together as a band as we were there for each other but it also sent us a little bit crazier.
You’ve often been badged under the ‘punk’ label. Is that helpful?
We never set out to be a punk band. In fact, we were more grunge at first and most of the original punks we’ve spoken to actually say we are more of a new wave band than a punk band. That said if we play with indie or rock bands they definitely see us as a punk band. We are in no mans land! Punk is really an appropriated word used by the media to sensationalize a story. Like grunge it is just another category. I suppose categorizing helps when you for example want a festival lineup of likeminded bands or you are searching for a CD in a record shop but at the of the day you either like a band and they resonate with you or they don’t. So it has neither been helpful nor a hindrance.
What tracks of yours would you recommend we seek out and why?
If you like punk then listen to I don’t give a damn and hypocrite from our Box of chaos album.
I you like things of a more gothic flavor then listen to Runaway Devil. This is a sinister but true story of a child who murdered her family. Not for the faint hearted. ‘No control’ is a psychedelic jam that beaks down in the middle allowing Nina to rap a vocal rant about not letting the powers that be take away your freedoms, standing up for yourself and never giving in.
Theft is an all out rock onslaught which also breaks down in the middle to psychedelic wistfulness. One of our favorites to play live. People seem to have different songs that are their favorite. Our friend and super fan Gary Lammin for example loves ‘Je suis free’ and ‘Johnny Demented’. Another friend and Healthy Junkies regular Jonathon Trevisick always asks us to play ‘Danny Trash’ at gigs. Fellow musician from the band Kontrol Freaks Sebastian Kromp says ‘This is not a suicide ‘ is his favorite.
What are you most proud of doing in the group?
I think the USA tour and accompanying DVD and album is up there. It encapsulates our tour, allowed us to work more with film and take some big risks musically which we seem to have got away with. Although one bloke did recently yell drunkenly and repeatedly in my ear for an extended period of time that we sound too commercial in part 2 of Forever on the road. I’m not so sure about that!
What do you do outside of music?
Nina and Phil are both self-employed fulltime musicians/promoters. As well as our own band we have been running a monthly night in Camden town for 10 years. Once a year we host a 3 day festival called Punk’n’Roll Rendez-Vous in which about 30 acts can perform.
Nina recently filmed in her first major series. It was a small part but the pay was good and involved The Sex Pistols. She will also be filming soon on another series so this line of work is looking promising for her. Phil runs his own independent record label Banana Castle Records.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
We have about 25 live shows in the UK to do. We are also working on our next album. It will not be out until 2022. We plan to make a couple of music videos before the end of the year. We are hosting our Punk’n’Roll Rendez-Vous Festival on September 3, 4 and 5th at Nambucca , Holloway Road London. And of course there is the endless amount of admin work that we do on a daily basis running this whole ship and trying to keep it on course and afloat.
Further information can be found on the Healthy Junkies website and Bandcamp.
