Page 58 - ION Indie Magazine NovDec 2020

MH: With which bands has Funky Bonz shared the stage?

BK: George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins Awolnation, Rebelution, Ozomatli, Fishbone,
Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Green, Leftover Salmon, Kinky, The Slackers, Dread Zeppelin, Lionize, Authority Zero,
Iration, The Specials, Ballyoo!, Katastro, Weapon Of Choice, The Supervillains, and many, many, many more.

MH: Who are your biggest music Influences and what does the band listen to nowadays?

BK: My influences include Grateful Dead, Manu Chao, James Brown, Funkadelic, Bob Marley, The Clash, The
Ramones, etc. Every member has their own influences they bring to the table. Lately, we have been sharing a
lot of mash ups with each other. We like to give nods to other songs in our songs and have been known to bust
out a medley.

MH: I know some of the band’s history. Funky Bonz has been around since 1993. For those who
haven’t seen the band perform live, what can they expect at your shows?

BK: Less now than the early days of multiple costumes, theatrical stunts, and props. We have retained a couple
things from the early days, but now we are driven more by getting the peeps up and dancing. We often have
guest performers as well.

MH: I like to ask all my artists about our current situation with the pandemic. How this impacted Funky
Bonz?

BK: I don’t feel we translate as well to the online experience, so we had been out of commission since February.
Recently, outdoor venues have re-opened with live music, so we played Monterey Court a couple weeks ago
and we are back there Sept 26th. We play Banditos in rocky point October 16 and 17 and Az Hops and Vines in
Sonoita on November 7th. We have turned down a few indoor shows but will probably start booking some of our
favorite spots (St Elmo’s/Bisbee and Monte Vista Lounge/Flagstaff) as soon as they feel it’s safe.

MH: What has been the oddest show at which Funky Bonz has performed? Are there any fun or juicy
stories that you’d want to share?

BK: Too many! We used to be weekend warriors playing San Diego, Albuquerque, and all over Colorado regularly.
Weekends in Steamboat Springs visiting Strawberry Sulfur Springs (‘gettin nekked’ with the locals). That time
we played ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ in Telluride after the Blues Fest and the sold-out crowd was slam-dancing to
our music all night long. The time I went ‘Full Monty’ (to an empty house) in Ft. Collins. The time we all took
hallucinogens and played Downtown Performance Center. The 3-day road trip to a Vail show that never
happened because of a universal joint. I have a whole short story written about this misadventure. Getting to
play the legendary Casbah in San Diego and NONE of the local bands showed up. Meeting Mickey Hart of the
Grateful Dead -- as he told us we couldn’t use the stage or any inputs as the opening band. Smoking out with
George Clinton in a dressing room of Fox Theatre.

MH: If you could go open a show for any artist, who would it be?

BK: I would like to open for the Black Pumas.

MH: I’ve asked this question many times to music artists: There’s a definite difference between making
a record and going out and playing it live in front of an audience. Many feel that the real work is making
the record and the fun part is playing it live. What’s your take on both of these processes?

BK: I love creating music and having an engineer make songs sound better than I can imagine them, BUT nothing
beats the feeling of playing an original song and seeing people dance and sing the lyrics.