Page 90 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2020

TB: The band has an interesting name, Healthy Junkies. What is the story behind the name?
What names were rejected before settling on Healthy Junkies?

HJ: Nina came up with the name. Phil and Nina set out on a journey of self-discovery when they met.
In an attempt to broaden their minds and in seeking inspiration, they experimented with smoking
marijuana. At the same time, their diet was very ‘green’ and Phil was drinking Kombucha daily. For
those that have not heard of Kombucha, it is an active mushroom that can be fermented in sugared
green tea to make a very healthy drink. The healing potential is phenomenal. There were no other
ideas for a name. Healthy Junkies stuck from the beginning.

TB: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard your music?

HJ: We like to freely mix up and cross over genres, so putting us in a box has always been
difficult…grunge, punk, psychedelic, Bauhaus-type goth, new wave, garage rock…all these genres
appear in songs. We do as we please and make no attempt to fit in to anything specific. That can
work in our favour as we have played at punk, goth, and rock/metal festivals, but it also makes it
harder to target a specific audience. We have played many, many gigs on the punk circuit. The punks
welcome us, but do not consider us punks. And yet, when we play alongside indie bands or rock
bands, they label us as punk. On the new double album, which is due out in September, we push
these boundaries even further. The album is the soundtrack to our USA tour diary, which we released
as a 3-disc box set in March. We have used hip hop beats, piano and string arrangements, surf-
sounding vibes, cinematic horror film soundscapes, and reggae. So, I challenge anyone to define the
Healthy Junkies sound!

TB: What one album has influenced you the most and why?

Nina: ‘In Utero’ by Nirvana, because after the release of the hugely commercially successful ‘Never
Mind’ album, Nirvana went back to their roots, played exactly what they wanted to and created what
many Nirvana fans consider to be their best album.

Phil: ‘Split’ by The Groundhogs. I was passed down this album by my older brother. As a teenager
discovering rock music for the first time, I was particularly marked by the guitar style, use of noise
and feedback, and pure self-indulgence of this album.

Dave: ‘Dookey’ by Green Day. This is the first album that Dave learned all the songs on bass. This
album got him into playing.