A Chat with Sycamore Bones (28.03.23)
Technically formed about 7 years ago when songwriters Cory Kinal and Andrew Massey started playing gigs together across Lenoir and Hickory, North Carolina, Sycamore Bones is a band standing out as rogues playing original music in cities keen on covers. Five band members in and the group are reaching audiences on an international scale with its unique sound. We speak with singer-songwriter and co-founding member Cory Kinal about their album Someone Who Knows, future plans and what music means to him.
OSR: What drew you to music and how did Sycamore Bones come about?
Kinal: Sycamore bones started when Andrew Massey put out an ad on Craigslist for an open mic in Lenoir, NC, and Cory Kinal saw the ad and came out to it (we like to say we met in the “no strings attached” section of Craigslist). While we didn’t actually make a blood pact to mostly play original music, that idea was baptised in the waters of Lake Hickory with a bottle of whisky in one hand and a Labatt blue in the other (at least until we flipped the canoe). We were two songwriters that met in an area where songwriting wasn’t out at the forefront and most bands played covers. We each thought that we could really mesh and build something uniquely great and that was the beginning of Sycamore Bones.
Sycamore Bones has changed over the years with different members being added to the lineup and different identities being portrayed ranging from our first folk album to our latest more Americana rock-based album Someone Who Knows. Our current line-up (that of course we’re really excited about) is:
Cory Kinal – vocals/guitar
Andrew Massey – vocals/electric guitar
Nora Kaminski – vocals/fiddle/vibraslap
Ryan Kinal – bass
Cody Pennell – drums
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Kinal: Music really means community to us, whether that be a whole community like Caldwell Co, NC, or the community of our band and families. We’re so thankful to all the support we’ve been given over the years and we really try to do the same for other bands or up-and-coming musicians in the area.
OSR: Why do you make music?
Kinal: We make music because it’s something ingrained in us and is almost an addiction. Our music is the utmost of who we are and who we want to be in this life. There’s one part of being a songwriter that is definitely a fine line between a group therapy session and expressing yourself artistically and I think we walk that line pretty haphazardly while still being able to be relatable to our audience.
OSR: What can you tell us about your album Someone Who Knows? Is there a particular theme or backstory?
Kinal: Our first album Lake Fever was recorded at Ticknock Studio in Lenoir, NC, in the midst of our three-piece acoustic folk band era. We had a great time in the studio and came up with something we still love to this day.
After that, the band really went through some major changes and we found ourselves continuing to evolve our sound further from the pure acoustic folk realm to a heavier sound, a little more grungy, throwing in some screaming and also adding new band members which really pushed our vision. We developed into the sound that Andrew and Cory were always reaching towards when they wrote their songs and we knew that we wanted to put that into an album. We were lucky enough to record at Bomb House Recording in Morganton, NC, and we came out with an album that we really feel is indicative of us as musicians, songwriters and performers at this time in our careers.
OSR: What do you hope people take from Someone Who Knows?
Kinal: We’d like to think that the album is so diverse yet so cohesive that we hope anyone who listens to it can find something they relate to whether that be a single line, a verse, a guitar hook, three-piece harmonies or an “I love the accordion part”. We really just want people to enjoy the music that we put out there.
OSR: What do you think makes Sycamore Bones unique?
Kinal: We all come from different backgrounds (well other than Cory and Ryan who are brothers) and that mesh of all different styles of music really makes the band what it is. I don’t think we can lump ourselves into any single genre and we’ve never wanted to because we incorporate so many different styles into our music. We love everything from punk to classical and everything in between. All those styles seep out of each song we write and perform.
OSR: If you had a weekend to binge-watch any television show, what would you choose and why?
Kinal: We have too many members to agree on what show to binge-watch so here’s Andrew’s choice:
“I would say Wu-Tang American Saga on Hulu. It tells the origin story of the Wu-Tang Clan. I find the story very relatable to our situation in a lot of inspiring ways. In short, the Wu-Tang Clan were from Station Island. All of the big-name east coast hip-hop acts were coming out of the Bronx or other areas of New York City. They were a collection of rappers, lyricists, and musicians from an area no one expected great art from. Being from a rural community I feel that way. People think if you’re not in Asheville, Nashville, Raleigh, etc.. then your community has nothing going on. I think that’s garbage. Also, like the Wu-Tang, we want to lift up those voices in our community and support each other’s art”
OSR: If you were an alcoholic beverage, what would you be and why?
Kinal: Whisky in a coffee cup because the dishwasher is full of sippy cups. Mostly because it’s a true story but also it really symbolises juggling being that person who plays late-night gigs at bars and being a responsible parent. It’s definitely an experience when you hear your 5-year-old going around singing one of our songs, their tiny voice belting out “up all night on a little white pill”….so there’s that too. Parenting and being a musician, it’s a hell of a ride.
OSR: Do you have future plans as Sycamore Bones?
Kinal We really want to continue to explore our songwriting and experiment even more. We’d love to start hitting the music festival circuit more to share our music with the world and continue to grow as a band.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Kinal: When we started Sycamore Bones many people told us we needed to play mostly covers and “sprinkle in original music”, and that we wouldn’t get booked in WNC unless we did that because covers are what people want to hear. As songwriters, we refused to do that and held steady with playing original music. Screw tribute bands and play your own music.
Many thanks to Cory Kinal for speaking with us. For more from Sycamore Bones, check out their official website, Facebook and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
