A Chat with The Violet Stones (30.11.20)
Hailing from the outskirts of Sydney, The Violet Stones is an Australian alternative rock/grunge band with a ton of attitude. Following their critically acclaimed singles, The Violet Stones release their self-produced second album PIN. We speak with Sarah, Louis and Jarrod about PIN, favourite meals and good reviews.
OSR: What is the backstory to the album PIN?
The Violet Stones: We decided on the name PIN as we wanted to sum up every song on the album in the title but we couldn’t find a word that really captured what we were going for. PIN is an acronym for ‘Political, Injustice and Negligence’ which is what most of the songs are about. PIN can also have loads of different meanings such as ‘put a pin it in’, ‘pin of a grenade’, etc. This album explores subjects such as mental health, religion and societial standards which are issues we are all very passionate about.
OSR: I assume musicians have a story of songs from which to choose when making an album How did you decide on these specific songs?
The Violet Stones: We wrote most of the songs around two years ago and we’ve known for a while which songs would be put on the album. Sarah originally brought a bunch of songs to us and we built upon the ones we saw the most potential in and developed them collectively into what they are now. Some of the songs on the album (including ‘Power Hungry’ and ‘ Stubborn’) were created from jams between Louis and Mate (ex-drummer) and we build the songs up from that which was different than what we usually did.
OSR: What are the pros and cons of making an album?
The Violet Stones: The pros would be having a final product that we’re proud of and we have a whole body of work for our fans to listen to. This album especially, we have been able to grow as musicians and we’ve gained a variety of skills within the recording process.
The cons would be learning how to navigate the promotion side of the release, as well as coordinating our schedules and meeting deadlines. It sometimes gets super stressful and difficult to keep a consistent social media presence.
OSR: What are the pros and cons of self-releasing music?
The Violet Stones: We are able to have full control of which direction we can take our music and how we want to portray ourselves, but this adds a lot more responsibility and stress when we have to do everything. There’s a lot of trial and error when you’re doing it yourselves as we have had to learn what works and what doesn’t. The biggest obstacle is probably shooting and editing the music videos ourselves. We’re not filmmakers so it gets tough sometimes!
OSR: Which is your favourite single on PIN and why?
Jarrod: ‘Power Hungry’ is not only my favourite single but it’s my favourite from the whole album. I love the groove in the verses and when we hit the chorus there’s a darker drive that really changes the tone of the song.
Louis: ‘Shark’ is my favourite single that has been released as it’s super-energetic, the riff is gritty and it hits hard. I also love the colour schemes in the music video and I learnt a lot from directing it.
Sarah: My favourite single would probably be ‘Power Hungry’ as well! I especially love the production of it. There’s actually two separate drum takes panned to each side in the first verse to give it a bigger sound. I got the idea from a Fugazi song! I also directed the music video for the song and it was super fun to film and edit (usually editing isn’t fun but this was)! We had a lot of fun with the video concept as you could probably tell.
OSR: What is the best review you have ever received?
The Violet Stones: “Delivered with might, this one stings a bit, but in a good way” – Declan Byrne (Triple J Presenter) on ‘Shark’
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
The Violet Stones: We hope people can take their own interpretations and meanings from the songs, as well as being more comfortable with uncomfortable topics such as mental health and society’s standards and not fitting in with them.
OSR: What is your favourite meal?
Louis: Supreme Pizza.
Sarah: Any form of potato!
Jarrod: Lasagne.
OSR: What is the most mischievous thing you have ever done?
The Violet Stones: When we practice we sometimes play in the wrong key or play out of time to throw each other off.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
The Violet Stones: Thanks to everyone who has supported us! We have merch available with our new album and watch out for an album launch in Sydney soon!
Thanks so much to Sarah, Jarrod and Louis for speaking with us. For more from The Violet Stones check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
