Chatting to Jetty Bones is like catching up with that best friend, who while you may not see or speak to them as much as you should, when you do it’s like you were never even apart. Spending most of her time writing and recording Jetty Bone’s aka Kelc Galluzzo tells us that she’s pretty much got her next four records sorted having written that much… but before that happens we wanted to find out more about her brand-new album, Push Back, which is out on Friday 26th February.
With a background in the more hardcore and pop punk music scenes, quoting Blink 182 as the reason she picked up an instrument and a big love for Celion Dion, it’s hard to put Jetty Bone’s music into words – it’s fresh, it’s bouncy, it’s emotional and totally honest – it’s everything you didn’t know you needed in your life until you hear it.
Before diving into the album Kelc apologises for what might be about to come “the new record has a lot of really depressing content…” she says, as she recalls a tweet posted earlier that day apologising to every interviewer for “depressing the hell out of you” when talking about the new record. But that’s not quite how this interview goes, if anything it left us feeling inspired and empowered.
“THERE’S A CLEAR MESSAGE AND A CLEAR THEME I WANT PEOPLE TO GET FROM IT. IT’S THE FIRST TIME I’VE DONE THAT.“
Commenting on how it feels putting out such a personal record, she tells us “I was a little nervous about the content, but I knew I had time to prepare for it, then I had a lot of time to prepare for it, so I felt like I had to curb my excitement about the record, then I started having to do press and write ups for the label about the record and that’s when I started feeling nervous, not just because of sharing something that is really vulnerable and close to me, but also because I don’t want people to take it the wrong way.
“I’ve always tried to write music that leaves some room for interpretation so everybody can connect with it on a very personal level, but in their own way. And I think this record doesn’t really have as much of that. There’s a clear message and a clear theme I want people to get from it. It’s the first time I’ve done that.”
One of the most personal songs on the album is Bug Life, which Kelc wrote as a suicide note five years ago. When asked how important it was to include a song that was never intended for people to hear, on the record, she replied, “sharing it at this point in the project seemed really important, because I want to make sure people understand where I’m coming from. It’s really easy to look at somebody who talks about mental health and talks about recovery and candy coats, their existence and their struggles.
“So I felt like it was important to include this because the whole point of the record is to bring people down to where I was and where I happened and the things that I struggle with, so that I am a little more human to them, I guess, which is a weird concept. I think the more I say I wanted to humanise myself with this record, the more it becomes apparent to me, that me feeling like the music industry has dehumanised me was really just a side effect of my depression, lying to me. So it’s been interesting, even releasing this record is kind of a recovery process in itself.”
“A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT I’M WRITING ABOUT, IT’S STUFF THAT I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO TALK TO PEOPLE, EVEN AS AN ALMOST 29 YEAR OLD WOMAN“
Jetty Bones is very honest and open and is a strong advocate for mental health. “Music has definitely been an outlet for me. A lot of the stuff that I’m writing about, it’s stuff that I can’t figure out how to talk to people, even as an almost 29 year old woman, I sometimes will default to writing a song about something and sending it to someone instead of just having a phone call with them.”
If you find yourself struggling, don’t suffer alone and always seek help. Kelc offers this advice, “I always try to think of it as when you’re depressed, when you’re in a really dark place you kind of feel like you’re drowning, or like you’re sinking. But if you don’t reach your hand up, nobody can grab onto it…you have to extend yourself a little bit first and that’s scary...I still actively struggle with asking for help, I mean that’s kind of what the whole record is about, you know me encouraging, me feeling fraudulent because I encourage people to be vulnerable and reach out, and I do that because I have a hard time with it and that’s the same encouragement I need from other people, I guess.”
Push Back was produced by John Fields who has worked with the likes of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. Kelc says that John brought the structure that she needed, “this was the first record where I wrote, recorded demo and all the songs completely by myself, and then went to the studio with just a producer. So he essentially functioned as a grounding bandmate. You know, he is an absolute genius, and I know nothing about music, I just spit it out and find things that sound good, and I communicate, based on how something should feel.
“I can get a little lost in wanting a bunch of crazy sounds and wanting to create like a spacey atmosphere that just evokes feelings. And I think he was really good at finding a middle ground for me where I can communicate the same things, and they can still be just as powerful, but a little bit more palatable.”
Although she might not believe it herself, Kelc has created a punchy yet honest and emotional album that she should be proud of and those who have supported her have also played their part. “I think the support I’ve just gotten over the last couple releases, has made me feel more confident in sharing what I’m actually writing so I think the biggest difference with this release,” she says.
There is some slight ironic humour in the album’s title Push Back as Kelc highlights, “it’s been kind of a journey, since I’ve been sitting on the record for a bit of time…over a year, and I really feel like I cursed myself by naming it Push Back, because we had to keep pushing it back and that irony, it cannot escape me.”
The wait is almost over as Push Back is out February 26th via Rise Records and can be pre-ordered here.
