Diggin' Indie-Rock Band Dinosaur Bones

Toronto indie-rockers Dinosaur Bones talk to Youthink before setting out on their cross-Canada tour.

With the ink still drying on their debut album, My Divider, indie-rock artists Dinosaur Bones hit the road for a cross-Canada tour with record label mates Tokyo Police Club. Relatively new to the music scene, Dinosaur Bones has made quick work of establishing itself as a band with both musical talent and the hard work and dedication to back it up. Originating in Toronto, the quintet hasn’t settled for a stereotypical indie vibe but has instead created its own definitive sound, described by vocalist Ben Fox as, “halfway between Radiohead and The Strokes.”


Luckily for Youthink both Fox and bassist Branko Scekic were able to take some time out of their busy tour schedule to chat about their album, the tour and the band’s future.


YT: You guys are fairly new on the scene, and this is also the first time you’ve been out to Western Canada. For those who don’t know a lot about you, who is Dinosaur Bones?

BS: Just five guys who like to sit in a van. (laughs)

BF: An indie band from Toronto, Ontario, I guess. We’ve been together for about three years and just released our first full-length album. You know, just doing what we can, touring as much as we can to raise awareness for [the album] and kinda get better as a band. 


YT: What were the best memories from putting My Divider together?

BF: Just recording it was a really fun and relaxed experience; we had a lot of time. No labels were involved at the time, so we could really take our time. There was nobody breathing down our necks, so there were no deadlines.


YT: Did you guys do a lot of experimentation?

BF: Absolutely. You know, anything we’ve done previously or even in other bands we’ve been in, it’s always been totally under the gun: go in, track the songs and get out. And this time we had some time to be creative and experiment. I think that really helped how the album turned out.


YT: You guys are now signed to Dine Alone Records, the same label as greatly talented Canadian artists such as City and Colour, the Arkells and Tokyo Police Club. What does that mean to you?

BF: It’s incredible. Dine Alone was kinda of our pipe dream record label. To actually end up there was way beyond what we expected and they have some of the best bands in my opinion in Canada right now. To be in that crop is humbling and exciting.


YT: With so many other indie-rock bands emerging onto the Canadian music scene right now, what do you think sets Dinosaur Bones apart? 

BF: Musically, I think our tone is slightly different than a lot of the bands that we find ourselves playing with. I think we have a slightly more dramatic or melancholic vibe. Maybe, musically, that kind of sets us apart a little bit from a lot of the bands that people associate with indie music, which tend to be poppy and quirky and upbeat, and we’re headed in a little different direction, I think. Also our work ethic... we’re just kind of pushing as hard as we can. We’re all on the same page, just pushing as hard as we can to make this happen.


YT: So do you guys attribute most of your success to your work ethic?

BF: I don’t know. I think it’s a lot of factors. I think a lot of it is that we’ve made good decisions as a band and I think we’ve surrounded ourselves with the right people, like-minded and honest people that we really believe in and believe in us. And that’s really helped us a lot.


YT: Musicians define success differently, whether it’s fame, fans, fortune or other things. What would be the definition of success for Dinosaur Bones?

BS: Being able to do this as a career. I don’t want to be on MTV Cribs or anything like that. We don’t care about money or giant cars… just being able to do this and to say this is my job and not [have people say], “You do this, but what else do you do?”

BF: Longevity is also the white whale I think all artists are after. It’s one thing to make a great record and have people like it and then that’s it. And it’s another thing to actually have a career that you can look back on and actually maintain relevance for an extended period of time. That’s how I’d define success.