OLD BONES STILL HAPPY / HAPPY BONES INTERVIEW January 26, 2016 / by John "Stoney" Cannon It seems like a lifetime ago since I first seen the band Happy Bones, rocking now defunct Wrightsboro Road venue Kokopellis during one of the weeks of their regular Tuesday night residency. Over the years members from that period would go on to rock out with some of Augusta's biggest bands including 420 Outback, Shotgun Opera, and Jemani. All the while constant Judge "Woody" Wood breaking out Happy Bones for the occasional gig in between shows as a solo artist and fronting other bands. Ironically, after it looked like Augusta would lose Mr. Wood to the great white Northwest (Washington State), the bluesy vet shifted gears and hit over drive with a multi-tude of talk show videos, shows, and now after all these years, the first official Happy Bones CD. But why take our word for it? Let's get it straight from the Mr. Happy Bones himself! LL - First off, congratulations on the release of your new CD! HB - Thank you brother it's going well. LL - I guess the first think we need to know is - Happy Bones has been gracing Augusta with original music for years, why did it take this long to release an album and why now? HB - Actually it's always came down to money. So it took awhile that's the honest truth. However I think it happened when it was supposed to. LL - Surely in the many years since I first saw you perform with Happy Bones (early Millennium at now defunct Augusta venue Kokopellis) you must have written a tons of songs! How did you decide which songs to record for your album? HB - I wanted to come out guns blazing so some songs are solid audience favorites and some I wrote just for this album "hell hounds" "I am war" "1106" and "just a dream" are newly written. LL - Since those early Kokopellis days what do you think has changed most about Happy Bones and more importantly, about you? HB - I am smarter about the business side of music. The band has grown into a powerhouse of talent. LL - OK jumping forward to current time, you recently filmed a live concert at Green Light Studios. In what way, if any, does that filming tie in with your CD release? HB - I'm offering a U.S.B. drive with full CD, all art work, concert included and two bonus tracks I co-wrote with Benjamin Isaac. LL - It has been noticeable how much you have kicked up the promotion. New album, website, videos. Must be exhausting after years of mainly just grooving live on stage. How have you been dealing with the extra work? Do you ever stop and think "man I miss just jamming on stage and not having to think about the extra stuff?" HB - Yes I do very much. I used to think that if your talent was strong enough someone would come along and do the business part for me. Those days are gone. So I decided to take the bull by the horns. LL - So surely after all of the work you've put in, you have to have more stuff planned. Any hints? HB - Going back in the studio in febuary. I have about 50 or so songs I need to get on record. The plan is to keep em coming until I'm done, as in dead. LL - Where can peeps grab a copy of the CD? HB - Metro coffee house have a few copies and so does the highlander where we will be doing a Carolina release on March 4th. LL - Sweet brother! HB - Thanks for the love brother.