When Rivers Meet
Taking in Delta blues, classic rock giants and a Meat Loaf tribute band, these rivers run deep.
Like many good ideas, When Rivers Meet began in a pub. Guitarist Aaron Bond and singer/resonator mandolin player Grace Bond met when Aaron was a punter at his local watering hole in Norfolk and Grace was behind the bar pulling pints (when she wasn’t touring with a Meat Loaf tribute). They locked eyes on Grace’s first shift and never looked back.
“It sounds really pukey,” Grace says, grimacing, “but… we knew each other straight away. But Aaron’s not the sort of person who’s gonna chat you up; I got a few texts saying: ‘Y’alright, mate!’”
“Our very first conversation was about Elvis Presley,” Aaron recalls. “And the blues as well; John Lee Hooker’s one of my favourite artists, and Muddy Waters.”
Between them the Bonds cover a generous spread of influences, many of which filter into their debut album We Fly Free, a hooky, dirty mix of flaming Delta licks and Fleetwood Mac-come-White Stripes leanings. Initially their common ground was 1930s blues, but that expanded to classic blues-rock giants such as Cream, Free and Led Zeppelin. Grace also brought Bonnie Raitt to the table, while Aaron came with an arsenal of Guns N’ Roses chops.
For the next five years they played in separate groups, then they got married. It was “about then” that they started writing together, playing with tones until musical sparks began to fly. By 2018 they’d settled on a name. Inspired, they gave up their day jobs and “decided to go for it”, driving across the country to play pubs, festivals and for biker crowds at Hells Angels Christmas parties.
“We bought a van and converted it ourselves so we could tour and… go and play,” they explain. “Find out what people like, write stuff and just see how people react to it”.
Music runs deep for both of them. Aaron was raised on artists including The Beatles, Elvis and Buddy Holly, before joining various rock bands (“covers, mostly”). Grace was learning piano by the age of four, all the while ingesting her father’s Motown and soul records. “And I played flute, saxophone, clarinet,” she says, “and it just evolved. I went into country bands, did backing singing for cover bands and the Meat Loaf tribute. Which led to us.”
So far the potential pitfalls of being in a band with one’s spouse don’t seem to apply. “We do argue – we’re not weird!” Grace says with a laugh. “But we love the same music. Our rule when we’re writing songs is [to each other]: ‘Do you absolutely fucking love it?’ And if you don’t, we’re like: ‘Okay, scrap it.’”
For all their down-to-earth chattiness off stage, on stage they channel the commanding hoodoo of their bluesy heroes, along with their own artful fairy dust. “We want to put on a show,” Aaron says. “We don’t want people to go: ‘Oh, it looks like a rehearsal’ or something. We want it to be an experience.”
We Fly Free is out on November 20 (self-released).
“I’d like to think the album is a bit Bad Company-ish.”