LA-based duo HONEYHONEY just released their third full-length release, appropriately titled 3, on June 9th via Rounder Records. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson), 333delivers golden harmonies with a pure musical vibe that is as country influenced in the Americana realm as Sturgil Simpson, Jamey Johnson and select others.
Ben Jaffe and Suzanne Santo have been making music as HoneyHoney for close to a decade. With Santo’s strong lead vocals, banjo, and violin melding together with Jaffe’s soft harmonies and lead guitars. The follow up to 2011’s Billy Jack (named one of the top albums of the year by American Songwriter), III finds the duo paving an adventurous spirit with spooky arrangements that create curiosity and an edge for the listener. While the album finds HONEYHONEY offering their most finely crafted melodies and richly textured sound to date, the band also embodies a loose and scrappy energy drawn out with some help from Cobb. Glide recently got a quick low-down on the new album while HoneyHoney was spending June on the road in support of III.
You two love making music together but when is a duo limiting in terms of playing live and song construction?
As far as songwriting goes the duo thing doesn’t really impact what we do, we like to have a song ready to go before we arrange it. Once we’re happy with the lyrics and the melody we just smush it into whatever instrumentation we have access to. Right now we have a trio which dictates how we approach the songs but really it’s more about the musicians involved than how many people are on stage. We like for the people we play with to bring their personalities to the music rather than just perform parts we have written.
When we do play as a duo it really reveals our strengths and weaknesses and we try and emphasize the former and improve the latter. We really try and focus on dynamics too, that can go a long way.
It was noted that you didn’t overthink the recording of your new album 3 and that “raw” was good – how did that method work for you? What song on the album is a good example of raw working for you?
It was scary and a relief. Easing up on being hyper critical can be really productive. “Sweet Thing” is a pretty raw cut, probably no more than two or three takes of anything on that one. Helps it feel a little ornery.
Looking back – what allowed for the formation of HONEYHONEY and was the sound the band set out to achieve what it is now?
Mutual love of the band Tenacious D is probably the single most formative element of this band. As far as the sound we just want to make sure we like what we’re doing. Always.
What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from the music business?
Similar to other businesses, playing music for a living makes you embrace the importance of collaboration. No one can do any of this on their own and the better we’re able to work and learn from others the better shot any of us has at making something lasting. Something unique about musicianship that informs business is the emphasis on improvisation. Being able to trust our spontaneity helps the business feel alive, that makes for better music too.
What do you most remember about your earliest shows and is there one show in particular that has stood out as transformative in realizing HONEYHONEY is the real deal?
We always had a good closer. No matter how much we blew it throughout a set, we’d finish strong. I think that helped people keep giving us a chance. The turning point show was probably when we won a battle of the bands and Mark McGrath presented us with a novelty sized check for, what we felt at the time, was a small fortune.
What has this process been like in terms of expectations this time around on 3 vs your other two albums?
I’m not sure if we can really list any expectations, per say, but I know what the record means to us and how proud we are with the way it turned out and we can only hope that everyone loves it as much as we do. We are no longer an independent outfit and have had the great fortune of partnering up with Rounder/Concord Records as well as some stellar new management, booking agents and a great publicist. We have a pretty solid team that works very hard with us and vice versa and we’re so grateful to have all of them in our corner.
Do you feel a sense of buzz and interest as your out on the road now supporting 3? How has this round of support for new music been different than the past?
It’s been pretty damn cool to see our tours continue to grow more and more. There has definitely been a momentum of excitement and support from our fans in anticipation for the record. Many of the songs on III have been a part of our set for a long time, but have never been released on a proper recording. The more we headline, the more we have these incredible connections with our fans and it’s truly rewarding to be touring like this and to be able to give our supporters another record that we’re so proud of.
Dave Cobb pretty much turned the careers around of Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson with their latest albums – he has given your new album a sense of anticipation as well. What did he bring to the sessions?
Dave’s the man. He really brought a level of confidence and assurance that we’ve never really had before. He works really fast and doesn’t stop to fixate on the little things, rather focusing on the energy and spirit of the song. He did a really great job of capturing that in a way that truly gives the songs their own identities. He’s the man…
2011’s Billy Jack was a rather brilliant recording but under-appreciated in the big picture and didnt get its true do. As an artist who spends so much time constructing new music and hoping as many people as possible listen – how do you approach a new project in terms of it having to be a success?
Firstly, thanks for the Billy Jack love! That is another record that we hold very dear and hope that any success picked up by 3 will hopefully trickle down to Billy Jack. We approached the marketing and pavement pounding for 3 everything we’ve got. We’ve got these great labels working in tandem, we’re on the road playing shows, visiting radio stations, blogging, social media-ing all over the place, shooting videos, etc. I think it there’s one major lesson we’ve learned over the years, it’s that you can’t just be the artist. We have to do the work on all fronts in order to get this record to where we want it to be. It’s overwhelming, but incredibly gratifying to be involved on the business and marketing ends and we’re pretty pumped about the aces helping get the job done.
Do you have thoughts on other Americana bands – It’s a crowded scene out there with bands playing alternative folk, roots and Americana – where do you see HONEYHONEY fitting in amongst the Mik Carton Kids, Ryan Adams and others?
Man, that’s always been a tough question to answer, as we have a pretty wide ranged menu that we like to snack on. There are so many great bands out there and so many that change shape and sound from record to record. Americana, to us, is kind of an offshoot of folk and roots music, but that term can have a pretty broad range, considering we can go from big drums and screaming electric guitar to acoustic and banjo ballad jams. In that way, I guess we fit in to a lot of different vibes and styles. We really like that though, because there are so many people we want to hang out with and play alongside – look out Kendrick Lamar!
