Q&A + New Single: The Honeysticks "Cars"
☆ By Saachi Gupta ☆
REFLECTING THEIR ECLECTIC TASTE AND ABILITY TO DIVE INTO NEW SOUNDS - The Honeysticks enter new territory with their latest single “Cars”. The LA-based band shifts from their Indie sound to a more experimental and relaxed vibe, while keeping that dreamy, comforting feeling to it. With a mainly electronic sound, “Cars” introduces the listener to the band’s ability to step outside their Indie rock box. Even as the band breaks out of their comfort zone, their brilliance remains, ever-present.
The Luna Collective had the pleasure of featuring vocalist Ricky Montgomery in one of our first issues and even host the band for a show in Los Angeles last summer. The Honeysticks continue to grow with each record while fostering a really special and strong bond with their fans. Listen to their new single Cars and read on to learn more about their inspirations during quarantine, how “Cars” came about and more.
LUNA: First things first, how are you all doing? How has quarantine been treating you?
THE HONEYSTICKS: Not gonna lie, it’s been pretty difficult making music during quarantine. BUT we have mostly adapted and are growing as artists as we learn how to navigate a locked down world.
RICKY: I’ve been very fortunate to have a healthy, loving relationship and in many ways quarantine has not affected my day to day life. I’d like to see my family soon, though.
RYAN: Quarintine has been a little rough living alone. Fortunately I adopted a dog named Cleo and she has been keeping me company
BEN: I’m also lonely and having been compensating for a lack of human interaction with growing plants.
LUNA: Sonically, "Cars" explores some different elements than in your previous music. What are some of the main ways you've seen your sound evolve?
THE HONEYSTICKS: You’re not wrong about that! This was a track where we tried not to think too hard, or at all. We dove into autotune for the first time, and really turned up the electronics to a degree we never had before. It was a big learning experience in experimentalism. This track taught us how to treat songs less like abstract ideas and more like pieces of paper to be torn up, chopped up, and stapled back together.
LUNA: Can you share a bit about the creative process behind "Cars"? Any key references?
THE HONEYSTICKS: The song started out as a game of exquisite corpse (poetry version), a game where people write partial sentences on pieces of paper and then pass them to another person to be completed, resulting in random phrases and images. You get some supremely wacky shit at the end of it. The original version of the game was played by surrealist painters. They’d all sit in a circle, take a piece of paper, paint some body parts on it, fold the paper so that the next artist wouldn’t be able to see what they were painting onto, then pass it around until everyone contributed. By the end, you’d have this mangled corpse. This song features multiple parts and time changes, as an ode to the original version of the game.
LUNA: What's been inspiring you lately?
RYAN: I’ve been going on walks, journaling and doodling. It’s so much fun to draw without thinking about it, just put your pen on the paper and see where it goes.
BEN: I am endlessly inspired by the growth of plants and all the bugs and birds that find their way to them. Other than that I’m inspired by the current momentum of progressive ideas and policies.
RICKY: The wellspring of ideas that the new Black Lives Matter wave has sparked is incredible. I’m talking about communism with everybody I know right now, and it seems like the whole fabric of American democracy is changing for good. I can’t wait to see what comes of this.
LUNA: How do you want your music to make your listeners feel during these weird times?
THE HONEYSTICKS: We hope they are able to have fun with this song and not have to think about anything too hard. We could all use a few minutes of mindlessness right now.
LUNA: Why is using your platform to talk about current political issues important to you?
RICKY: I’ve always wanted to be a political artist. The artists who have inspired me have always been outspoken about their political beliefs and have tried to use their platform for the betterment of others. I also think people deserve to know what they’re supporting, and we’d be betraying our fans if we weren’t up front about our beliefs.
BEN: IMO It’s liberating and important to publicly express one’s political beliefs and vote in line with them. If you have a platform, all the more reason to be loud.
RYAN: I’m always a supporter of expression through music, art, twitter, etc. as long as it is presented in a healthy way. But what is also equally important is the ability of the presenter to have an open mind when their ideas or beliefs are challenged, and be able to participate in discourse without shutting out the other’s ideas.
LUNA: Is "Cars" any indication of the direction new music is headed in?
THE HONEYSTICKS: Probably not, we made this song two years ago. It was an outlier even then, although there are some production elements that will probably appear in newer tracks.
LUNA: Are there any plans to tie in a visual side to "Cars"?
THE HONEYSTICKS: Yes! We’re working with our friend the Amazing Elena Flores on visuals ~ they should be available in a couple weeks.
LUNA: I know a lot is in the air right now and it's difficult to plan, but do you have any upcoming goals/plans you'd like to share?
THE HONEYSTICKS: We are working on several songs right now. In a couple months, we should be ready to release a song called “Talk to You.” Other than that, we’re waiting out the storm until we can plan tours again and seeing how we can be creative in the meantime.
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RT @i_D: Ian Kenneth Bird photographs young punks on Polaroid: https://t.co/MKT0tMUqO9 https://t.co/a0tTl12ML5
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RT @AnOtherMagazine: #DreamHome – this isolated idyll in the mountains of Lanzarote 🌵 📸 via Nowness, photography by Clemence Blr 🔁 https://t.co/GUusdxD0cg
