BLOG #20!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so according to my 'blogger dashboard' this is blog post #20. How did that happen?

Where did the time go?

When I started this wee blog to promote the awesomeness of Honeybone (lol), I thought to myself: 'Yeah, I'll probably write 5 or so posts and get bored and forget about it'.

Well I proved myself wrong didn't I? In your face, me!

Things are looking up on the Honeybone front. We have over 700 fans on facebook, so it's only another 300 until we can apply for a NZ on Air grant.

Those guys sure can pick 'em. 

As I mentioned in my last post, we have recently parted ways with Joshua (guitarist extraordinaire). We played our first gig as a three piece on Thursday in Invercargill. We were a felt some trepidation towards the gig, as the last time we played in Invercargill (see blog: First Taste Of Tour), we didn't have much of a crowd and twas a rather large cavernous venue.

Not this time! We played at a bar called Tillermans, which I understand has been recently renovated. What a mean wee place! It's a perfect size for a band like us (could probably hold 150-200), and the decor was gorgeous! Of course only a girly girl like me would care about that sort of thing but there you go. 

We drove down and arrived around 9.30. We couldn't believe our eyes (and luck) when we reached the top of the stairs and found Tillerman's to be rather full with lots of cool, alty, pierced people. Not a hipster to be seen. All I could think was that had it been in Dunedin, the only people there at that time of night would be the bar/security staff casually shooting up some pool.

It was a wicked gig. We went on second, and had a heap of fun playing the random wee stage with massive drum riser. Drum risers are where it's at. We could only stay for the band after us, as we had to drive back to Dunedin that night. Phoney Dog were up next and were fucking AWESOME! What an amazing bunch of talented young studs. Check them out on facebook. We missed the other ones, sadly as we had to boost it back to Dunedin cause we had class the next day.

It's ok, cause every time we get into a car it magically turns into the Mirth Mobile 

Drew has been a busy wee bee in the mixing department, and we have a little taster to get ya'll excited about the album.

Check it out:

And that's the way the cookie crumbles.
xxx

Ch-Ch-Changes

Again, I begin my blog and apologise to my fanatic readers (lol) that I haven't blogged in a while. Almost a month in fact.

You might think I've been far too busy following the Rugby World Cup to write in some silly little blog about a silly little band.

Well YOU'RE WRONG!

No no, dear friends, I am not that way inclined. However, I have managed to manipulate this event of which I have no opinion whatsoever, into a profit venture. The massive influx of the English, Argentian, Romanian and other such sports tourists have increased demand for entertainment. Therefore, Honeybone get gigs! Plus that other band I sing in. I have been singing/drumming my ass off during the last few weeks, so that's my attempt at an excuse as to why I have not graced the blogosphere for so long.

So Honeybone has had quite the month of madness. For those of ya'll who don't have facebook (I commend you), we have parted ways with our guitarist, the ever sensual Joshua Simons. This is not due to any hatin', we still love him like our own. Check out his other band, Hunting Bears, they're loads of fun.

Due to this change in lineup, we have decided not to release the album when we were planning to (November 11). We were running out of time, and we didn't want to rush something that could be the most awesome thing us younguns have ever achieved.

In the words of MJ, we're going to 'let it simmer'

In other news, that is one mean gold suit.

But that doesn't mean we won't be releasing anything, we couldn't do that to Flo and Ryan (#1 fans and drinking buddies). Keep an eye out for some sort of web released single, it will blow your mind.

Meanwhile, Honeybone while be playing a gig in Invercargill at Tillerman's Bar on Thursday 29th Sept with a bunch of cool bands like Phoney Dog, among others.

Come along, Invervegas is where it's at.
xxx

First Taste of Tour

Well folks, last week twas a busy one for us wee Honeyboners.

On the weekend before, we recorded drums for the new album, and I nailed all 6 songs in one day. BOOM. Don't worry though, we have more songs to record, but we're going to do those live in the main studio at Albany Street. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all devoted to recording bass and guitars for the same 6 songs I laid down. We didn't have much time. It was intense.

This is what Drew looked like after 5 continuous days in the Studio. Except maybe the costume.

What didn't help matters was that we had to be at a soundcheck for our Pint Night gig at Refuel at 4pm on Wednesday. The pressure was on.

Luckily most of us are used to procrastination resulting in last minute essays and assignments, so of course, we were in our element. 'Tis the only way to work, if you're useless rock musicians like us folk.

So we got all the tracks down for 6 of the songs that are appearing on our album, except for vocals. It was an amazing thing. And we were on time for soundcheck (for once), and we played a kick ass gig with Osmium and Seaward!

That was a fun night, considering I hadn't been to a P*nt Night all year (shame on me!). Might have something to do with me becoming a partial square and having an office job. Whoops.

I typed 'office girl' into google images, and this came up. I wish!

On Thursday the 25th, we had our first gig with Luger Boa and Black River Drive at Revolver in Queenstown. What a night! Not much of a crowd, but the guys in both bands are so much fun to hang out with, that it was like our own wee private party. I wasn't too sure what to expect, as some bands who are a bit famous can be rather wanky about their success.

Fuck you support band! Fuck you soundman! Fuck you audience, I'm an ARTISTE!

I hear the Dunedin gig with Made In China made up for the poor attendance in Queenstown, so that was pretty cool. We played with the guys again in Invercargill and that was also one hell of an experience.

We played at a rather early 8.30, because the rugby was on and the manager man was worried about it affecting attendance (only in NZ). We played to a few people who were dancing (one guy in particular had ALL the moves), and a bunch of people sitting down on the couches, who nevertheless seemed to enjoy our performance. The crowd doubled in size for the other bands, which was fair enough because they are a bit like L&P.

The Moa flowed from the fridge in the backstage area into our mouths. Clothes came off. Wigs went on. A shot called the 'Dirty Wizard' was chopped down throats like water.The police came and took away Mike for having an empty bottle in the street. Ahhhh Invercargill, you were an experience. Just the local 24 was an experience in itself, as one ginger haired youngster tried to fight the cashier for 'being cool'.

Hollywood version

Awesome.

We had an awesome time with Luger Boa and Black River Drive, and I have even added some of the guys on Facebook. Peter had one hell of a 'greasy-fuck' (his word for a burger meal from Maccas) in Queenstown. Invercargill was an entire Greasy Fuck.

We will be back, Invercargill and Queenstown,

Watch out.

McSlacker

Hello my pretties.

It has been a month since my last post. I officially give you all permission to smack me round the head and call me a McSlacker. But only figuratively, I like the shape of my head at the moment.

Or you could buy me this T-Shirt. I wouldn't get a lot done whilst wearing it though.

So we've got some exciting stuff going on right now. This weekend we are recording drums for the album, which means I need to get my a into g and come up with some good drum parts. We've also had some t-shirts printed, designed by the amazing up-and-coming designer Kelsie Trainor. She is my twin sister and totally rocks (email me if you want a tshirt, my address is at the bottom of the page. Now you have to read all my blog hahaha).

Also, we have a few gigs up our sleeves including a mini South Island tour, which came about completely by accident. Dates are:

Wednesday 24th August (P#$T Night): Refuel w/ Osmium, Seaward and Foxy Rockettes Burlesque
Thursday 25th August: Revolver, Queenstown opening for Luger Boa and Black River Drive
Saturday 27th August: Saints and Sinners, Invercargill opening for Luger Boa and Black River Drive.

Poster for Wed gig.

Isn't that exciting. We're also co-hosting Refuel's Open Mic Night with 'The Great Jali' on Monday 22nd August. We were supposed to do that this week, but the snow kind of ruined our plans. But I don't really mind, because snow is AWESOME!

Another recent happening that has got me all tingly inside is our new website: www.honeybonemusic.com. We also have awesome new email addresses, which makes me feel like a cool kid because lately I've had to use the email address I had when I was 11... oh yes, a hotmail account.

Email this guy at mikaz-hot4u69@hotmail.com

I think everyone had a pretty cringe worthy hotmail account when they were younguns. I'm sure some of you still use them. Mine wasn't exactly original or cool, so I'm pretty stoked at my new email address.
Email me: rachel@honeybonemusic.com

Totes Profesh.

Band Meeting

On Monday night, Honeybone had a Band Meeting.

Unfortunately for us, Honeybone meetings don't involve as much humour as Brett and Jermaine's meetings. Unless Peter is having a particularly stellar night with his 'Dad' like puns. 

Nevertheless we had a band meeting. And it was productive! Our band meetings are never usually productive, as the boys often start talking about the latest gear they've aquired and how it sounds so much better than that other amp they only bought last week. I don't really care about gear, my drumkit makes a noise like a drumkit should, and that's good enough for me.

These gals would never have had this problem. Their band meetings would have been super productive.

Our band meeting could also have been called a 'listening party'. We even had red wine, which I accidently had in the fridge. Aren't we just a little bit fancy. We were listening to the demos we recording YONKS ago (see blog post 'The Weekend #2'), and decided whether we needed to change anything. I was the secretary, so I wrote everything down in my handy-dandy notebook.

Honeybone is in the 'Awesome Class'

We came up with some really good stuff for the album, and we're gonna try it on for size at band practice tomorrow night.

Also for you dedicated readers who aren't the facebook type of people, here's an update of our gigs thus far.

July 21st: Refuel w/ Hangman and The Flaming Drivers. 9pm, $5

July 28th: Carousel acoustic gig. More details TBA

August 6th: Dunedin Musicians Club w/ Hunting Bears, Kitten Surprise, Tommy Gunners + More. 7.45pm

August 13th:A United Solidarity Party/Gig at Buller St w/ Kitten Surprise + More TBA. Also Feathers 21st :)

August 24th: Pint Night at Refuel w/ Burlesque girls! and more TBA

August 25th: Support slot for LUGER BOA and BLACK RIVER DRIVE, Revolver, Queenstown!

August 27th: Support slot for LUGER BOA and BLACK RIVER DRIVE, Saints and Sinners, Invercargill

We are total gig whores.

love xxx

The Rambler

So today I realised how I have been hideously neglecting this blog in favour of other, less amusing pursuits. Sorry guys, I even had to log into blogger.com, it had been that long. Wtf mates.

I'm sorry!

So last blog I promised a ramble worthy of being included into the script of "Wedding Crashers', but I did not deliver.
Heres my second attempt.


Whilst walking to various destinations the other day, I decided to give the Foo Fighters new album a listen, as I had only just put it onto my ipod. I fucking LOVE it! With my new pricey headphones the whole thing sounded awesome, and I only had it on half volume so I wouldn't damage my precious earsies.
Gold star to you, Dave Grohl.


But whilst I was listening (whilst is such an awesome word), I remembered a certain Simon Sweetman blog about the Foo Fighters. He said (among other things) this:


'The advance press for the new album focused on how it was back to the sound of The Colour and The Shape'


And then Sweetman said how none of the other Foos albums stands up to it at all, even though he didn't like 'The Colour And The Shape' all that much. (You can read the article here)


Which is ok, because that's his opinion. Luckily for him hundreds of people get to read his stupid opinion everyday.
But that is not the point.
What I was musing whilst walking and listening to 'Wasting Light', was why bands frequently feel the need to tell their fans their new album is going to be like a previous one (usually the one that sold the most copies/is 
most popular with hardcore fans). I do not understand this logic. I am one of the rare forgiving fans.

This girl would love any of the albums Pikachu released...

Lets use an example. From the time I was 13 until I was about 19, Metallica were my favourite band. Now, because I am young in comparison to other Metallica fans, I only became a fan when St. Anger came out. I loved Master of Puppets, but I also equally loved Load and Reload, albums that Metallica's hardcore metal fans were not so keen on. Of course, I hated St. Anger, but that was more because of the drum sound than anything else. The snare is fucking AWFUL in that album. 


Anyway, you see my point. Yes, band's should listen to what their fans/record companies say, but they shouldn't endevour to recreate their past glory and make albums that all sound the same. I think Sweetman would definitely have something to say if he heard a band with 10 albums that sounded like they were all recorded in the same week.


Shihad is another example. I've heard people say 'General Electric is awesome, they should try and make another album that sounds like that!'.
WHY! Why would a band do that, thats just like playing in a covers band and not changing your setlist for 20 years. People eventually get bored of you and move on. This is why Shihad are one of my favourite bands, because each of their albums sound completely different and you can tell that they were at different points in their lives for each one. Magical. 


So that's just one thing I was musing about today. Another was how AWESOME Bohemian Rhapsody is. Pure musical genius! And it's perfect for singalongs. Why, when we were filming the video for All My Sins, we had an impromptu singalong of Bohemian Rhapsody, with every single person at the party singing. Man, it was actually one of the more epic moments of my life. Hamish thought he had the camera rolling but he didn't which was a bit of a shame. 


I talk about this because Drew's 21st was on Saturday night, and we wrapped it up with a 4 person rendition of the Queen hit. It rocked, and made the night pretty much the best party since my own 21st. 


And now here I am, sporting some intense whiplash from headbanging to the rocky part of the song (Waynes World-esque), but it was all worth it.

These guys are cooler, because they did it in the Mirth Mobile

Ramble Like Vince Vaughn

So I hear Vince Vaughn has several mean rambles in 'Wedding Crashers'. Drew recently played a drinking game that involved drinking whenever he rambled (among other things), and got rather drunk. I wish I was there, because it sounded like a fun time. However twas not to be, as I was in Christchurch. Earthquake City, and all that.
Poor bastards. The earthquakes that happened whilst I was up there freaked me out, but those ol' cantabs didn't even notice them. Amazing.

Anway

As usual I was having trouble coming up with a 'subject' so I thought I'd jut write and see where the blog took me. A 'ramble', if you will. There are a few things I would like to tell you about, and I'm going to, and you can't stop me.

Brass Monkey Rally '11 was a pretty sweet shindig. Apart from a slight mishap where my brother crashed his bike on the way up (hes ok though), it went off without a hitch. Well, there were a few hitches. We screwed up a few of the covers we hadn't learnt properly, but we were better than some bands I've seen. Not all bands, but some.
Twas a mild night as well, which definitely helped as usually theres snow/frost on the ground at the Rally so we were very lucky as it barely went past 0 degrees the whole night. Tropical.
And it was the very first gig I've ever played where I didn't put more makeup on. Amazing. Well, I figured since the general crowd looked a little like this:

I didn't really need to get dolled up in my usual fashion to fit in.
When we were setting up, we were getting a few odd look from the crowd standing around the massive bonfire. As Ian (sound-man-extraordinaire), put it,we were made up of a short guy, a cripple, a girl, and 'I don't even know whats going on with you'-guy. So of course the ol' bikers would be feeling a little bit of trepidation when I lugged my kick drum onto the stage (back-of-truck).

Nevertheless, we played an intense 5 and a half hours (with substantial breaks for Drew to rest his leg), to a very appreciative crowd. Money was thrown at us to play longer and longer, and I couldn't walk on my kick-drum foot for about a week afterwards.
Now that's a good gig.
So this wasn't really much of a ramble, but I promise I'll do better next time.
Here some pics of Brass Monkey Rally 2011 :)

Mean Massive Bonfire, this pic doesn't really do it justice as those flames were the size of a two storey house

Stage + Random guy

Josh and Fender

Peter the Bass-Man

Drew + Drunken Crowd (this may have been during Stairway To Heaven)

Crowd

Stairway