A New Year

Well hello there my friends!

I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season! Us kids in the Honeybone camp had a great time, Drew's sister and Mum and Grandma came to visit, Peter hung out with his sister and I drowned my sorrows in Lindauer (NZ wine ftw) to stave off the homesickness. It was a pretty top notch holiday season had all round, made all the more raucous thanks to our very first Australian New Year, jello shots and all.

Things have been busy as bees in the Honeybone House. We've already played this year at a great venue by the name of Bar Open with some great bands including Son of Set, whose drummer Tom sat next to me at my office job for a small while. Everyone were great, and there was even a mirror on the roof so everyone could see my mad drum skillz (too bad I didn't wear a lowcut top). I also broke a drumstick (badass) and didn't have a spare one. Rock 'n' roll indeed.

While still getting over the starstroke (starstrike?) of hanging out with The Datsuns last month (see last blog), we've been getting our shit together. This even included having a meeting about getting our shit together. Productive indeed. Our amazing business manager Ash sussed us  an ABN, so we can invoice people when we play, so now we also have to be all responsible and pay taxes. Honeybone is now all Grown Up. We've been doing heaps of overdubs for the album, and are on the lookout for recording studios to get the other 5 tracks recorded. If anyone knows somewhere good/affordable, let us know and we'll... I don't know.... bake you a cake or something. I can bake stuff because I am a Woman and Good At Life.

Upcoming in the Honeybone camp is a gig this weekend, playing at the wonderful venue Empress Hotel. The great part about playing here is that it's RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD from our house. Convenient! What may not be so convenient is that when I emailed their booker for a gig a few months ago, they knocked me back because we 'looked too loud'. I have a feeling it has something to do with this picture we had recently posted on our facebook:

They ALL go to 11!

They have a limit of 100 decibels, as they are in a residential area, so hopefully the boys control their toys.

(By the way I wasn't being sarcastic about this venue being wonderful, we've had some great nights there, it being our local and all).

We're playing with some great bands (headliners are City Sound) and we're on at 9pm, nice and early if you have to head to a party or something else like that (I don't really know... whatever normal people do on a Saturday night), so you can still catch our set. It's $6 entry also. Nice and cheap for all those on a budget.

We also had our first experience of Australia Day this last weekend, and I think I'm still recovering (nb. more jello shots were had). Here's a cute wee pic Tash the Jello Shot Queen took of us.

The Aussies put an Australian Flag on Drews forehead.

Rightyho Joe it's time to practice our slightly quieter set for Saturday.

See yas there peeps
xxx

Happy Holidays from Honeybone

Hey guys

The time of year has come to wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season. We've been rather busy in the Honeybone camp, with two of our fav bands playing within one week of each other, we're a bit worse for wear. Not too tired to write an entertaining blog however. Lucky for you.

On Friday, 14th Dec we headed down to the Espy in St. Kilda to see Shihad rock the Gershwin Room. This was the first gig we've been to there (apart from playing there ourselves), and the Espy really lived up to it's reputation. One thing I was quite excited/shocked to see when we arrived was the lack of crowd barriers before the stage. This was the first Shihad gig I'd been to (and I've been to about 7 or 8 now) where I was being pushed right up onto the stage and hanging onto the foldbacks so I didn't lose my place. Fucking awesome. Shihad rocked, and they played 20 songs (I know, because I got the bass player's setlist). My knees got all kinds of banged up, and I shook Karl and Jon's hands. No biggie.

That's Karl the bass player behind Drew.

We took another week to recover, then went back down to the Espy to see THE DATSUNS (one of our main influences and fav bands eva) play for FREE two nights in a row in the front bar. Wicked awesome tastic gigs they were indeed. On the first night, some guy tried to take my place in the front and I ended up ripping his shirt in two to get my place back. Sorry bro, if you're reading, but I'm like some crazy bitch when someone tries to take my spot. Don't, you know, mess with me, or whatever.

Drew brought his 'Death Rattle Fuzz' pedal along to the show on Thursday (which is a custom pedal made by Christian, gat player for Datsuns, it's the same fuzz they used on the new album) and was hoping to get it signed. We hung out for a bit after the show then casually walked up the stairs into the band's green room.

Drew and Dolf - lead vox and bass

Dolf and myself. Best pic ever in my opinion.

We got our stuff signed and had a wee chat, it was pretty cool. The next night (after about 2 hours sleep) we headed back down to St. Kilda to do it again. The Datsuns played amazingly again (even though half of them had food poisoning), and the crowd was incredible. I didn't stay up the front again, my poor knees couldn't handle the jandle and I didn't want to ruin another guys shirt. I snuck round the side and I had this awesome view:

Spot Drew

These two Datsun's gigs and the Shihad one were probably the best gigs I've been to all year. What a way to end 2012.

From all of us here at Honeybone, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Night of Idgaff (where everyone gave a flying..)

Thursday night the 22nd of November was EPIC!

We played at Idgaff bar, which I'm sure you all know is an acronym for 'I Don't Give A Flying Fuck', or my other favourite 'I Drink Goon And French Fries'. It's either one or the another...

The venue was dirty, the crowd was drunk and all the bands were wicked cool. We had Polygasm and The Naysayers on the bill with us, and they were both incred. Please check these two bands out, they are both destined for greatness. Polygasm also did a mega-jam and got their mates get up and play (they even did a drummer-swap) and Drew got to jam with them. So. Much. Fun.

Drew jams

Polygasm's facebook is here.

The Naysayers facebook is here

Check em out mother'uckers.

We finally remembered to bring the t-shirts we printed last year to the gig, and half-way through our set I dumped them on the front of the stage and watched the crowd go nuts for free t-shirts. Everyone immediately put them on, and suddenly we had a Honeybone Army. It was probably the coolest moment in Honeybone's career.

Totes Amaze, Kels^

We even got paid. Which was nice, and slightly unexpected. Oh yeah, and I did a drum solo, which was okay too.

We also unveiled a new song that I wrote a few weeks ago. I don't often write for Honeybone, so it was very cool when we pulled it off. The song is called 'Talk Back Baby' and is a duet between Drew and I, basically having a fight onstage. Unfortunately I still have to play drums so we can't make the fight physical, but it's still a cool song. Who knows, we may play it again at our next gig...


Which is:

23 Angles of Attack and Honeybone at the ROCHESTER CASTLE! Our good mate Tash's favourite watering hole, the Rochy is a perfect blend of $5 shots, hipstery cool kids and good tunes. We went there one Friday night and if you took a photo of the dance floor, it would have seemed like any other bar. Except they were dancing to Nine Inch Nails, the Rolling Stones and Joy Division.

It's this coming Thursday the 29th of November, come on down for a good time!

Facebook event is here

xxx

Competition!!!

Hey guys

We posted this on our facebook page the other day, but I thought I would make it just that extra bit more official and post a blog.

As you might know, we have a gig on Thursday night at Idgaff Bar on Hoddle Street. The lineup is sussed (Naysayers and Polygasm), the sound guy is booked and the posters are up. So, the competition is thus:

The deal: We spent the weekend doing a 'ninja-style' poster run with the help of our amazing mates, Paul and Ashleigh. We went round shops and (in the midnight hours) postered up quite a few lamp-posts around Brunswick/Carlton/Fitzroy/Northcote. We reckon we put up HEAPS, so hopefully some people should see them, right?

We want YOU to let us know if you've seen a poster round! So, the first person to post a picture of a coloured copy of the gig poster on our facebook page, we'll BUY YOU A DRINK at the gig, AND give you a free Honeybone t-shirt.

There are posters up in Melbourne CBD, Fitzroy, Carlton, Brunswick and Northcote!

Here's a pic of what you're looking for:

We're also unveiling a NEW SONG, so don't miss this gig, it's going to be wicked cool!

xxx

A Much Needed Update

Holy shitballs

I'm not even going to bother apologising, as I've done that many a time before, and I will never be a regular blog poster, unless I get mega rich and can quit my job.

(But I am still sorry).

I have so much so tell you all about, let's start with the least recent.

Don't worry, it won't be THAT long

Most of you will already know this (as our friends/facebook fans), but I know you want to hear this story again. It's classic. In the last blog I told you (in a rather excited fashion) that we had purchased a van. I should not have been so excited. When we bought it, the guy (holding back on using stronger language here) said 'you will not have to spend another cent', as he'd sussed the road worthy cert and registration etc.

I should have smelt the pungent aroma of underwear burning, because his pants were DEFINITELY on fire.

Drew, Peter and I are not what you would call 'motoring enthusiasts' (which is ironic since I work at a car leasing company). Needless to say, we didn't notice much wrong with the van until it stopped completely. Which is a hilarious story...

One Saturday morning Drew and I decided to drive out to Bunnings in Coburg to grab a trolley to put amps and heavy stuff on. We had a practice room booked for that afternoon and thought it would be a great time-saver. I should also mention this was AFL Grand Final Day, which is really, really huge for Melbourne. On the way to the practice space from Bunnings, we thought it would be grand to drive down Sydney Road. While plodding through the 5km an hour traffic, Drew and I began to get light headed from the fumes leaking through the engine into the cab. Then the van began to smoke. People were looking. I was beginning to feel faint so we turned down a side street so we could get some fresh air (the van's temperature gauge was so far to the right it looked painful). We missed the turn off to the practice room so Drew did a U-Turn. After we got onto the right side of the road, the van died...

Long story short, we figured out how to access the engine, discovered there was no water or oil and had to pay $30 to cancel practice. We let the engine cool down for a couple of hours and bought water and oil from a service station. Then we managed to drive the van home.

So Drew took the van to the mechanic. We figured it was an oil leak, nothing major, maybe about $200 to fix. The final bill: $1350.

Yep. Anyone who knows me well can imagine my reaction to that news. Let's just say I didn't find the entire contents of my handbag for a few weeks (because I threw it lulz).We had screwed spark plugs, majorly cracked radiator hoses, one buggered cylinder etc etc. In a simpler time I wouldn't have known what any of what I just said meant (and I envy all who don't, because you probably have more money than me).

However, we managed to scrap the money together and get our van back (after reverting back to our old trick of taxi-ing to gigs we had for two week), and now she runs smooth.

I'm super happy, cause taking gear on trams like ^this^  SUCKED.

Moral of the story: Don't be a dumbass. That's actually the best I can do (I'm not so hot on morals).

In other news, we have exciting news!

Our amazing friend Ashleigh Dunn is going to be our new business guru/role caller/general awesome help lady! She's going to do heaps of cool stuff for us, like suss an ABN (Australian Business Number) so we can invoice people like pros, she's going to help with ideas for gigs, sort out tax shit and just basically be awesome at life (Ash is a PRO at life. She BAKES THINGS).

That's her on the right, with our other awesome mate Tash. Model-central, am I right?

We also have some gigs coming up, the next one is at Yah Yahs on Smith Street on 15th November (that's next Thursday folks). We be playing with some cool bands, 23 Angles of Attack and The High Drifters. Not sure if there's a door charge... here's the Facebook link. It'll be rad. RAD.

Our next gig is the VERY FIRST gig we've organised and are headlining at. We are playing at Idgaff Bar on Hoddle Street on the 23rd of November with the Naysayers and Polygasm, who are both wicked cool bands that I dig (and you will too). This gig is special for TWO reasons (minus the headlining thing):

1. It is the night before Peter's birthday so we might be playing when the clock hits midnight. I'm calling a 'Let's embarrass Peter and sing Happy Birthday to him' kinda thing (he'll probably hate me for suggesting that. Sorry mate).

2. Two of my FAVOURITE people in the world (except you, my wonderful fan-people) are going to be there! Kelsie Trainor, design-extraordinaire and my twin sister who fucking rocks the entire world, and Alex Meijer, another design extraordinaire and fellow hell-raiser in the Sex Pit flat of 2010. They also bring with them their boyfriend boys, Andy and Kris. Who are also way cool.

SO Melbourne people who want to come to a cool gig AND see/meet someone who looks A LOT LIKE ME... come to Idgaff on the 23rd! (Facebook link here). And also it would be rad if you came to the Yah Yahs one too. We like people to come to all of the gigs.

Best. Poster. Ever.
Thanks to Kelsie Trainor, who is a mega legend 

Single Release/Honeymobile!

It has HAPPENED! Our single from our upcoming album has been RELEASED! You can download it for FREE (I'm so into emphasing words with caps lock) here: www.honeybone.bandcamp.com. Thanks to everyone who's downloaded it so far, and some cool cats like our mate Ryan even gave a wee donation. Fancy that.

Check out the artwork by our good mate Paul Emery:

Paul is amazeballs (I can officially use that word cause it's in the dictionary) and his beautiful GF (and our other very good mate) Ashleigh Dunn was the official 'lighting director' for the 'photoshoot'. She rocked at the lights and stuff. I told Ash she could have a whole paragraph in this blog so there you go. Thanks Ash! (And Paul).

It's terribly exciting that we finally have some new music out. We recorded the main tracks for 'Don't Need You' in Albany Street Studios, Dunedin NZ last year (sometime around July) and we recently reworked some of the vocals and guitar parts in our bedroom here in Melbourne. The b-side 'Down Into My Grave' (acoustic version) was recorded by Drew and I on a cold rainy Saturday night in our lounge. We used my new AKG kick mic to mic our feet stamping the floor and the 12 string acoustic Drew bought not long after we moved here. It's so much fun to play, it works both in an acoustic and non-acoustic setting. We played it at our most recent gig in Footscray, and people seemed to enjoy it. That's always nice. Look out for it at our next gigs!

In other news...

Drew and I are now the proud owners of a Toyota Hiace 2000!! Drew picked it up on Friday night and apparantly ended up driving through the city at 7.30pm as he missed the turn off to Punt Road. I can only imagine the hilarity that would have ensued, but alas I was in Wellington, NZ getting some much needed company from my wicked cool twin sister Kelsie. Now we can finally bring our own gear to gigs and I get to play my drums! I haven't played them since February which is a little bit ridiculous and if they had feelings like real people, I'm sure they would be a bit hurt at the neglect.

Here are some photos of the Honeymobile:

Drew is Proud

It's got fish on it...

Back of the Van 

It's absolutely unbelievably amazing these two large events happened on the same day. I have never owned a car before so it's a bit surreal. Needless to say there's going to be some awesome times ahead!

On another note, thanks to everyone who's read my post 'A Strongly Worded Blog'. I've had some great feedback and there are so many bands out there who have been stung by these types of gigs before. It's so awesome to see everyone sticking together and supporting each other in this! Cheers!

xxx

Things are Happening

Hey guys

Just thought I'd post up a wee update about how things are looking in the Honeybone world. Sooo much has been happening lately it's been hard to get any time to sit down at my disgusting dirty laptop and write something of interest.

We've played a couple of awesome gigs recently, and been to a few more. Highlight of the last month? THIS:

Yep, that is Drew and I in the front bottom left (I'm the fangirl with my arms out like a tard). Yes that is Karl and Jon from Shihad. They ROCKED the Hifi on Thursday night and I am now unable to move my neck much as I am a total bogan and have whiplash from too much headbanging. Rock 'n' Roll.

We had a band meeting (slightly interrupted by van-viewing, more on that later) to discuss the new album. Basically, we had to decide which songs we were keeping, which to scrap and what needed done/redone. I think I posted last year when we recorded in the 'big kids' room of Albany Street Studios in Dunedin? We recorded five songs in a live setting, bass, drums and guitars all at the same time. One of these songs was 'Espionage', our 10-11 minute epic prog jam. We listened back to the recordings the other day and unfortunately, only ONE of these songs is worth keeping (and it isn't Espionage). I'm gutted, because we got such a good sound out of that studio (plus the kit I played was worth a LOT and sounded wicked cool). But we really want to put out a record that is fucking awesome, and if we put out something that is average, we will be kicking ourselves in a year or so (plus it's not really fair of us to ask you for money for a product that isn't as good as it could be).

The impact of this decision means we won't be releasing the album for another couple of months, so just sit tight you pretty little things, once it's done it's going to be FUCKING EPIC.

Meanwhile, we've been redoing as much as we can without going to a studio (recording guitars,bass and vocals is pretty easy in our pokey wee flat). We're also working on a few new songs, and reworking old ones.

ALSO we're currently working with our good friend Paul Emery on the design of the 'cover' for the our upcoming single. He is a rockin' cool guy, and he's come up with a wicked concept. While we're on the subject, if anyone has an SLR camera we can borrow to take pics for the cover, Honeybone will be so happy we'll do any kind of favours in return.

We also have almost bought a van, which is super exciting! We'll be able to play shows with OUR OWN GEAR! Which means I get to play my kit which I haven't played since February. It must be missing me, the poor thing. We'll have enough money to pick it up next weekend, and I'll post a pretty picture of the Honeymobile once I get back from my weekend in Wellington.

Tonight we are playing a gig in the city at a place called DV8 and it's going to be awesome so I suggest to all the Melbourne peeps that you get yo asses down there! I hear there's cheap booze also. We're headlining, so we'll be on around 11.30. And then tomorrow we are playing in Footscray at The Reverend Hotel with some AWESOME bands by the names of Children Overboard and The Perfections. I have already had a total fangirl moment on this blog about Children Overboard (see blog: Band Love), and now allow me to have a fangirl moment about The Perfections.

Errrrmehhhhgerrrrd Therr Perrfeshehhrrns Err Sehrrr Errsehrrm!

They are seriously, if you were humming and ha-ing about coming to tomorrows gig just to see us, they will make it totally worth your while. Soul, horn sections, a totally babe'in front woman and wicked cool grooves.            

And it's FREE. What more could you want!?! So there you have it, tonight at DV8, doors at 10pm. Tomorrow at the Reverend Hotel, doors at 3pm.

xxx