By Davis Mendoza Darusman
Honey Made, an Austin-based genre-blending 9-piece ensemble
Housician Magazine had a groovy time speaking with vocalist Willie Barnes, drummer & vocalist Chris Barnes, and trombonist Donald McDaniel of Honey Made (Best Live Band by Austin Fit Magazine's Best of 2022 Awards)!
Honey Made are coming to Houston this Saturday, June 3rd at the Continental Club - tickets start at $15 and are available for purchase via this link.
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Transcribed Interview:
Davis Mendoza Darusman
Hello and welcome to the Housician Magazine Interviews podcast series! I'm your host and Housician's editor-in-chief, Davis Mendoza Darusman.
Before we begin, I have to disclose a warning to our listeners for today's episode because it may be dangerously funky. If the sweet, sweet sounds of horn sections honey-like smoothness, groovy basslines funking you up, and soulful vocals drawing you to the dance floor sounds good for your soul, but dangerous for your heart, please ask your doctor if listening to this interview is right for you.
Because I'm here today with the incredibly talented band members from the electrifying nine part ensemble, Honey Made, two of which are Houston-native leading brothers! Welcome to the show vocalist Willie Barnes, drummer and vocalist Chris Barnes, and trombonist Donald McDaniel!
Willie Barnes, Chris Barnes, Donald McDaniel
Howdy, thank you!
DMD
Thank y'all so much for joining me today! First, I have to congratulate you all, maybe six months late, but in my mind, never too late for this distinct honor - congrats on being named the Best Live Band by Austin Fit Magazine in their Best of 2022 Awards!
WB, CB & DM
Thank you, thank you!
DMD
That's incredible! And I don't mention this or bring them up to compare or stir the pot, but the other two nominees in this category were: founded in 1993, Grammy nominated indie-rock band and rock radio staples, Spoon; and, founded in 2007, southern soul supergroup, Shinyribs. That's a huge honor, so congrats.
Donald McDaniel
It is, indeed!
DMD
So I have two questions loosely related to each of those bands, but primarily focused on y'all:
Y'all were founded in 2018, which is 25 and 11 years after your fellow nominees were founded respectively. Puns definitely related, but going up against bands like Spoon, did y'all feel like "The Underdog" and maybe have "Hot Thoughts" on if y'all would win, or did you turn those doubts "Inside Out" and think, "Don't You Ever" get down on yourselves and you knew y'all deserved it to begin with?
Chris Barnes
We honestly didn't even know we were nominated!
Willie Barnes
We had no idea.
CB
We had no clue the vote was going on. And we were just in, like, crunch time. We were recording an album, so we really didn't care. But then we got an email, "Hey, you won this!" And we were like, "Cool!"
But then looked and were like, "Damn, we beat Spoon and ShinyRibs?? Man, we must be, like, good or something!"
DB
And I'd add that I think that was the most joyous part of it, that this was not band-initiated at all. It was strictly fan-initiated. So that makes it even more special.
DMD
That's definitely impressive, because you see with a lot of bands, whenever they're nominated for stuff, they get their followers like, "oh, hey, vote [for us]! We're nominated!"
But y'all didn't even know until you won, so you didn't have time to mobilize. But y'all didn't need to mobilize because you had, you know, supporters and fans who voted for y'all right off the bat, from the start. And so that's incredible.
WB
Yeah. We had been busy working and grinding for a minute, especially whenever the pandemic opened, but they wanted to hear some music and they kept asking for it. We just had our nose to the ground, we've been jamming for a while, so we were like, "Oh, shit! For real?" We were just in go-mode.
DMD
But that's what y'all do! I mean, you give them what they want, you know? And I've been listening to y'all's album and latest single and it's incredible. So I'm going to promote the show that y'all have later on in a couple of weeks, but I'll save that for later. I'll say that for the listeners to be excited!
Another connection that y'all had with another nominee, Shinyribs, is that y'all both worked with the legendary Los Lobos rocker, Steve Berlin, to produce your music. Full disclosure, y'all did it first. Here I am stirring the pot again, but you did it before them.
WB, CB & DM
*laughter*
DMD
But Chris, specifically - speaking with the Austin American-Statesman, you joked that Steve Berlin was "like a drill sergeant." He "didn't sugarcoat anything", but he "brought the best out of you." So how did working with Steve impact all of y'all as a band and also individually as musicians during such a formative stage in y'all's career?
CB
Man, we hated every second of it, but everything that came out of it was great. You know, we were younger. Man, we thought we were hot stuff! So, you know, we were like, "solos on everything!" And he'd, like, strip all that out, you know, and really found a way for us to get over time to be the most technical band and just made us like a solid groove band that people can dance to.
All the fluff, you got to cut to fluff out and just, like, focus on the song. And we fought tooth and nail, but eventually he broke us down and we were like, "Okay, well, we'll just write a song." And now that's exactly how we write. You know, he taught us so much, but we fought him. But he definitely won!
WB
Definitely got us to strip everything down, which is cool with me because with our band, we come from a lot of different backgrounds. And so it was all kind of everything mixed together. We just wanted to show off everything. And he definitely taught us to hone it to just the goods and just simplify everything, especially because we have lyrics over everything. So it's like, "Do you want to write songs, or do you want to be this jam band," right?
And it's easier and easier to do, you know what I mean, whenever you just keep it simple. So you just, it was really just a lot of changing of behavior, you know what I'm saying? It may be like a little bit of people letting go or the egos. You know, you're dealing with a huge group of people, you know, so you got to work with that. But, yeah, from what we learned from that has definitely gone to the rest of everything we've done since.
DMD
I like that! Did you have an experience that particularly stood out with you in working on the album, working with Steve?
CB
Yes, it was this song, an instrumental called "Southern Fried Funk," and we looped just the rhythm section - I mean, this is no exaggeration - for about 40 minutes. We looped the chorus to a metronome nonstop. And, like, so much where our keyboard player said, "I started to hallucinate! 'Cuz I was playing the same chords, like, the chords started having colors!"
And when we finally stop, [Steve] was like, "Turn it off! Turn it off," and we were like, "What do you want? What do you want??" And he was like, "I don't know, I'm just not hearing it." He was like, "Play it again," and I said, "We've gotta break," and I stood up and walked out. He was like, "Chris, you good?" I was like, "Yo, don't talk to me right now, dog."
WB, DM & DMD
*laughter*
CB
"I have to go outside!"
And then we all took a break, but we came back in and nailed it. He was like, "That's it!"
DMD
Wow!
WB
Man, we were going crazy. 40 minutes, just looping this same... Man, it was- yeah... But then we came in and knocked it out the park! Whatever he was looking for, he got it out of us. I almost fought him, though. I was upset! I was going crazy.
DMD
Wow! But that really proves, I mean, there was a method to the madness, because 40 minutes...
CB
It was wild, man.
DMD
What about you, Donald? Did you have any major takeaways or learn anything?
WB
Absolutely. I mean, I like what both Chris and Willie said. I mean, what I recall specifically, we were working on the the title track, "Brand New," and we ran it down, recorded the horns, and [Steve] just didn't like the accompaniment at all. He didn't like the arrangement at all. He felt it overstepped the vocals, was too prominent. And just point blank said, "We're not recording this until you come back with new arrangement."
And so we went and worked on it and came back, and he loved that second arrangement! But again, he was making us get out of our comfort zone and hear things in a different way. We thought the arrangement was pretty good, he didn't like it at all. And so it made us, I think, from a horn arrangement standpoint, listen more carefully to how the horn parts fit in with the vocals, and then we stay in our lanes, if you will, right?
DMD
Yeah, and I believe- I can't remember who it was that mentioned this, but keeping egos in check when there's a nine piece ensemble... I mean, you can't really have any one person trying to stand out because that throws off the music, that throws off the groove that y'all are in. Was that something, if that's all right to ask, is that something that you all had to put in your back pocket and, like, put your egos away?
Because, I mean, all of you are incredibly talented musicians coming together with six others. I mean, what, individually, eight others? That must have been, I mean- Y'all started with another band before this, so could you tell me a little bit about how you've molded your personalities in order to mesh with your bandmates?
WB
I mean, first of all, there's a huge age range in our band, so you have different levels of maturity. So people are in different aspects in life, so some, you don't have to deal with as much, as you may have to with another person. So it makes it a little easier.
And then some, you know, it's kind of expected depending on the instruments that they play. Like trumpet players, they are known assholes!
CB, DB & DMD
*laughter*
WB
You know, they just like- They want that attitude. They get- When you hear a marching band, it's like, you know, "You've got a trumpet player personality," you know? You've just got to work with folks.
But we kind of started out, one thing about us is that the band started, you know, like you said, you mentioned the other band, we were first Mama K & The Shades first. So a lot of us up until now, we've been playing with each other for a long time, but we started off as fans of each other. That's how the band kind of start, you know what I'm saying? And then we like to hang out, everything like that. We're a bunch of guys working with- You know, we're a bunch of guys who like each other and we don't mind telling-
If you're a real musician, you're going to be told that you suck, you know, if you've been doing it forever and most of us are classically trained. Pretty much all of us, I believe are trained to play since we were kids, you know? And so from the jump, you've always been told you've got something to work on, "You suck at this," you know, "Go do this better." So that kind of breaks all that down to working with, you know, with that. There's always going to be some give and take with it.
But, you know, luckily we like each other outside of, you know, just in practice and playing this music. It's not the only time we'll hang out with, you know what I'm saying? So that kind of helps out. Of course, you're gonna argue and do your thing like that, but I mean, you've got to talk it out.
We've had some changes over time!
CB, DB & DMD
*laughter*
WB
You know, because of it. But, you know, the core thing within Honey Made is that you're doing it because you love music, one, you're willing to give and take for the song. You know, anybody who comes in is going to have that conversation because it's about the song.
All of us, like I said, we're classically trained. We're used to playing in ensembles. So in ensembles, you know, we come from huge bands, we played in orchestras, a lot of the teachers and stuff like that. So you know, just that training from the jump kind of helps you with that, I believe. Instead of being like a garage band, you know what I'm saying? It's like, "I want to play guitar!" You know, I've been in that situation. It's different.
CB
You find there's way more egos in that situation than ours because where, you know, if you grow up trying to make region band or doing solo and ensemble, UIL stuff in Texas, you know, you get graded from a one to a five. You know, if you get a five, you trash, bro!
WB
And everybody knows! It's, like, right there on the wall! Look at all these trash asses!
CB
Trash, trash, trash, trash! When you get a one, you kind of flex in front of everybody. You're like, "I'm number one in the region, bad boy! We've all done that. So if you come with a part that's just not hitting, we're like, "Hey man, we don't like that." No one's like, "Oh, my mom said I'm perfect!"
WB, DB & DMD
*laughter*
CB
They're just like, "All right, we'll just write something else," and we just move on. Like, "It's just not hitting with the bassline. Write something else," and no one gets offended. We just go, "All right!" Because once you've been told you're a five, you'll be all right, you know?
WB
Yeah, you learn that real early!
CB
Like, "I don't like that." "OK," and then, let's go!
DMD
Donald, do you have anything you'd like to add?
DM
I mean, I think that's one of the best things about our band, is that the egos don't get in the way, in my opinion, most of the time. I mean, every band has some ego, let's be frank about that. But at the same time, I would say more than other bands I've been in, everyone does service to the music and to the band first. And that's what I really like about this band, or one of the things I really like, and it's they give and take and realize that we want to have a good sounding song and everybody has their part to play and yeah, so that's what I like.
DMD
I think that really shines through - y'all's compatibility within the band, your classically trained backgrounds, and your love for the music really shines through in your performances. And I think that's a big part of why y'all were crowned Best Live Band, because y'all aren't afraid to get in the audience and just jam with them or really invite them to be in on the overall vibe.
And so that's that's why I'm very excited for this last question and last setup, because Honey Made will be coming to Houston on June 3rd at the historic Continental Club with the funkalicious Bayou City Funk. It's a Saturday nights as well as National Love Conquers All Day. Didn't know that was a thing. And also National Egg Day!
So could you please tell our audience why it'd be an "egg-cellent" idea to come out on June 3rd at the Continental Club (on Main Street, downtown Houston), either with a loved one on Love Conquers All Day or just to listen to y'all's lovely music? Why should they come on down?
CB
Because it'll get you moving, that's why! You just want to cut loose, have a good time. It's the weekend, baby! It's H-Town. It's all stressful, you know how it is in the big city.
WB
And we're definitely going to show out!
CB
Oh, we're going to show out.
WB
We're going to show out because we're at home. So definitely going to show out, and I would say, come ready to be a part of the show, you know? Like Davis said, come ready. That's what we do!
I would say the main difference between seeing us, you know, and seeing any other band, act, whatever, is that we're not here to be looked at. You know what I'm saying? We're here for you. We're here. We came here to have a good time, for you to enjoy this music that's real music. We're not computer programmed, you know, music - it's something we took time to play and jam with y'all, see how you receive it (most of the time, it's well!), and to have a good time because we all work, we all do this, we come, you know, we need to loosen it up.
That's what, I think, people have forgotten to do, you know? Especially since, you know, everything we just came out of (the pandemic and everything). You know, people forgot how to, you know, reach out and touch. People forgot how to let loose, forgot how to express themselves and things like that, and you know you want to do it, you know what I'm saying?
So you know Honey Made, whenever Honey Made is in the building, that is your time to be you. You know, we have a song called "Be True," and that's what it's about. Just be yourself, now. Don't worry about these other people. You ain't at work, you know?
DM
I would add that, you come to the show because you'll feel better after our show. I think that's a guarantee. After people leave our show, they're smiling, They had a good time, and that's exactly what we're wanting every time we play within audiences. And Willie's right - he and another vocalist, Donald Ford, will draw the audience out, even sometimes when they don't want to be!
WB
When they don't want it!
DM
They don't want it, but eventually they come over and they start smiling, they start dancing and having a good time and that's what we love to see.
DMD
And I think that's why y'all were deservingly crowned as Best Live band, so I think folks are going to be very excited to come out! Before I play y'all out, do y'all have anything else you'd like to say to our listeners?
CB
Just that we'd love to see you coming out the Continental Club. It's going to be a good time.
WB
And look us up! We're at HoneyMadeATX.com, or if you like to do Twitter or Instagram, whatever, @HoneyMadeATX. We're going to be very busy and we have a project coming pretty soon that we're really excited about! But make sure you stay tuned to us.
DM
Yeah, and I'm excited for fans to hear us, but also to play with Bayou City Funk. I think it's going to be a great lineup and a great evening all around.
CB
And here in Austin, people say, "People in Houston don't know how to dance!" That is a saying amongst the bands. Prove them wrong, y'all! I'm coming home - prove them wrong!
DMD
Love that! If there's anything that Houstonians will do, it's that we'll take a challenge and we'll turn it on its head!
WB
Swang on through that thang, let's go!
DMD
*laughter*
Well, Willie Barnes, Chris Barnes, and Donald McDaniel of Honey Made - congrats again on being named “Best Live Band” in 2022, and we’re all excited to see the great things y’all will do in 2023! Thank you for your time and thank you for joining us on the Housician Magazine Interviews podcast series!
WB, CB & DM
Thank you!