The Honey Pies Round Two - INTERVIEW

A few weeks back we wrote up the Australian group The Honey Pies on our Postcards feature. My stereo has seen a lot of play of their new release Coconuts over the past few weeks and I am sure my neighbors are tiring of the repetition. We caught up with Jon Marco of the Honey Pies for an interview this past week. Check the interview below in addition to grabbing the new album. For consumption below are the two last tracks off the record, "Times New Roman" and "Huckleberries."

The Interview

Bochi Crew:First off, thanks for doing the interview with Bochi Crew, we are big fans!

The Honey Pies:Thank you for having me. I’m going to throw in a token “G’day” so I sound really Australian. G’day!

BC:You guys just released your new album, “Coconuts,” what was the driving force behind the album, was there something in particular you were trying to convey or put out there?

HP:Weren’t trying to do much more than put out a dozen songs. As for a driving force, I’m not sure if there’s any good reason to do what we’re doing. I just don’t know what else to do.

BC:After several listens through the album it appears the album covers a variety of musical styles. For instance, “Nietzche” reminds me a lot of Albert Hammond Jr. and the Strokes while “Shadowplay” is much more reminiscent of what I would call surfer rock and still yet, “I'm the One You Want” brings out a much grungier side. Was this a conscious effort or goal for you guys to have this evolving sound?

HP:It’s actually the other way around. I try really, really hard to keep the album’s as cohesive as I can, fighting against my short attention span. If I didn’t fight it, they would be all over the place. Maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe you have a short attention span like me.

BC:Think I am with you on the attention span. Saw there was a release party for “Coconuts” in Adelaide a few weeks back. How did the release go?

HP:We played abnormally well and the crowd were great, but I felt a little off all night. We had a few hiccups leading up to the show and I was a little stressed perhaps. Did you ever throw a party and you spend the whole time hoping everyone is having an alright time? It’s a little like that.

BC:I definitely feel that. I really enjoy that the new album is a soundtrack for a film that doesn't exist. What inspired this? Any chance that there will be accompanying videos released to give a semblance of an accompanying film?

HP: I’m glad you liked it. I’ve been told there’s other soundtracks to non-existent films out there too. I was rather hoping we’d done something new, forgetting what year it is.

I think the idea that such a small band would have their own movie is very hubristic, which I think is funny. And bands making movies like “A Hard Days Night” or “Clambake”is such an outdated idea, so I also find that funny about it. Either all the videos or just the first one will be scenes from “the film”. We’d love to make the entire film, but we can’t afford it and nobody would want to watch it. So instead we just made an album we can’t afford that nobody will listen to.

BC:Impressively The Honey Pies have put out three records in the past three years. (If you haven't by this point might not be the worst idea to head to The Honey Pies bandcamp) How would you say your sound has changed or evolved during that time period? How has touring with the likes of Deerhoof and The Jezabels affected this process?

HP:Well, I’d say it’s evolved very slowly. I think with bands that put out records every 3-4 years, they sometimes take these very big steps with each album. Whereas, I think this way you get to hear all the little changes in-between those big steps. Our 4th album will probably sound like other bands 2nd album. If I can be a total dork for a second, I would compare it to say, the slow Darwinian evolution that occurs in nature, vs. evolution as understood by Pokemon.

The problem with being a musician is that you hear terrible, successful bands and you think “why them and not me?”, which is frustrating. And then you play with awesome, successful bands like Deerhoof and the Jezabels and it becomes very apparent why them and not you. Which is even worse. It’s like a constant feeling of either being an unappreciated genius, and the biggest hack and the world, with no middle ground. I think it’s poisonous envying other people’s success, but it’s inspiring to envy someone for their talent. You play with people that blow you away, and it makes you feel very small, but the next day you work harder than ever.

BCSounds like a constant and difficult battle. Definitely appreciate the Pokemond reference too. Along the same vein, are there any Australian artists that have inspired your sound? How has Australia influenced your music?

HP:We all really like Tame Impala at the moment. But I have to admit, I’m always a year behind and I still haven’t heard their second record. As for Australia itself… I’m not sure. I come from a small city called Adelaide. One of our PM’s once called Australia the “arse end of the world”, and if that’s true, then you could say that Adelaide is the arse end of the arse end of the world. But I sort of love the isolation that comes with that.

BC:From all this isolation, what can we look forward to hearing from The Honey Pies and what do you guys have planned for the new year?

HP:I’d really like to put out another record by the end of the year, I’ve got two up my sleeve, one is a I suppose you could say “normal” record, and the other is something more grand. But I don’t really think it’s ready yet and I’m not sure how we’d even go about it. We’ll do a few videos… Hopefully tour a little.

BC:Lastly, if you could suggest any one thing right now for the readers of Bochi Crew to scoop up what would it be? (Really anything music, art, literature, film... you name it)

HP:Put a bit of cucumber in your gin and tonic.