When did you first start making music and what led you there? We are schoolmates who used to make music together in the late 1980s. HONK officially came together two years ago to honour the closing of a friend’s pub in Abbotsford. That was so much fun we started writing songs and hit the studio last year.
What do you love about making music? Collaborating is the best bit. Writing and recording our own songs was ridiculous fun, and watching people dance when playing them in pubs is the cherry on top.
How would you describe your sound and how did you come to it? We are all outlaw country tragics, so there’s a lot of common love of the rough diamonds of the 1970s. We write songs about the underdog, about losing in love, falling asleep on trains, and perhaps overindulging. It’s not just country though – we also blend in rock, blues, boogie, jazz and soul. It’s music that is meant to be fun, and meant to be played live.
Tell us about your forthcoming album. What is the story behind it? What inspired it? The debut EP Never Planned is a six-track effort which will be followed by a full-length LP in September. The title track is a story of lost love, misguided revenge, and unrepentant retrospection. Some of the story in the song is true, but not much. The other feature song ‘She Picks Me Up’ is about the shortest of all relationships.
What can we expect from the live show? The music is pretty diverse and there are enough show-offs in the band to keep people interested. Just don’t stand too close to the bass player.
