When I sat down to cornbread and hot rolls at the infamous Threadgill’s Home Cooking in Austin, Texas, I had no idea what was in store for me. There on stage, just chairs away from my dinner table, was the soulful rock band Stonehoney. Every table in the room was packed with families, friends and fans. Veteran musicians Shawn Davis, Phil Hurley, David Phenicie and Nick Randolph create something special together in the blend of their voices and depth of their songs on the very well-known stage that has hosted Janis Joplin among other greats. Stonehoney’s homegrown sound, coupled with some people two-stepping in the front, seemed very Texas. After learning they were actually from Los Angeles, I had to know why they traded their flip flops for boots. Therefore, I sat down with the guys from Stonehoney to learn that Austin was always their home they just needed to move here to realize it.
What brought you to Austin?
We love our LA friends, but we were kind of spinning our wheels in Los Angeles. Though the sounds we make harkens back to the Laurel Canyon days of the late ‘60s and ‘70s, LA has no sense of its own history and there wasn’t really a crowd or scene for what we were.
While touring through Texas, people repeatedly told us “You’re a Texas group”. After taking a closer look at what’s happening here in Texas (all of the great musicians and touring groups), we decided that we wanted a piece of it. As fate would have it, we came through Austin on Valentine’s Day 2008 and played a happy hour set at Momo’s. That night we got to see that great Jesse Dayton at the Broken Spoke and we were hooked!
The next evening, friends invited us to play some music at their house in exchange for dinner. As we were playing, a beautiful young lady came in and started really digging on what we were doing. She insisted that we stay and extra day in Austin to play at a brunch party the next day. Well, the sweet lady was Gram Parson’s only daughter, Polly Parsons, and she led us to the home of Eddie Wilson, the owner of Threadgills, and our Austin family came together in one afternoon. That was a hell of a trip!
I understand you had a bad experience with your first record label. Can you tell me a little about that?
It was good and bad. Things for Stonehoney had not gone well in our first year and we were all but broken up. A chance encounter with famed record producer Ric Wake brought us back together with stars in our eyes and a few dollars in our pockets. What started out with so much promise fell to shit when Ric lost interest in the band and went off to produce Yanni! We were stuck in a contract, unable to release a record, and unable to sing with anyone else for three years. Thankfully, it’s water under the bridge now and we’re very excited to be working with the kind folks from Music Road Records here in Austin.
Speaking of Music Road Records, I understand you are releasing a new album this Summer. Tell me a little bit about the concept behind this record and what you plan to do with it once it is released.
Our big goal has been to get a real record out, which we are finally able to do this June. With ‘Cedar Creek Sessions’, we wanted to make an incredibly honest record that shows us doing what we do best. So, we set up and cut forty tunes in three and a half days, completely live! No overdubs, no tricks, just a band singing and playing all at the same time. We had some great musicians sitting in to fill out the sound on some songs, right there in the room with us, playing at the same time. Our tour starts with an album release party on June 12th at Threadgills South. Then we’ll run our way up to Seattle, back through Oklahoma for Woody Fest, then up to the Northeast and back down the East Coast all the way through September.
What do you like best about being a performing musician?
The best thing about being a musician is that you are allowed to live a life filled with creativity and inspiration. We get to do what we love most in the world on a nightly basis; although we have all known serious poverty and have had many a sleepless worrying about making rent and paying bills. It’s not the easiest way to make a living, but when you as hooked as we are, there’s no other choice. We truly love what we do.
We have been in bands and performing music for years. It is all we ever wanted to do. Austin inspires us on a daily basis, because it is home to so many incredible musicians. We all know that it’s a privilege to be making music for a living, so we try to share as much joy with an audience as we can. You put us in front of a room that wants to have some fun, like Gruene Hall for example, and we’ll show you we are the right band! Our fans have a good time and we enjoy entertaining.
What are your future goals with Stonehoney?
We would love to play Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble. We would love to tour with Tom Petty and Mudcrutch. We’d love to be part of the big festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella. Another big goal would be to get our record out overseas and get to do some international touring.
For more information on Stonehoney’s upcoming tour and album release, visit their website www.stonehoney.com.
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