Meet Manic Honey

 

We recently connected with Manic Honey and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Manic Honey, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Melody, singer:
I grew up as a queer person in the church, which was an interesting place to grow. I knew I loved to sing and I knew I felt different from other people, but church was one place where I knew I was part of a community. I moved pretty consistently due to divorce and my family’s involvement in the military, but there was always a church. So there was the freedom to sing and express myself, while also facing this underlying feeling that my acceptance in this community was somehow conditional.

I was naturally drawn to acting and musical theater which provided a necessary escape, but also showed me pretty clear-cut examples of what I wanted to do and how not to do it. I worked with unsafe acting teachers, and my very first voice teacher kissed me (he later ended up in prison due to his actions abusing other students). Eventually I became less connected to speaking or singing someone else’s words – I wanted to write and sing my own. Because we have to write them; we have to write the stories we were part of. What a torch to carry and pass on, especially in a field where it’s so easy to be taken advantage of.

I’ve been through lots of shit, just like any other human being in this world. But I’m so happy I was able and privileged to be able to make it into something beautiful working with the coolest people I know.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Manic Honey is the rock band your therapist warned you about. Defined by all-powerful vocals with insane guitar solos, Manic Honey will leave you feeling heard and heartsick with a throat sore from singing along.

Equal parts grit, emotion, and intensity, Manic Honey pushes down on the purple of your heart’s bruises and then becomes the sweet balm you need.
Their energy is infectious, and their songs range from road trip string-plucking to revenge-inspired supersonar with the vocals to match.

Their debut album, “We Only Kiss in Bathrooms,” is now available on all streaming platforms. You can also catch their next show on Friday, 8/2 at Gold Sounds in Brooklyn!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

-Collaboration – we all come from different musical backgrounds, from metal to classical, classically trained to self-taught. Those influences and histories come into play for our different songs and make us unique
-Consistency with energy – it’s super important to transfer the energy we bring to each live show into the recording studio
-Balance, including navigating being an artist in New York right now. We all have families and day jobs, and it takes a conscious effort to carve out space and time for practice on your own and as a group

Carving out time for your art is the most vital habit you can practice. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

We’re always looking for other bands to collab with! We play concerts every month and love playing with other energetic, eager, and kind folks. The best part of the music scene is community, and we’d love to welcome you to ours!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photography by Kelly McCready

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