SubModern Session: Honey Cutt

Continuing our series of remotely recorded SubModern Sessions, I recently Zoomed with Kaley Honeycutt, frontwoman of the New England band Honey Cutt to chat about their recently released album Coasting, and what it’s been like to have an album come out during a pandemic.  Kaley also recorded some solo versions of songs from the album that you can listen to below.

So it’s just a matter of splitting your last name into two words, but I can call you Kaley, right?

Yeah.

You’ve just released back in March, unfortunately timed, your debut full length album Coasting.  It came out right when the pandemic was starting?

Yep.  March 13th.  Right when a national emergency was declared.

Well, you know, I don’t really believe in the Friday, the 13th curse, but in this case it was real.

It really was.

So, where are you located now?

I’m in my studio in Providence, Rhode Island. 

And since you’re by yourself today, I always like to, when I do these zoom calls where not everyone is present, as they might be in an actual live session, to give your band their due.  If you wanna tell us who your collaborators are these days?

Sure.  Well, these songs I wrote on my lonesome, kinda did all the demos on my own.  I recorded in studio with Chris Chew on drums and Ari Blut on bass with Zach Bloomstein in Massachusetts. And I have a live band here in Providence with Stephen Chevalier on drums and Sam McCarthy on bass.

So Stephen and Sam, are those the folks who would have been your touring band, if the tour had happened as planned?

Yeah.  We got to do about three and a half weeks.

Oh, that’s good.  Tell me a little bit about your music history.  I know you started out in Florida where you grew up.

Yeah, mostly.  I moved to Florida when I was like eight or nine.

Okay. So then that counts as growing up there for a good part of your childhood at least.

Yeah.  Yeah.   I moved there from Asheville, North Carolina to central Florida, kind of like a small farm town area called Ocoee and lived all throughout central Florida for most of my life until I moved up to Boston.  I didn’t really get into the music scene until I was in my early twenties.  I’d mostly just write and record at home, and not really share it with anybody.  And then once I was in college, I started a booking collective in Orlando, made some friends out there.  And that was when I wrote and recorded my first album, which got picked up by a label that was based out of New England. Japanese Breakfast had just put out Psychopomp on that label, Yellow K.  And I was like, "Oh, this is so cool. I’m going to move up there and really get involved in the music scene in New England and all these touring bands that I look up to.  I’m going to go try to do it."

And when you started, that first album, that was under a different name, Baby?

Yes, it was.

But it’s essentially just a name change.

Just a name change, same band.

So this album is kind of informed by your living in Florida, about growing up there?

Yeah.  Some of the songs are definitely reflective of my upbringing in Florida.  Some of them are not.

There’s a lot to unpack about Florida in the news these days.  Do you have family there still and connections there?

Yes, my whole family’s down there and we just postponed our visit.  So we’ll see when I make it down there.

Yeah.  It’s scary how out of control it is there.

Yeah, I think I’ll stay in Rhode Island.  The numbers are incredibly low here.

Well, I wish your family health and safety down there.  So a song that I think directly relates is "Suburban Dream."  Anything you want to tell us about that one?

Well, sure.  Yeah, that one’s definitely about growing up in Florida.  And it’s about, I feel like everyone has this, where they see the people that they went to like middle school with on Facebook and they’re all in the same hometown and they all kind of look similar and they all kind of post similar things.  And it’s just kind of a tongue in cheek reflection on how I’m glad I didn’t stay in Florida.

I was scrolling your socials and it looks like you have been playing a lot of live stream things lately, that you’ve been keeping busy with that during your quarantine.

Yeah.  Something to do.

So I’m curious, I know it’s not the same experience as playing a live show, but are you deriving enjoyment in maybe not in the same way?  How do you get a different kind of satisfaction from that?

I think with these online live shows, it can be really easy to feel disconnected right now from like everything that I was doing and everything I was working on.  I think a lot of people probably feel that way, so it’s just kind of a nice reminder that people connect with my music.  And when I see a comment and see some folks joining the live stream, it’s always reassuring to know that it’s bringing somebody joy somewhere.  So that part of it is I think what still makes me happy.

That’s great!  When you’re part of a bigger lineup on some of those, do you find the same sort of response?  Like if you’re part of a lineup of a tour, and maybe someone’s going to see the headliner and you’re opening and they really like you and come up and buy your album after the show.  Are you finding things like that happening after those live streams?  Are you getting that kind of response and finding new fans that way?

Yeah, actually I feel like it’s easier in a way.  It’s just like a click of a button.  And almost every time I do a live stream, I end up selling a few records, so it’s pretty cool.

Well, I hope that you sell some records from this as well.

Thanks!

If someone wants to buy your record, what’s the best way for someone to do that and support you the most directly, rather than putting more money in Jeff Bezos’ pocket?

Well, if you want to support me directly, you can go to Bandcamp and I’ve got a signed version of a pink translucent vinyl of the record.  They’re limited edition and I think I only have a little bit left.  So, that would be the most direct way.  And then, it’s also available at Kanine Records’ website too.

Finally, a lot of people are picking up new quarantine skills.  Is there anything crafty or culinary or anything that you’ve picked up?
 
It’s funny because I have, you can see me in this little zoom box and it looks nice and clean and there’s some plants…

There’s a lot of plants!  Have you always been a plant person?

That’s one of my things that I got into.  And the other thing is all around here where you can’t see, is like a massive project.  I’ve been taking up sewing, and I’ve also done punch needle rugs.  So I’ve been making rugs, and I’ve been trying to be a better plant mom, trying to take care of more plants.  And I had my baking phase.  Yeah.  Been doing different projects here and there.  Honestly, I haven’t been focusing on music very much at all.  Just taking it easy.

Yeah.  Are you starting to maybe feel the itch to focus on music a little more, write some stuff?

I’ve been writing and recording demos in the studio here and there.  I probably have like four or five of done over quarantine, but I’m not in any rush. I’m not pressuring myself.  I’ll just do it when it feels right.

Well, you did just release an album and hopefully when all this is over, you’ll be able to get back out there and really support it.

Yeah.

As mentioned, Honey Cutt’s new album, Coasting, is available now via Bandcamp and you can find out more at KanineRecords.com. Check out her SubModern Session here.

By Josh T. Landow