VMP Interview with Honeyblood

picture via MiddleMusic

Honeyblood is the band I wish I were in. Based in Glasgow, Stina Marie Claire Tweeddale (vocals/guitar) and Shona McVicar (drums), make a sound so developed and full, you won’t believe there’s only two of them. They’ve recently toured America with fellow Scots We Were Promised Jetpacks, as well as shared a stage at SXSW with VMP Interview alumni Prides (who have just released what might be the best video of the year this week. Catch their video for Messiah here.)

VMP: You recently returned home after a touring with WWPJ and a stint at SXSW. How was America? Any particularly strange things (food, etc)? And, more so, did you get any good swag at SXSW?

Honeyblood: We went to an In And Out Burger. That was a weird experience. We don’t have those in the UK. And Root beer, always thought that would be thing to try but to tell the truth, it was disgusting… Sorry America. At SXSW, yeah we got some good stuff from Nixon… they let us have a really cool watch each and a bluetooth speaker and some other really good freebies.

VMP: Vinyl Me, Please is a vinyl of the month style club. Each month, we handpick a new/old/unique vinyl record for our members. Recent choices have been Thelonious Monk, SBTRKT, Courtney Barnett, Califone, Charles Bradley, etc… if you could choose a selection for our members, what would it be and why?

Honeyblood: New stuff, well yeah I would have picked Courtney Barnett… we are about to go on tour with her in the UK. An old record… probably something iconic like Jimi Hendrix. And unique, well maybe a Hang On The Box record if you can find one!

VMP: In a few words, can you describe how Honeyblood came to be, what was the first song or band you heard that made you say “I want to do this, too!”?

Honeyblood: I’ve been writing songs since I was a kid. So, I kinda always did it. My dad is a musician too so I was always around it as a child. So in that sense it wasn’t a revelation, it was just something I did. As a teenager I loved The Smiths but also The Smashing Pumpkins, a mixture of them might be what led to Honeyblood.

VMP: If you could release a covers EP, what songs would be in it?

Honeyblood: “You’ve Got Everything Now” - The Smiths

“Drown” - The Smashing Pumpkins

“End of a Century” - Blur

“Cloudbusting” - Kate Bush

“22” - Taylor Swift

Check out Honeyblood’s video for their single, “Bud” here:

VMP: Do you ladies have any secret talents?

Honeyblood: Shona surfs. She’s getting better at it too.

VMP: What is your dream tour - if could go on tour with any band(s) of any era, who would that be?

Honeyblood: I saw the original line up of Hole are back together… That could be it.

VMP: What’s the first record/album you ever remember buying?

Honeyblood: Britney Spears - “Hit Me Baby, One More Time.”

VMP: Which songs are your favourite guilty pleasure - the one(s) that you always find yourself singing along to on the radio, in a queue, or wherever you may be when they come on?

Honeyblood: We are massive Katy Perry/Taylor Swift fans. Beyonce as well…

VMP: What are your five favourite songs at the moment?

Banks - “Brain”

Mac Demarco - “Passing Out Pieces”

Wolf Alice - “Moaning Lisa Smile”

Angel Olsen - “Forgiven/Forgotten”

Hella Better Dancer - “Sleep Talking”

VMP: What can we expect from Honeyblood in the next few months?

Honeyblood: We’re doing a UK tour with Courtney Barnett and releasing our single ‘Killer Bangs’ May 12th. Our debut album is out July 14th!

https://soundcloud.com/honeyblood/killer-bangs

Find the ladies of Honeyblood on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp & Tumblr.