After taking rock radio by storm with their 2019 singles “When I’m Gone” and “Rolling 7s” off their self-titled EP, Dirty Honey are back with their eponymous full-length debut album. The Los Angeles rockers’ music comes with a gritty swagger, with nods to iconic acts like Aerosmith and AC/DC.
Dirty Honey became the first unsigned act ever to top the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, thanks to the No. 1 single “When I’m Gone”. The band rode the momentum with opening stints for both Slash and Alter Bridge, not to mention a couple gigs on Guns N’ Roses’ tour.
With Dirty Honey set to properly record their full-length debut, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, throwing a wrench in their original plans. Still, they soldiered on and recorded a hard-rocking eight-song effort, which has just arrived.
Heavy Consequence caught up with singer Marc Labelle and guitarist John Notto over Zoom to discuss the new album, the current single “California Dreamin'” (not a cover of the The Mamas & the Papas song), the influence of Aerosmith, and their reaction to Gene Simmons’ oft-stated claim that “rock is dead”.
“[Aerosmith] are the first band I really fell in love with as a little kid,” Labelle told us. “That was my first concert, and I got to meet them as a little kid, so they’ve had a profound impact on my life.”
When it comes to the state of rock, and Gene Simmons’ repeated claim that “rock is dead,” Labelle responded, “I love his records, but him, as a person, I think he’s just way out of touch with what’s happening in music. He’s extremely cynical. … That’s the only thing I hear about Gene Simmons in the past decade is that he says, ‘rock is dead.’ Like, dude, shut the f**k up!”
Watch our full interview with Dirty Honey in the video above. The band’s just-released self-titled debut full-length can be streamed in the players below, and purchased here.
Trouble viewing the video interview above? Watch on YouTube.
