{"id":10879,"date":"2016-06-03T05:30:17","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T09:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=10879"},"modified":"2016-05-29T11:53:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-29T15:53:36","slug":"the-honeycutters-creating-quite-a-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/03\/the-honeycutters-creating-quite-a-buzz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Honeycutters: Creating Quite a Buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI write a lot<\/i> of songs,\u201d admits Amanda Platt<\/b>, leader and songwriter of Asheville-based roots group the Honeycutters<\/b>. \u201cI’m a very prolific writer; sometimes I wish I could turn it off for a little bit. So I don’t think there’s ever going to be a shortage of songs to choose from.\u201d The best songs among Platt’s prodigious recent output are collected on the Honeycutters’ fourth album, On the Ropes<\/i>. The group played two very different CD release celebration shows at ISIS Restaurant & Music Hall on May 20 and 21.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Leah Beilhart<\/p><\/div>\n

With so much material, Platt easily could have gone the solo artist route, but that doesn’t interest her. \u201cI’ve always enjoyed being in a band,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd now more than ever, we are<\/i> a band. I write the songs and I bring them to the group, but from then on, we’re very collaborative.\u201d While her country-flavored songs almost always tell a story, the Honeycutters’ musical approach adds a dimension to the tunes that only widens their appeal. \u201cI think if we were just focused on the lyrics, it would be a very different project,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Platt believes that the give-and-take of the band experience makes the resulting songs better. \u201cThere’s a lot of exchange of energy,\u201d she says. On the Ropes<\/i> has it both ways: it’s true to the country music aesthetic (\u201cthat clich\u00e9 of ‘three chords and the truth,\u201d Platt says), but it still appeals to an audience outside the c&w world. \u201cMaybe this album is a little bit more catchy and a little more mainstream production-wise,\u201d Platt observes. \u201cI don’t know that that’s something we were necessarily going for, or something we’ll continue to go for. But it’s what turned out this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, co-producing with Tim Surrett<\/strong> at Crossroad Studio in Arden, Platt had definite ideas about the songs. \u201cI know how I want things to sound,\u201d she says, admitting with a laugh that \u201cin terms of what exactly needs to happen to make<\/i> it that way, I don’t know.\u201d She collaborated closely with Surrett, engineer Van Atkins<\/strong>, and her Honeycutters band mates (Rick Cooper<\/strong> on electric and upright bass, drummer\/vocalist Josh Milligan<\/strong>, Matt Smith<\/strong> on pedal steel and electric guitar, and mandolin player Tal Taylor<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

For On the Ropes<\/i> , I made the band a little demo of 16 or 18 songs, just me and my guitar,\u201d Platt says. The guys in the Honeycutters listened, made notes, and then gave Platt feedback as to which songs they though were best for the album. \u201cI think if it was just me and I had to make all those decisions, I would get more psyched out about it,\u201d she says. Creative input from her band mates \u201cgives me the extra push, that extra energy.\u201d<\/p>\n