SCAD Radio volunteer Sophie Speca sat down with Kaley from the indie pop trio Honey Cutt. They’re set to take the stage tomorrow at Savannah Stopover Music Festival at El Rocko!
So you’re from Orlando, right?
Kaley- Yeah, and I lived in Asheville, North Carolina for eight years.
You’re in Boston now, what caused the move?
Well, I had released an EP I recorded in Florida and I got signed to a label based out of the Northeast. I wanted to move up there to start my band and start touring.
Do you think the scene in Boston is any different from the south?
Oh, yeah. I mean, it’s much larger. I love the scene in Orlando. There’s really cool bands doing really cool things there. I think it’s much more competitive in bigger cities like Boston, especially ‘cause there’s a handful of music colleges so everyone’s pretty driven there.
Would you say the sound is any different?
Oh, totally. There’s definitely different pockets of the scene there. The Berklee kids are really talented and put together these eight piece bands with all different kinds of influences. It’s kind of all over the place.
What kind of music influences you?
I’ve always been influenced by good songwriters, especially women in music who I look up to. I’d say Karen O from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I love Michelle Zauner from Japanese Breakfast and lots of bands, especially bands who have a woman writing the songs.
I actually got to see you a couple years ago at Girls Rock Boston as one of the interns and I was wondering how you got involved with that and if you’ve done anything with them since.
What! Are you serious? That’s awesome. I got involved because I had a few friends that were counselors there and my bassist at the time was actually a coach for that year. It was my only time playing it. I was really excited because I had been working at a school for the past three years in Boston… I got to invite some of my kindergartners that I worked with and got to sneak them into the performance which was really fun. That was really my only involvement with the program but it’s really cool.
Where do you think your lyrical inspiration comes from? It seems really personal.
I’ve always written music, since I was really young… I just write it to process my emotions. It’s just how I’m feeling. I’m not so much [of] a writer, I don’t typically refine the lyrics too much once they come out.
When you write music, do you come up with lyrics first or the music, or do they coincide?
It’s kind of random. As a songwriter, I do record all the parts and sometimes I have a bass riff, sometimes I have a guitar riff. Typically, I’m playing some chords on the guitar and singing when I feel inspired so I guess guitar and lyrics?
So you’ve been writing for a while, when did you start playing?
I joined band in school in sixth grade and played brass all the way through my junior year. Got my first stringed instrument in ninth grade and started writing and recording myself on my family’s home computer.
You have a new album coming out on March 13. Describe it in one sentence.
Exploratory, emotional, melodic rock songs. Yeah, I guess that’s what I’d call it.
Honey Cutt will be playing tomorrow, March 6th at El Rocko Lounge at 10PM. For more info on this Stopover performance, click here.
Check out Honey Cutt’s new single that just dropped today and more by clicking here!
