FEATURED MURDER
During the early to mid 80’s in thrash metal there was a certain kind of irreverence that the bands dabbled in, especially with the NY scene. You had it with S.O.D. and M.O.D. Anthrax had their own brand of silly and some of their B-Sides were absolutely hilarious. Nuclear Assault would add these quick ridiculous songs on their albums and then you had bands like GWAR and Scatterbrain that took it to the next level. The post grunge metal scene seemingly did away with all of it and everything got serious and bummed out. Now comes honeybunches Of Death, who are now bridging that gap in heavy metal hilarity. They are seriously into the silly and bring the riffs with it. With songs about having such a big penis that people stand on it or getting lost in buttholes or even the joys of helium, they deliver the goods while you die laughing.
Speaking of dying, I killed them. There can be only one silly metal band and that is mine. Except we’re not silly.We are as serious as it comes. Here are the final words of honeybunches of Death.
THE DEMISE OF honeybunches OF DEATH
honeybunches OF DEATH
FINAL INTERVIEW
Mortal Robert Lane, you told me that you had the idea for this band all the way back in 2000?
Robert: It was my cousin Josh, a big MST3k fan, who suggested it to me. It came from one of the movies they were being forced to watch. It was the lead character’s catch phrase. Josh and I were hanging out and he says “you should name a band honeybunches Of DEATH!” The original logo immediately appeared in my head and I sketched it out the next morning. January of 2000.
Impressive. What were you doing in the scene at that time?
Robert: Absolutely nothing.
Bill: In 2000 I was in a funk rock band called Hard Karma.
I walked the Earth and those days. What was the scene like back then to you?
Robert: If I remember, you were chasing Murray from Drudgery.
You have spoken correctly. He messed up big time by not hooking up with me!
Robert: I remember there were not that many places to play. No social media back then. I think Nick was 10 years old.
Nick: Actually, I was 7 – 8.
Bill: The big local bands around the turn of the century I remember were Yo, Flaco!, The Fabulous Boogienauts, Judge Roughneck, and Mind Go Flip. Oh…and Brethren Fast
I killed them.
Johnny: I had not made my way through the Starlite galaxy by that spot on earth’s time-line. My entrance into the mortal music scene was in 2009
How do you remember the scene back then?
Bill: I was a lot younger and drunker back then, so there seemed to be more of a “party” vibe compared to today.
How did this band come together?
Nick: Rob and our past members brought the idea back to life in 2019 because Rob would rather die than let honeybunches Of DEATH die! I found these goons on a craigslist ad in February 2020 and Rob told me I’m the new vocalist without yet agreeing to it. After a few more practices, I fell in love with the idea of the band and saw all the creative potential to make heinous, fun, and groovy music, so we’ve been pushing hard to do just that since!
Robert: There was another version back in 2003-2006 but it was more of a novelty act…it fell apart. But it made me certain that it could be done.
How did you choose the particular genre of metal the band plays?
Robert: Born out of influences over the years. Pantera, Slayer, GWAR, Tenacious D, Weird Al, but we’re continuously evolving and pushing into new areas. I also love Funk, Blues and super cheesy Disco.
Nick: Vocally, I try to blend punk, black metal, and death metal all together. I lean on punk a lot to make our lyrics as comprehensible as much as possible.
Robert: Guitarly, I try not to suck, haha
Nick: He succeeds a little more than half the time, but it always works lol
Bill: I joined the band on the bass in September 2021 and was impressed by the combination of harder, downtuned riffs and unclean vocals with inappropriate comedy.
You’re band seems like it wants to give more than the average band does. What is your philosophy from an entertainment perspective?
Robert: We want to be memorable in every way. We give everything we’ve got at every show and we hope the people feel it. Part of every practice is a discussion related to the overall entertainment of our product.
What was the influence to be so entertaining?
Robert: The great live acts I’ve seen in my life. Comedians, Theater, Music. In no particular order…Kiss, Slipknot, Pantera, Ghost, GWAR, Green Jello, Metallica (Justice tour), Slayer, Behemoth, AVATAR! Weird Al, Flight of the Conchords, Tenacious D.
I read you, Nick, as gay. There is no straight man that would be that hairy and expose himself for all to see.
Nick: I know it’s weird right?! A straight male who is actually confident with their body and sexuality to be flamboyant af?! Don’t wanna brag, but it’s rare these days
Robert: We are the strangest hetero band of all time.
Nick: Also, I’d say our philosophy is to be fun and different. We think of our sets more like a party than a concert. Whether that’s throwing a bunch of fish balloons in the crowd, bringing out the giant inflatable wiener, or starting silly chants, we want everyone to have fun! Life is too serious, so we try to break that up.
Robert: While simultaneously infiltrating their subconscious with musical and comedic brilliance.
Nick: Of course!
Robert: We’ve had some great compliments at shows, like “the best thing I’ve ever seen “, “I’ll remember this until I’m 80”, “You’re the perfect mix of glam and death ” and we’ve even gotten some real hate from promoters who just don’t get it. But all of it tells us that we are on the right track.
Nick: I think the person who said they’ll remember this set until they are 80 was my favorite compliment! I love taking up rent-free space in peoples’ brains. Pretty close second though was when someone told me I looked like Grimace in my purple top hat – that was way cool.
Robert: I posted a pic of me playing guitar at the Roxy. Some dude told me that they wished they could be as tubby and confident. Not sure that was a compliment! Lol
Nick: Bahaha, I’d take it as a compliment – it means you own your body!
Robert: If only I could find a female to own it!
Johnny: I’ve always been a goon. Uplifting mortals with humor and music. I’ve always been a fan of Wierd AL, Ziggy Stardust, Gear and Green Jello. I’ve even been lucky enough to tour in Green Jello and get a taste of the business. When I met Robert, we hit it off – and upon entry into Honey Bunches its been nothing short of special. And not in a short bus way. Bill kicks the bass and Nick is hands down one of the best singers in town, with an amazing voice and vision. And my motto has always been, if you’re not having fun..get off the stage. So this band is a great fit for me and my antics.
Tell me about the one album you have out so far?
Robert: 10 tracks of insanity, riffs as old as 1992 as well as the very first idea…Ooey Gooey. My first idea was a heavy song, growing vocals, but super happy silly lyrics.Nick deserves a Grammy for his growling vocals. It’s an album of education, openmindedness, introspection, vaginas so large they have guard towers and horse races, and penises so large you can stand on them!
Eeeeew! But the penises sound good!
Johnny: Butt The Penises. Sounds like a song name.
You did this great spoken word lyric video…
Robert: I had an idea many years ago to do dramatic readings of TV theme songs as part of a stand up act. Never happened. I mentioned the idea to Nick and we started shooting that night. They are so much fun and we try to get them in one take. I can’t wait to do more of them.
You are working on a new CD?
Robert: It’s going to be called “Waist of Money.” The first two singles will be Show Me Your Butthole and Don’t Do Necrophilia. It will include our parodies of Mambo No. 5 (DUI No. 5) and My Way (Three Way).
And what is the big mortal dream?
Robert: To play big shows all over the world. I’d love to see honeybunches Of DEATH with the budget of Slipknot. I’d love for us to play big festivals…metal cruises. But honestly, I just want to keep playing for whoever wants to see it.
Photos by Dthia and The Loaf. Special thanks to Amanda Sindoni, Patrick Michael Goodwin, Johny Fysh and The Rickhouse