The Scene Report: San Diego

There are a lot of bands and musicians floating around San Diego, in fact the whole west coast is drowning in talent-less hacks that refuse to accept reality. Then there are those who rise above the others so dramatically it’s kinda’ unfair to compare them to each other. I had the honor of bringing two such musicians over to the compound for an interview over whiskey and Pabst Blue Ribbon. This is what I got out of them….

After DFrost was founded Dan Frost (imagine that) he moved to San Diego from Minneapolis. He was almost immediately signed to “Dirty Old Man” records who released his 1st album “CommonShaman Supervillan”. Although a solo project at first, around this album was built a great band with a huge following. They opened for Social Distortion and the Roots after winning the UCSD Battle of the Bands and impressed Snoop Dogg enough to get invited back to blaze in his green room. They have also played SD Street Scene 2 years in a row, winning 2 San Diego music awards along the way. Currently Dfrost is semi-solo but consistently packing houses all over the west and shows no signs of slowing down soon.

Honeybucket has an impressive history as well. Playing with the likes of Incubus, Pharcyde, Sugar Ray, Coolio, Kid Rock and the Deftones. They have sold thousands of albums with their mix of supercharged rock and funk and garnered a promotional deal with Budweiser. The new album will be out mid 2005 and you can check them out at www.honeybucket.net

By Morgan Huestis

Smash Magazine: “Are the current band members original?”
Houston: “Well for us it’s just Strat (Bryan Stratman) and myself who are original members, and although the two of us have had a lot of members come and go now we seem to have our tightest lineup to date. Jeremy Gaddie on drums who is just supernaturally fast.”
Dfrost: “That’s true.”
Houston: -continues- “Jason Harding on bass and Greg Russell on guitar. It took us a while but I think that we now have a line-up that really rocks and will last.”
Dfrost: “As far as my situation goes I’m currently playing as a three piece with myself on keys and guitar as well as vocals with a bass and drum backup filled out by whoever is willing to play with me on any given night. I’ve been fortunate to score some sick talent in the past.”

SM: “What are you in the middle of as far as new recordings?”
Dfrost: “Well my friend Erick (Parks) from Belligerent Products hooked me up with the Grimm Reefer of the Rap Bastards and we are doing some new recording at Avalon studios in Burbank. They track most of the bass and rhythm before I even make it up there and I lay keys and vocals over it when I do. We don’t have a full album yet but it’s coming along.”
SM: “Nice. What about Honeybucket Houston?”
Houston: “For the last nine months we’ve been tracking our latest album due out this spring. We’ve spent a lot of time in Capricorn Studios in the Gaslamp district putting it together, trying to get back to our experimental roots and ended up with something completely different that we’re all totally stoked on. For the artwork we recruited my boy Ryan with Sullen clothing in Orange County. Altogether it should be the most impressive album we’ve ever done.”
SM: “The two of you played a show on 3/11 at Winston’s in San Diego. How was that?”
Houston: “It blew up man, kids were jumping off the walls!”
Dfrost: “It was a success”
Houston: “Fucking right it was!”
DFrost: “It was a wall to wall Belligerent show and all four bands knew each other and were friends. In fact all the bands were headliners in there own right. Butane tore the fucking roof off and the Rap Bastards are always sick.”

SM: “Have the two of you kept a consistent following over the years?”
Houston: “Oh yeah, I mean it’s grown a lot over the years. We’ve been pretty fortunate in that we have lots of friends who we’ve known for a while who support our music and the crowds are ever growing. I have girls who come up and hug me all the time whose name’s I don’t even know! I love that. It’s a big mélange of different types and ages of people who come see us.
Dfrost: -laughs- “Mélange? Is that like a cornucopia?”
Houston: -also laughing- “Yeah dick.”
SM: “Dan?”
DFrost: “Well it’s been a long road and I’ve been consistently growing and raising the bar for myself just like any good musician that writes good songs, assuming I do. Of course there have been there have been ups and downs but I’m still here trying to make it happen and the fan base keeps growing along with me.”

SM: “So how did you two meet?”
DFrost: “That’s a great story. San Felipe Mexico ’98 ’99 I was playing for this tour company that was up and coming…which means no budget… that put together local talent for shows. I shouldn’t bitch about budget because it was a great time and they did put us up in a badass condo. That’s where we met though.
Houston: “It was like a friendly competition between us.”
Dfrost: “Yeah but I remember the first time I saw Honeybucket was at that Rockadile I think, right?
Houston: “Yeah.”
DFrost: And the very first song I ever heard them play was “Hanging Tough” by New Kids on the Block. I swear.”
Everyone: -laughing-
Houston: “Yeah”
Dfrost: “At first I was a little…uh…appalled, but I eventually got it.
Houston: “I think I rushed it. In the scope of history I mean. They hadn’t been gone long enough”
Sm: “It wasn’t quite satire yet?”
Houston: “Not quite. It was still an homage.”

Sm: “So who would you guys call your main musical influences?”
Houston: “y main influences are a mix of the old school and more contemporary artists. The doors of course have always been a big influence, and growing up Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers right around the time we were starting bands. Right now I’m into Beck, Soul Coughing … the Deftones… Head Automatica has an album out right now that is amazing. In fact that’s probably my favorite album at the moment.”
DFrost: “I started smoking pot and skipping class listening to the doors. Actually I would skip class and go to the auditorium with the doors in my headphones and play the huge grand piano. I even played a couple tunes for my school. Other than that I’d say old school blues, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and of course the alternative revolution yada yada yada Nirvana, the Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys. Pivot is good… we played a few shows with them. There’s a ton of bands I haven’t mentioned but it all goes back to old R&B and rock and roll.”

Sm: “So what are you listening to in your car right now?”
DFrost: “Talk radio”
Houston: -laughs- “Do you only have A.M. right now?”
DFrost: “No dick I have F.M. too.”
Erick: -laughing his ass off- “Wow both bands?”
DFrost: “That’s right I have both kinds… country and western!”
Houston: “Head Automatica is what’s in my car right now as a matter of fact. The new album “Decadence”. There music is really intelligent.”

Sm: “What do you do when you aren’t on stage?”
DFrost: “Now or 6 months ago? Cause I’ve recently gotten my shit together. Though I still drink for recreational purposes.”
Houston: “I’ve been riding my bike and watching the food network a lot, honing my culinary skills.”
Everyone: -laughing-
Sm: “You don’t watch the History channel?”
Houston: “Yeah but it’s a toss up.”

Sm: “How did you two hook up with Erick and Belligerent Products?”
DFrost: “Well it all started with this dude always coming to our shows and coming off really well and knowing what he was talking about. I’ve been around for a while and I saw right away the difference between him and other promotion labels was he actually puts shows on regularly and actually works at promoting them. People are becoming really faithful to the name Belligerent. It’s only natural for me to want to associate with them.
Houston: “For us it was more of a charity thing. We felt sorry for him and decided to throw him a bone or two.
Erick: -laughing- “Fuck you dude!”

Sm: “Ok I know DFrost has a much different lineup than they started with, do you like playing with people who where not involved with the song writing process?”
DFrost: “When we started the band years back it was a great process working with the original members, but as time wears on and it became apparent that there were different goals that people were looking for. Now I play music with great musicians and they bring a new style every time which is cool.”

---fin---

There isn’t a chance in hell you won’t hear more about these two talented acts in the near future. Until then you can learn more about both at belligerentproducts.com and honeybucket.net.