Meltdown chats with the guys from Dirty Honey before their show at St. Andrews Hall tonight!
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00:00Riff TV presents Meltdown's Meltdown.
00:04Hey guys here in the Riff Lounge. It's Meltdown along with the guys from Dirty Honey.
00:11We got Justin, John, Mark, and Corey. These guys were nice enough to come in and hang out with us here before the show at St. Andrews.
00:18You guys got bumped up from the small room downstairs. That's a good sign.
00:21Thank God, yeah. Well, Detroit's been good to us, so it's just more good things in the future we hope so.
00:27I think that Detroit in the Midwest, I've been here for almost 25 years, and I grew up in Buffalo,
00:32but Detroit in the Midwest, this area, we appreciate hard work and just nose to the grindstone rock bands.
00:38Yeah, that's definitely us. We've been on the road since pretty much March of last year nonstop.
00:44Yeah, and you guys are, this is what really amazed me. You guys have been around for two years, so maybe all you guys can chime in on this one.
00:49What do you think has really catapulted you guys? I mean, two years, I mean, you guys are starting out here.
00:54What do you guys bring that other bands might not?
00:58I think we've got really good songs. Everybody in the band's a great musician, and we gel really well together.
01:05Justin still hasn't learned to talk into a microphone. That's close enough.
01:09He's a bass player.
01:10It's new fashion rock and roll, right, John?
01:12That's what it is. That's what I call it.
01:14Yeah, but like I said, you guys aren't reinventing the wheel, but it's like this is that time where it's like Greta Van Fleet's and you guys and stuff are really starting to thrive.
01:23Yeah, and I just think it's like a general thirst for this type of music has come back around, and you know, it's been a long time since blues-based rock and roll bands have certainly been at the forefront of rock music.
01:38It's kind of been this very radio-friendly, clean, sort of like drop-D rock that's not really my taste, but yeah, we just want to inject some soul and some sex and some fun into the music again.
01:52And like, you know, we see it at the shows all the time. People are having a really good time, and you know, I've seen Greta live, too. Like, they're doing, you know, similar sort of thing with four-piece rock band, and it's, I'm happy, like, this wave of music is coming, so it's been a nice little ride so far.
02:09Yeah, John, you want to pipe in?
02:11I'd love to pipe in. I just think we kick ass.
02:15You guys do, man. I saw that show.
02:17We're humble, too.
02:18Yeah, yeah.
02:19I saw this show at the Fillmore, man. It was awesome.
02:21Yeah, that was a particularly shining light in our young career so far, playing with Alter Bridge, and Skillet at that show specifically, that was like the craziest response we've gotten anywhere to this day, so.
02:35Yeah, that's great.
02:36Michigan's just been pretty wild every time. We played Grand Rapids a couple nights ago, and he was crowd surfing while taking a guitar solo. It was pretty amazing.
02:43And you guys played in Grand Rapids one time with The Who, right? Was that the only show you guys played with The Who?
02:47Yeah, that was the only time with The Who. The second time we played in Grand Rapids, so.
02:51We played that room before.
02:53Yeah, I've heard the stories about The Who and, you know, Pete Townsend, you know, walking by you guys and Roger Daltrey and stuff.
02:59So, man, that would blow my mind. I've never had a chance to meet those guys.
03:03They are awesome, and they still sound great, which is incredible, and yeah, that night I think we all had a little, our own emotional moments, like looking on the stage and like realizing what we've done already. It was pretty cool.
03:19Yeah. Corey, what are your thoughts over there? Are you okay?
03:21Yeah.
03:24Corey needs some Tamiflu or something, but you alright, man? You gonna make it tonight?
03:28I'll be alright.
03:29Alright, there you go.
03:30He'll get a shot of B12.
03:32He's soldiering up.
03:33He's gonna be up.
03:34Corey wasn't feeling very well, so he took literally every vitamin that they had at the store.
03:39It perhaps had an adverse effect?
03:42Yeah, it made me a little more sick.
03:44Alright, we'll just concentrate on these three guys here.
03:48So you talk about moments in your career, and Mark, you had a chance to sing at NAMM a few weeks ago, and that was unbelievable.
03:55Thank you, yeah, that was a crazy day.
03:59I mean, not only were you really good, but then I'm looking on the stage and there's Billy Gibbons and Slash and Kenny Arnoff and stuff.
04:06Talk about that experience.
04:07Yeah, that was, I mean, probably the best part of it was the rehearsal and just getting to hang with those guys.
04:13And, like, just talk to Slash about, like, he was like, what was it like for Dirty Honey coming up in LA?
04:19And I was like, it was nothing like what you did, dude.
04:21You know, we, like, avoided the Sunset Strip like the plague because it was sort of a pay-to-play scenario.
04:27Right.
04:28And we were more interested in just playing and, you know, we'd rather get paid than spend 500 bucks to stand on whatever stage on the strip.
04:36But, yeah, got to talk to him a bunch about, you know, the band and what we were doing and told them our plans for the rest of the year.
04:44And then obviously got to meet Billy Gibbons and Kenny Arnoff and, like, John Stamos.
04:48It was an interesting evening of celebrities and personalities and, you know, Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander backstage, like, hanging out.
04:57And it was just a whirlwind night and it's literally something I'll never forget.
05:02But, yeah, when you're on stage with him, like, I'm singing and kind of, you know, focusing on that.
05:07And you look to your left and, like, Slash is right there, like, winking at you or whatever.
05:11It was pretty cool.
05:12I would have been super intimidated, no question about it.
05:14I was, you know, but then we rehearsed a couple times and he was very nice to come over after, like, the first tune and be like,
05:22you sound awesome, dude.
05:23Like, keep going.
05:24You sound great.
05:25And I was like, okay, like, if he's cool, I'm cool.
05:27That is cool.
05:28Were you guys there at that damn show?
05:29No, we don't like to talk about it.
05:31We were pissed.
05:32Yeah, actually.
05:33Next question.
05:34We went on tour with Slash also.
05:37And after a show in Ohio, me and him, like, were, like, hammered and just, like, missing.
05:42But Slash came with these two and just gave him, like, all these praises.
05:45And we'd barely gotten to talk to him.
05:47So we were pretty upset that night.
05:49So we got even more lit.
05:51Yeah.
05:52Yeah, that was about it.
05:53We came back all, like, pumped up into the van.
05:55We were like, just talk to Slash.
05:56He loves us, you know, whatever.
05:57And they were like, what?
05:59We got to get back in there.
06:00Let's go.
06:01And I was like, he's gone, dude.
06:02He's gone.
06:03I find that Slash is, like, he's one of these guys where, like, you can just see the silhouette
06:06of him.
06:07And everyone knows who he is.
06:08Yeah.
06:09But he's so, like, kind of almost, he's pretty humble.
06:12And he almost doesn't realize how famous he is.
06:15I think he knows it.
06:18I just think he's relatively shy.
06:20Yeah, he's always, I think that's always been his thing.
06:23Quiet.
06:24He's super chill.
06:25You know?
06:26And I don't think he typically, you know, he doesn't, like, get off on people praising
06:30him and worshiping him or anything like that.
06:32He's just a normal dude that literally loves playing the guitar more than anything.
06:37Right.
06:38And so does Miles Kennedy, too.
06:39Yeah.
06:40So they're all, like, in the same boat.
06:41You know, as a singer and stuff, one thing I remember watching about that show when you
06:45guys played with Skillet and Ultra Bridge was Miles Kennedy, his singing is so effortless.
06:50Yeah.
06:51It's almost like he's not even trying.
06:52And he doesn't miss a note.
06:53Funny you say that.
06:54Like, he lost his voice early on in that tour.
06:57And they would just, like, let the crowd sing the lyrics, you know, for those couple shows.
07:02They gave, like, three songs to Tremonti.
07:04Oh, really?
07:05I mean, he's not as good as, you know, Miles, but he was good.
07:10But, yeah, Miles, like, didn't, you know, didn't have a voice for a couple shows.
07:15And he was, like, worried he wasn't going to get his power back.
07:17And then, of course, we're in Detroit.
07:18And he's just, like, killing it.
07:20He got it back just fine, dude.
07:22Yeah.
07:23He's always so good.
07:24Yeah, I saw those guys over the summertime, too, with Slash, you know.
07:26Yeah.
07:27Over, yeah.
07:28So that was great.
07:29But they played here.
07:30They played over in Caesars Windsor.
07:31Oh, okay.
07:32You know, a big 5,000 seat venue over there.
07:34Nice.
07:35But, yeah, and Slash is just so great to watch on stage.
07:38You could tell when he's on stage, it's like, he doesn't want to get off.
07:40No, he wants to play guitar, like, 24-7.
07:42It's cool.
07:43Yeah.
07:44And he gets that chance with Guns N' Roses.
07:45The last show they played at the Los Angeles show was, like, four hours long.
07:48Oh, really?
07:49Yeah, a couple years back, yeah.
07:50Oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
07:51Yeah.
07:52Was that Doug's Stadium?
07:53No, that was at the Staples Center, I think.
07:55Oh, okay.
07:56Got it.
07:57But, anyway, so what do you guys got coming up in the future?
07:59I know you guys are working on new stuff.
08:00So where's that land right now?
08:02Well, you've got to finish this tour first before we go record anything.
08:07But, yeah, we're working on new songs every day.
08:09We're going to do some demos today at the soundcheck, I think.
08:12Oh, yeah, okay.
08:13That's the plan.
08:14And, you know, there's always constant emails going back and forth between us and our producer.
08:17Your producer's in Australia?
08:19Yes.
08:20Now, what's the deal with that?
08:21Because that seems a little...
08:22What does it seem?
08:23Well, it doesn't seem...
08:24I've never really talked to a band where they go to Australia to record it.
08:27I mean, right down the street, you can rock record an Eminem and all these guys here.
08:31We almost did, too, honestly.
08:33But it didn't work out with the Detroit production team we were talking to.
08:37And this legendary producer, Nick DiDia, decided to work with us.
08:42And the deal was, well, you've got to go to Paradise and make a record.
08:46And we were like, oh, it doesn't sound too good, man.
08:48But we did.
08:50It was a 12-hour flight, which is brutal.
08:52But once you get there, it's...
08:54And you're watching Lost the whole time?
08:55Yeah.
08:56On the flight, catching up.
08:58No, it's an awesome experience.
09:00I mean, it's literally one of the prettiest places in the world.
09:03Yeah.
09:04I'd like to get down there sometime.
09:06So, talk about Aerosmith praising you guys recently with their cover.
09:11I mean, you guys are getting all sorts of accolades, huh?
09:14Yeah.
09:15That's pretty...
09:16Again, we kick ass.
09:18Yeah, they...
09:20Tom Hamilton tweeted out about the cover we did, and he...
09:25Man, we had just seen him, like, right before Thanksgiving.
09:29We went to the Vegas show, and they like...
09:31Okay.
09:32They still kick ass, too.
09:33Yeah, they do.
09:34But, yeah, that was like, we woke up to that tweet, and we were like, what the hell?
09:38I was like, yes, I got the bass part right, at least.
09:40Yeah.
09:41Of course.
09:42Where do you guys get your, like, classic rock influences?
09:45Is it from your family growing up, or friends, or what?
09:48Definitely, yeah.
09:49My dad used to play the classic rock station in LA, like, on the way to school, and would,
09:53like, actually test me.
09:55Like, be like, if I didn't know Led Zeppelin, he'd be, like, mad at me.
09:58What about you?
09:59My mom's record collection.
10:01Yeah.
10:02It's like the guys from Greta.
10:03It's like their parents all grew up...
10:05Well, three of the guys are brothers, obviously, but they all grew up listening to their dad's
10:07record collection.
10:08Sure.
10:09Yeah.
10:10Yeah, I can't say that my parents had a record collection, but they definitely liked classic rock,
10:14from the Stones, to Petty, to Aerosmith, ACDC, like, all that stuff.
10:19Corey's dad was a truck driver blasting Van Halen, like, in his face every day.
10:24Yeah.
10:25So, is that record, is that song going to end up on the new record, you think?
10:29No, that's exclusively a release for Amazon.
10:32Okay.
10:33So, yeah, that'll be, I think in a year, like, we can do whatever we want with it.
10:37I think that's the deal.
10:38But, yeah, go check it out on Amazon.
10:40It's on YouTube.
10:41It's an Amazon original, like, feature.
10:43We did the whole thing in a day.
10:44Really?
10:45Yeah.
10:46It was like a, just like a whole featurette kind of thing.
10:49Like, they filmed it, and we recorded it, mixed it in one day.
10:52Now, do you guys have, like, I think I read three songs done for the record, or demoed
10:57out, or?
10:58For the new?
10:59Yeah.
11:00Yeah, I mean, yeah, where'd you read that?
11:03I read a lot of stuff.
11:05No, I'm sorry.
11:06I read you guys had, like, three songs demoed, and you're working on a few more here and there.
11:09Yeah, we've been filtering in new stuff into the live set for, you know, this whole tour,
11:14so.
11:15Yeah, so tonight you'll be playing a couple of them.
11:17We can always change when we get to the record also.
11:20Yeah.
11:21We have to try things out live and see what works.
11:22Yeah.
11:23It's really fun to, like, play new stuff that isn't recorded yet, and like, you're just
11:28kind of, I'm like singing, but also, like, reading people's faces.
11:31Right, yeah, you're watching the crowd to see what they're responding to.
11:32Everybody seems to like it, which is cool, but.
11:34Yeah.
11:35It's cool when we play a new song that nobody knows, but you see people in the audience,
11:38like, start moving, and you're like, okay, this is a good one.
11:40Yeah.
11:41Yeah.
11:42Well, I'll tell you what, I was told about this the other day, and I told her we were going
11:45to bring some stupid questions, so I got a list of stupid questions.
11:48Let's do it.
11:49I was going to have a box and stuff, but like I told you guys, I've been too busy at home.
11:52A box of what?
11:53A box of stupid questions.
11:54Oh, okay.
11:55Instead, it's just a pocket full of stupid questions.
11:56It's fine with us.
11:57Okay, so here.
11:58Okay, here's the first one.
11:59Okay.
12:00If animals could talk, which species would be the rudest?
12:04Stupid question number one.
12:06Rudest.
12:07Obviously, you like monkeys.
12:09No, monkeys are cool.
12:11They are cool.
12:12They're already pretty rude.
12:13Chimpanzees, probably, actually.
12:15Chimpanzees, okay.
12:16They're pretty rude with each other.
12:17Yeah.
12:18See, I thought cats right away.
12:19They like gang up on each other.
12:20Cats are kind of assholes, yeah.
12:21Yeah, right.
12:22They would be smug, though.
12:23They would be if they, you know.
12:24Right.
12:25They would be like British voices.
12:27Like old British men talking down to you.
12:30Yeah.
12:31Throwing their feces at you.
12:32Well, that would be monkeys, wouldn't it?
12:34Oh, I think so.
12:35Talking about monkeys.
12:36Sorry.
12:37Corey?
12:38Nothing?
12:39People.
12:40Okay, there you go.
12:41All right.
12:42Let's see.
12:43Question.
12:44A stupid question number two.
12:45It's a trick question.
12:46It's still people.
12:47I'll go back into the pocket here.
12:48I wasn't going to have you guys pick these, but I'll just do it.
12:49Yeah, just do it.
12:50All right.
12:51You can make one of your body parts detachable without any negative repercussions.
12:53What body part would it be?
12:54Detachable?
12:55Yeah.
12:56That's an obvious one.
12:57Who did the song Detachable Penis say?
13:00You still get the same sensation as you do when it's attached.
13:04Did you guys ever hear that song Detachable Penis came out in 2009?
13:07Yeah.
13:08I was just saying that.
13:09Justin has one.
13:10Who is that song?
13:11King Missile.
13:12What would you do with your detachable penis?
13:14Yeah.
13:15Exactly.
13:16One hit wonder, maybe.
13:17King Missile.
13:18What?
13:19You might finally blow yourself.
13:21All right.
13:22I have a feeling you've gotten that answer before.
13:25Moving on to stupid question number three.
13:27Here we go.
13:28Spinal tap or decline in the Western civilization, the metal years?
13:32Oh, they're both so good, dude.
13:34Decline of the Western civilization when the guy's getting hammered in the pool.
13:36Yeah, yeah.
13:37He's chugging.
13:38Everyone remembers that, yeah.
13:39I don't know that.
13:40Is that a movie?
13:41It's so good.
13:42That's a documentary about the late 80s metal scene.
13:44Oh, really?
13:45Oh, man.
13:46That's not my scene.
13:47Sorry.
13:48No, but there's a great scene.
13:50It's a good movie, though.
13:51There's a guitar player, and he's sitting in this pool, literally chugging bottles of
13:55vodka, and his mom's sitting there right next to him having a cocktail, not caring
13:59that he's just destroying his life.
14:01Yeah, he was the guitar player for Wasp.
14:03That's pretty metal.
14:04But apparently he wanted the singer, but the singer wanted to get paid.
14:06And he's like, no, I'm not going to pay you.
14:07And so they got the guitar player.
14:09And Ozzy is like Aaron Ellis Cooper.
14:10I mean, if you're talking about rewatchability, definitely Spinal Tap.
14:13Okay.
14:14That movie.
14:15You can watch that every year.
14:17Right.
14:18You can just schedule it.
14:19Next year, in 12 months, I'll rewatch that movie.
14:22John, funny story, this is the least rock and roll thing ever, but he's never seen that
14:26thing you do, still.
14:27Have you seen that?
14:28Is that about the 60s rock band?
14:30The Oneiders.
14:31Yeah.
14:32I don't know if I've ever really seen it, to be honest.
14:33Really?
14:34It's so good.
14:35My man.
14:36All right.
14:37Great song.
14:38Tom Hanks at his best.
14:39All right.
14:40I'll have to check that out.
14:41I'll put that one on my list.
14:42I was flying this weekend just because, I don't know, I was just like doing nothing.
14:45And then I met Janet Gardner on Saturday night from the band Vixen.
14:49And she was in it here and there.
14:50Cool.
14:51And then I brought it up to her.
14:52She kind of like rolled her eyes.
14:53Oh, God.
14:54This again.
14:55All right.
14:56Here we go.
14:57Stupid question number, what are we on there?
14:58Number four.
14:59Let's try this one here.
15:00I don't know what these are.
15:01What is the worst thing a person could put in their bio on a dating app?
15:05A dick pic.
15:08If that goes in the bio?
15:10A small dick pic.
15:11I don't think pics go in the bio.
15:13It's part of your bio, no?
15:15I'm not on any dating apps.
15:17Okay.
15:18Yeah, good point.
15:19I think whenever somebody starts with, let's try this again, or I'm going to give this one
15:24more shot.
15:25That's never a good sign.
15:28All right, Corey, coming to life here.
15:30All right.
15:31Yeah, that would be bad.
15:33Yeah, one more time before I give it up forever.
15:36This is super depressing.
15:38That is funny.
15:40I've got to be honest, I've never been on a dating app, but Corey, a lot of dating apps
15:43have you been on?
15:44Uh, yeah.
15:45Yeah, a couple of them.
15:46Played the fifth.
15:47Played the fifth.
15:48I played the fifth.
15:49What's your favorite ACDC song?
15:50Ooh, my favorite ACDC song.
15:52Oh, boy.
15:53It was a trick question.
15:54It should have been Meltdown.
15:55I would hell.
15:56Yeah, Meltdown, yeah.
15:57Yeah, I would hell.
15:58There you go.
15:59Yeah.
16:00All right, let's see what we've got here.
16:01You've got a lot of questions.
16:02I've only got two more here.
16:03All right.
16:04During the apocalypse, what would be better, living on your own or in a community?
16:08On my own.
16:09What kind of apocalypse?
16:10For sure.
16:11Like a zombie apocalypse?
16:12I would assume that's the only...
16:13Is there another kind?
16:14I'm not sure.
16:15Are there women in...
16:16The apocalypses.
16:17Oh, yeah.
16:18The biblical.
16:19Yeah.
16:20Whichever one you want.
16:21Yeah.
16:22If you're pretty resourceful, it would be better to be on your own.
16:25Okay.
16:26But he makes a good point, too, with the women.
16:28Yeah, I want community.
16:29Oh, you want to just get laid?
16:31I don't want to just jerk off for the rest of my life.
16:34Well, I'm saying you can still...
16:35Looks like you're gonna anyway, so...
16:36I'm saying you can still dip in and out, you know what I mean?
16:39Yeah, like community property.
16:40Yeah, you can roll up on the communities, but you're like a little ninja, you know what
16:44I mean?
16:45I'd rather be on my own, period.
16:46Like, even if it wasn't an apocalypse, so...
16:49He'd rather be on his own today.
16:51Yeah, he doesn't even like to hang out with us.
16:53Yeah.
16:54We get to a city and he's just like...
16:55It's just you.
16:56I like hanging out with John.
16:57That's why we went to the hockey game together.
16:58Go ahead.
16:59When you go to the city...
17:00Actually, it's because I was like, I want to go.
17:02Yeah, I'm like, literally...
17:03I'm like, see you boys.
17:04Yeah.
17:05Yeah, I like to get a nice cup of coffee.
17:07I like to see some stuff.
17:10I like to just walk around, especially like...
17:12Here, like we were walking around yesterday.
17:14We loved it here.
17:15So, great coffee, good food, stuff to do.
17:20John Vervato's store right on the main strip.
17:23That's right.
17:24Been going there.
17:25Thank you to those guys.
17:26They're helping us out this show tonight, actually.
17:29Yeah.
17:30They're actually lending me an amp head.
17:31Oh, nice.
17:32Yeah.
17:33Pretty cool.
17:34Yeah, they do a lot of good stuff.
17:35We've done a lot.
17:36I saw Els Cooper play there once in that store.
17:37Oh, really?
17:38Yeah.
17:39They do shows in there, right?
17:40Yeah.
17:41Was that an old venue, that place?
17:42No.
17:43Alright, last question here for you guys.
17:44Last stupid question here.
17:45You are banned from the library.
17:47What would be the reason for it?
17:49Being too loud?
17:50Can we swear?
17:51Go ahead, I don't care.
17:52Fucking.
17:53For sure.
17:54Yeah.
17:55Yeah.
17:56That's what I want it to be.
17:57There you go.
17:58I had sex in a library before.
18:00Did you get banned?
18:01No, I was discreet.
18:02Oh.
18:03Yeah.
18:04You've done it?
18:05Nice, dude.
18:06Wow.
18:07It's pretty impressive, actually.
18:08Well...
18:09Nice.
18:10This is straight out of The Girl Next Door.
18:12That's right.
18:13Good movie.
18:14Great movie.
18:15She was super hot.
18:16I got a story about that for later when we're done.
18:18But, alright.
18:19Final thing here for you guys.
18:20So, you guys, you've got to play tonight.
18:22How long is this tour going for?
18:24Until February 28th.
18:25It culminates in LA.
18:27We're playing a sold out show at the El Rey Theater.
18:29Okay.
18:30Um...
18:31Dude.
18:32Yeah.
18:33We're pumped for Detroit.
18:34We can't wait.
18:35Alright.
18:36Well, thank you guys so much for coming in here.
18:37And good luck tonight.
18:38And, uh...
18:39I'll tell you what.
18:40I can't wait to hear some new stuff from you guys.
18:41And everything you guys got coming up in the future.
18:42You will tonight.
18:43You're coming, right?
18:44I got it.
18:45Oh, yeah.
18:46You got the dog.
18:47The dog thing.
18:48Bring the dog.
18:49The dog thing.
18:50My family's out of town.
18:51I'm watching my dog.
18:52What kind of dog is it?
18:53He's a shepherd.
18:54Oh, yeah.
18:55Well, you go home.
18:56Bring the dog.
18:57Okay.
18:58We'll get him a triple-A pass.
18:59We like dogs.
19:00Alright.
19:01Dirty Honey right here from 101 WRIF.
19:03Thanks, guys.
19:05Cheers.