A Conversation with honeyhoney – HuffPost 12.23.11

Mike Ragogna: How’s honeyhoney doin’ today?

Ben Jaffe & Suzanne Santo: Good, how are you doing?

MR: I’m doing okay, but Suzanne, how are you really?

SS: I couldn’t be better, I’m a picture of perfect health.

MR: Uh-huh. So, how do you feel about tequila?

SS: (laughs) That’s really funny, I’m so glad because this is honesty at its best, I don’t think tequila is for me, Mike.

MR: Suzanne, why is that?

SS: I think our bodies are only capable of containing certain vessels of alcohol. My temple is not built for tequila. (laughs)

MR: Agreed. (laughs) So, what do you think? Should we dive right in to all that is honeyhoney?

SS: Let’s do that, let’s shift the focus immediately to the band.

MR: (laughs) Okay, but first, let’s go back to “Little Toy Gun” that had Kiefer Sutherland in the video. How did that all come together?

SS: “Little Toy Gun” was a single on our first record that came out in 2008. Kiefer Sutherland owned the record company we were signed to and he organized that video and made a cameo in it.

MR: Let’s move on to the first single from your new album Billy Jack, “Turn That Finger Around.” What’s the story behind that?

SS: It’s one of those tunes that Ben and I kind of had a story in mind, and Ben and I wrote about that story that was fictitious. It’s basically about before pointing fingers at everybody else, why not take a good look at yourself.

BJ: Free your mind and the rest will follow.

MR: Obviously, you’re huge Tom Laughlin fans, titling your album Billy Jack and all.

BJ: We don’t know as much about the movie as we should, we should probably make a point to see that. A friend of ours is a comedian, an actor. He’s just a wacky dude, and he does these performance pieces. He pretends to be a little kid a lot of the time in performance, and he has this song called, “Once You Save My Little Pony, Billy Jack.” It’s not as creepy as it sounds, it’s actually pretty funny, and he needs Billy Jack to come save him and he sings this song about it. We sang the song with him one time and we both love Jim deeply. When we were thinking about the album, we were thinking about Jim too, so we kind of named it as an homage to him. When we found out more about the actual Billy Jack character, it made even more sense.

MR: Okay, “Don’t Know How,” “Angel Of Death,” and “Thin Line” Let’s get some stories here.

SS: Well “Don’t Know How” is a love ballad type if you will. It’s about figuring out how to move on from somebody you love when it’s not working out. I’m sure most of us have to deal with that at some point in our lives, so why not write songs about it.

MR: It’s called catharsis. Well, that’s what I’m calling it today.

BJ: We’ve got a dance we’ve choreographed to it.

SS: We’ve got to show him over the phone. (laughs)

BJ: You’ve got to believe me.

MR: Of course, I do. Now what’s all this about an “Angel Of Death?”

BJ: We spent the last couple of years in Nashville, and both of us got huge respect for the country tradition that’s there, Hank Williams in particular. Thinking about that, writing music and blending with something about to go off on here. You’ve seen the Planet Earth TV Show?

MR: Yeah?

BJ: There’s this spore in the jungle, and this spore that attaches itself to ants, and it takes off the ant’s nervous system, it controls the ant and finally kills it. The other ants push it off to the side because they’re freaking out about this ghost ant. The spore grows out of this ant’s body into this bizarre moldy flower. We’re watching and it was a creepy thing and sci-fi, but it was real. I wrote that in my phone and I wrote “Angel of Death,” and that spore is like an angel of death, because it’s going around killing things and taking their life. I don’t really have a better connection than that, but I guess I wanted to talk about it.

MR: Great, antspores. This is going to haunt me like Checkov’s ear thingy from Wrath of Khan. So, “Thin Line.” It’s a thin line between love and hate, no?

SS: It’s a thin line between having a good time and having it be what one might consider irresponsible.

MR: Right, that’s what I meant. What is the honeyhoney creative process?

SS: We’ve been writing most of our songs together. In the past, we would write together and it wasn’t as much. It would be like Ben would write a song and I would write a song and we’d kind of throw them in a pile. We’re already working on our third record and it feels, for the most part, a lot of these songs are things that we’re building together that have been really fun. It’s interesting making them co-writes more than ever as opposed to our songs in the past.

MR: What inspires you?

SS: A lot of movies lately have made me want to write songs. I saw a movie the other night called Beginners, and it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Our stories, lives, and relationships, and we get inspired by other people’s stories too.

MR: Who are your favorite artists out there right now?

BJ: For years, I had some reason I had a bone to pick with Fleet Foxes and I didn’t like them. Then I actually listened to their music and I think it’s incredible, I’m a huge fan of them. I think they’re an exciting band. I’m getting hip to all of this stuff that everyone got hip to like five years ago, I just listened to Dirty Projectors and it blew my mind.

MR: Love Fleet Foxes.

BJ: I saw the Beiber movie recently too. There’s not much to say, he’s legit. After I saw it, I said, “Take the throne.” I rented it with my friend and we watched it in her house, but after seeing, I wouldn’t have been ashamed to go see it in the theaters.

MR: What were the most memorable moments for you?

BJ: When you see him and he’s ten years old and is playing. He sounds amazing playing guitar and he’s singing his ass off, he’s great.

MR: Does he deserve all of that money and fame?

BJ: Yeah, but it may not be such a good thing that he’s having them. I’m sure he deserves it for what he’s done, but money and fame is just as much a punishment as it is a reward.

MR: Because of his age?

BJ: We’re really getting into Beiber here. But you see the pressure of that lifestyle and it definitely makes you think twice about wanting to experience what he’s experiencing.

MR: Oh, the fleet of analysts that will be coming down the road.

BJ: I’m sure they’re there already.

MR: Actually, I’m hoping things might turn out pretty well for him after all. But let’s talk about that. When you guys were ten years old, weren’t you also wanting that same level of fame?

BJ: Sure.

SS: Yeah, I think there was a time in my life where I was saying I want to be famous when I was a kid and didn’t know any better. It’s funny that you mention that. As a kid, I didn’t even really know I wanted to sing songs or play music or act or anything like that, I just wanted to be on TV and be famous. The older I got, I realized that it’s a very difficult thing, especially in Los Angeles, to deal with in your life. So, I’m not opposed to it but it’s not a driving force for your career.

BJ: I think you learned a lot in your thirties. (laughs)

SS: Not as much as my forties though. (laughs)

BJ: That was a great decade.

MR: What about your fifties?

SS: Whoa, you think I’m in my fifties now?

BJ: (laughs) Never talk to a woman that way, or a man. That’s very misogynistic, what I just said, and foolish, I’m sorry.

SS: It was. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) It’s okay, we’re all friends. Don’t shows like American Idol make you want fame and fortune that much more now?

BJ: No, I think I want it less after seeing those shows. (laughs)

SS: Me too.

BJ: It’s kind of like seeing a sausage get made. You watch these shows and you see it’s an industry. There are people who have risen to the top of the industry based on their unique individuality, but for the most part, those are products of the industry. I can only speak for myself, but I’m not interested in being somebody’s product, I’m interested in being my own.

MR: Surely, there’s an institution that could step in and help those who didn’t win onAmerican Idol.

BJ: Yeah, it’s called VH1. (laughs)

MR: What advice would you have for new artists?

SS: Well, I would say always when moving forward with your music and it does become a career and there’s business involved and contracts and legal forms, make sure you cover all of your bases. Do as much research as you can and be as informed as you can of the ins and outs of that part of the business. People don’t really do that for you and it’s good to be on top of your game and it’s your career. You don’t want someone dictating your future finances before they’ve started. I would say do it yourself.

BJ: Can I add to that Suzanne?

SS: Sure.

BJ: It’s not just about the business too. Never be scared to know more than you know. I think a lot of people, including myself, are very stubborn about not knowing more and not learning more than they know. Usually, because of some sort of fear or being uncomfortable, I want to keep learning more and I think that’s the only reason I continue to play music with other people and actually make a living at it.

MR: And your label, Lost Highway, does have a reputation for allowing its artists to explore their creativity. Do you have demands of your own career arc or are you just making music and seeing how it goes?

SS: I guess it’s kind of both, speaking of Lost Highway, it’s kind of a dream label to us. Luke Lewis is a legend to me. That man is so smart and so good at heart, and yes, he’s a businessman, but he’s passionate about music and artists. I feel like that’s something that falls through the cracks more often than not when it comes to labels. This company, in particular, is good ol’ boys, down home, music loving people. That’s kind of who we are, so it’s a really nice fit.

MR: And like your music, they often cater to artists and albums that aren’t easy to shoehorn into a genre. By the way, how would you define your genre?

BJ: I have something inappropriate and I lost the confidence to say it.

MR: We can always bleep it.

BJ: It didn’t have any swear words, and maybe it wasn’t that funny now that I’m reflecting on it. I think it’s a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.

MR: Wow, you went all Donny and Marie, even when we could have bleeped it.

BJ: (laughs) Always expect the unexpected.

SS: Way to drop the ball with the inappropriate stuff.

MR: (laughs) So, is it alright to say “Americana,” although that word seems so overplayed.

SS: I think I would say American over Americana. It’s American music.

BJ: Americana suggests this over stylization. We’re American musicians and most of the music is influenced by American musicians. I guess that’s a weird thing to say.

MR: No, I get it. And I never really associate the word “Americana” with its stereotype anyway. It’s now almost a dumb name.

BJ: I think most genre names are dumb.

MR: True. Well, it’s that time, sorry to say. This has been a lot of fun for me, thanks.

BJ: Thank you for having us, by the way, thank you for talking to us.

MR: Of course, we tried to nail down this interview a couple of times and we finally got it. Yay.

SS: Yeah, when you’re on the road, you’re in this time paradox where there’s just no sense of (time).

MR: Speaking of touring, you had a forty-one date nationwide, the Ten Buck Tour.

SS: It was great, it was blood sweat and tears and lots of good times.

MR: Was it truly ten bucks?

SS: Some of the venues would tack on their own service fees, which was a bummer because then we felt like jackasses. Oh yeah, it’s ten bucks! But it’s also fourteen dollars.

MR: Okay, I want to thank you guys for the interview, let’s do this again in the very near future.

BJ & SS: Thanks so much, Mike.

Transcribed by Theo Shier