Honey, I'm Homeless
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Honey, I'm Homeless

Wildwood, NJ | Established. Jan 01, 2011 | INDIE

Wildwood, NJ | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2011
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"Honey, I'm Homeless New Album Interview"

When it comes to New Jersey not only does it have some of the best food, beaches, and killer summer party spots, but the music scene always has something great to offer! That being said i got to sit down with a long time friend of mine of whom i met in 2004, Brandon Smith. Brandon for as long as I have known him, he has been writing, recording, playing and making his presence well known in the New Jersey music scene. His most recent project called “Honey I’m Homeless” is definitely a wild mold of matchbox 20 fueled, late 90’s alternative, mixed with angsty, early pop punk spirited lyrics that blend nicely with guitar lines inspired by rock legends like Van Morrison. Not only have these guys put out some good music but they’ve played with some really great bands as well like Sponge, Glenn Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls, and they’ve got an upcoming show with Jimmies Chicken Shack (Get Your Tickets Here). If you’re into bands like 3rd eye blind, Hooty and the blowfish, and post “Take off your pants and jacket” blink-182, you’ll love “Honey I’m Homeless”, and if you’re in NJ this summer make sure you check them out!

I was able to listen to the single “Hotels” off of the album Remission Impossible which debuts Christmas Day 2018 on Brandon’s record label, Fester Records. Sonically “Hotels” sounds fantastic, very even and the lows are nice, punchy and clean. The vocals are a little raspy in a good way showing off that 90’s alternative vibe. The song almost has a country feel to it which bring backs memories of Hooty and The Blowfish and Goo Goo Dolls. The demo version is up on their website, which you can access through this link. I was also able to ask Brandon a few questions about the recording process and some of his favorite tools to use in the studio.

Band Name: Honey, I’m Homeless

Location: Wildwood, NJ

Jim: Brandon, we’ve known each other for almost 15 years now, I’ve always enjoyed your writing, what goes into the writing process when you’re making your music ?

Brandon: For me, this album is so much different from the last album. The last album (Honey, I’m Homeless) was kind of songs I already had written or pieces of songs I wrote in High School/College that I put music to. I typically start each song at the chorus and put what I think is a catchy hook then write around the hook of the song. They mostly are narrative-type of writing telling a little story. Whether it’s a girl I’m pining after or an event that transpired that I wrote the song about, it’s always a different kind of inspiration. This album is almost all from scratch so I’ve been recording demos of song ideas and slowly writing them. I have about 9 half-finished songs that will eventually end up on the album.

J: Your last album was recorded at Backroom Studios in Rockaway,NJ, for your album Remission Impossible are you returning to Backroom?

B: For this album I’m actually recording myself in my house, released with my self-owned label Fester Records. Fester Records has been my business for almost 10 years now but we always recorded somewhere else and released it through Fester. I actually lost my original studio in my house fire in 2013 so I finally built it back up again after many years. I only work with trusted musicians that I’ve known for many many years so it’s a very exclusive club. This album is my first 100% D.I.Y. album from start to finish. I love the creative freedom but it is 1000 times harder than going to a studio or having a producer. The other albums I did the guitars, songwriting, bass, and vocals. This album I’m trying to avoid singing as much as possible to have featured artists, which is a total first for me.

J: What was your favorite piece of gear used in the recording process and why?

B: My favorite for the Urethra Franklin album was recording through a 1960’s Neve console, which was insane, and used a Bogner Shiva for most of the rhythm guitars. My favorite for Honey, I’m Homeless was probably the 5150 for the rhythm guitars because of how chunky it was. We used an Orange head and cab for the leads, which was a little brash, but the engineer balanced it out so it sounded really good. For this album, I’m using a Focusrite Clarett 8PreX, a Kemper Profiler, Alesis Command drums, and doing all vocals through every engineer’s secret weapon…the Shure SM7B, my personal favorite studio microphone. The Kemper has been an absolutely insanely helpful tool for this album and has helped me find inspiration every time I try an amp. I’ve profiled about 100 amps so far from people I know. My main overdrive is a Bogner Helios, my light crunch is an amp called Divided by 13 (a very Sheryl Crow-type tone, which I love), and clean has been a profile of a real 1957 Fender Twin.

J: You have a background in audio engineering, what is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to mixing live audio?

B: Mixing live audio is such a beast in itself because, even if you have the same band every couple weeks, every mix each time is somehow gonna be different. People think there’s a such thing as using board “presets” and “plug and play” but there is no such thing. I think I always fight with the musician that only wants to hear them and no other band members, that’s the hardest to deal with. I have 3 monitors blasted right at you, I can’t give you any more than what I’m giving you or my house mix to the crowd will be affected. So I guess my main pet peeve is trust. The bands have to trust that I have a great house mix, then they can relax with the monitor mix a little bit. Even bigger a pet peeve than that is when a performer will say to the audience, “How do we sound? Can you hear everything?”. Even if the crowd responds in the negative, that’s my main job so you’re just insulting me. Your aunt or cousin in the crowd that wants to hear you more is dead wrong and you’ll just annoy me. My favorite industry phrase is that I have control of the “suck button”, which is 100% true. At any point in time, I have the power to make any performer sound terrible. Of course I don’t, but if a musician is going at it with me for extended periods of time, I gotta cut the mic sometimes to send a message.

J: What about when you’re in the studio?

B: I think my biggest pet peeve in the studio is vocal day. I don’t look forward to it at all. No one wants to hear how terrible they sound for hours and hours of takes. Another big one is when I get a song all recorded and finished and can’t seem to finish writing the second half of the song. It just stays in limbo until a later time when I come up with a couple lines. Luckily, the studio has mainly been just me and a drummer so I haven’t had too many bad experiences yet (knock on wood).

J: Top 3 go-to mics when it comes to recording your album?

B: My go-to vocal mic has always been the Shure SM7B, just the best-sounding vocal mic for my voice. I prefer the sound of a Shure SM57 mic’ed up on a guitar cabinet. A Yamaha Subkick has been my go-to for the kick drum. Other mics are just whatever the studio has but I insist on those 3.

J: Biggest Musical inspiration?

B: My biggest musical inspirations are kind of explained as; if you put them all in a blender, that’s what my bands sound like. I wear my influences on my sleeve. Alkaline Trio, blink-182, The Replacements, Smoking Popes, Descendents, Van Morrison, Samiam, Jawbreaker, Matchbox 20, New York Dolls, Everclear, Sponge, Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, and so many more. My formative years were the 90’s because I started playing in bands so young, so those were all important in evolving my music over the years.

J: Let them know when the album drops and what can we expect from the rest of the record?

B: The album Remission: Impossible drops on Christmas Day 2018. This record is everything from folk-rock to punk rock to hard rock…don’t expect a set genre for this one at all. There’s even a hip-hop song on this record, which I’ve never done. Because of the freedom I have with this album, I’m just doing whatever I’m feeling and letting it be as free as possible, with a whole lot of special guest vocalists as well. Our first single coming out next week is “Hotels” with our on-again-off-again lead vocalist Vinny Mosher. Our second single is the opener to the album, “Epitaph” with Jon Katity from Behind The Beautiful (who also has a new album coming out) on lead vocals and that one should be released soon after. - The Creator's Blog


"Band Of The Week - Brandon Smith Loves The 90's"

Depending upon preferences, people will argue that certain periods of music are better than all of the rest. For Brandon Smith, singer and songwriter of the Brandon Smith Band, the era that most resonates with him is the 1990s. Friday night is a big night for him, as his band opens for one of his favorite ’90s acts, Sponge, at the Boneyard Bar & Grill in Atlantic City 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.

“Sponge was a pretty big influence of mine,” Smith says, adding, “This is a huge deal for us.”

While Smith has performed since he was 10 years old and spends his days as the head sound engineer for Congress Hall in Cape May, he doesn’t do a lot of shows.

“We don’t play out very often, about three or four times a year,” Smith says.

Smith got the call asking the Brandon Smith Band to perform as one of the opening acts for Sponge from Stephen Weiss of NorStep Productions.

“I got the call and said yes,” Smith says, laughing, “I didn’t even talk to the band about it.”

The Brandon Smith Band is known for their original music. And while they occasionally do a cover, most notably the Sponge song “Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain),” their upcoming show will feature all originals.

“We’ve been described as a mixture of Third Eye Blind and Blink 182,” Smith says of the band’s ’90s-inspired alternative punk sound.


And while their sound may be inspired by other musicians and bands — Everclear, Van Morrison, the Descendents, Matchbox Twenty, the Replacements and, of course, Sponge — their lyrics are inspired by something else altogether.

The band’s debut album “Honey, I’m Homeless,” which was self-released in 2014, is partly an homage to Smith’s life after a house fire that left him homeless, complete with cover art that depicts Smith’s former home on fire.

“I lost most of my equipment, guitars, amps,” Smith explains, “Everything that wasn’t in my car.”

And while an upcoming album, tentatively scheduled for a late 2017 release, will feature more aggressive sounds, “Honey, I’m Homeless” is actually fun and somewhat upbeat.

“The writing is from experience,” Smith says. “It’s about the fire concept, but also about moving on to a new thing.” - Press Of Atlantic City


"Punk's Not Dead In AC"

Depending on who you ask, Atlantic City’s punk scene is either coming back or on the decline. One thing that is certain — punk never dies.

“It can’t be killed. Punks are like cockroaches,” joked Johnny Hurden, vocalist and guitarist for the Atlantic City-based punk band No Comply. “You just gotta’ look for it, it’s not in your face anymore like it used to be.”

In the back room of a local tattoo shop, No Comply vocalist and guitarist Jim Chivalette, drummer Rob Albert, bassist Jay Ramirez and Hurden talk about what’s on the horizon for punk.

“I think it’s going to come back big time. I feel like a lot of dub step, electronic music is being pushed down people’s throats,” Hurden said. “Especially kids.”

Erik Fischetti, who No Comply jokes is the band’s “unofficial member” and the force behind Atlantic City Crust Instagram, said the city’s patchwork of beaches, casinos, urban life and tourism influences the city’s unique punk sound and culture.

“It’s a culture unlike anywhere else” Fischetti said. “It’s a product of their environment and a different style than most bands you’ll hear.”

In Atlantic City, punk has been a way of pushing back at the decadence of casino club scenes.

“To the punk rock community, as far as you could get away from (cover bands and lounge acts) the better you were and happier you were,” said Brandon Smith, guitarist and vocalist of the Brandon Smith Band who grew up in Rio Grande and has been playing in the South Jersey punk scene since he was 10 years old.

In the chasm caused by the collapse of the city’s casinos, bands like No Comply and Fischetti say they’ve watched their parents’ lose their jobs and drugs grip the lives of their friends. Hurden said they all live off of the casinos, one way or another.

Local punk has a lot to push against, but the scene has its struggles.

Both Smith and No Comply embrace the “DIY” punk ethic, which Smith said gives him more autonomy and creative control over producing his own music. But DIY also means footing your own bill.

Chivalette said the founder of the former 1787 Collective, Paul Brown, carried the scene on his back for years.

Brown would often use his own money to put on shows. Faced with waning support from showgoers, who would at times balk at cover charges that help bands, Brown lost faith in the scene.

“Bands would start doing really well in this area, I would put them on shows and foster their creativity,” he said. “It was getting more and more difficult to get bands to stick around. From bands just being tardy, to simply cancelling shows, to breaking up, no matter what anybody says — in my opinion — a good foundation of a local music scene is the local bands.”

Brown is no stranger to marketing. The 33-year-old works for Good Time Tricycle, which organizes Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival, among others, and had been producing punk shows in the city since he was 15.

1787 booked primarily at the Boneyard, one of the few, if not only, venues left in the city where music like punk can thrive.

“It was impossible to sustain a culture when there was only one venue doing things,” he said, noting that the lack of venues, organization and excitement from showgoers can be a “volatile mixture.”

It wasn’t always that way. Brown said at one time Atlantic City’s independent music scene, even extending outside the city, was rivaling Asbury Park’s.

In spite of what might seem like doom-and-gloom prospects, Brown is optimistic Stockton University’s new campus will bring young college students to the city who will want to get out of their dorms to check out new music. He wants to see coffee shops, book shops, record stores and new venues popping up in the city.

“I don’t want there to be one venue in Atlantic City to carry the weight on their shoulders, and when it’s not doing phenomenally, everyone is like, ‘Oh, the scene is dead!’” he said.


Noranne Thompson, co-owner of NorStep Productions, primarily promotes and books shows out of the Boneyard. In the past few months, she said they’ve been booking more punk shows.

“It’s something I really enjoy. The energy is amazing — it’s beautiful,” she said. “There’s definitely people who are very supportive, who come out to almost every show. It’s not as great as it should be, or could be, but we’re working on that.”

Brown still has an “undying love” for the entire culture. He even had a “bit of an itch” to come back and said there’s a possibility he could put on one big show a month.

“When you grow up and mature in that world of independent music — it sticks with you forever no matter how far you pull away from it,” he said.

Brown thinks kids need to start playing in bands, “especially if they suck.”

“Some of the best punk bands sucked at music, but people loved them because that’s the culture,” he said. Brown also thinks the “slactivist” generation needs to step away from their computers and stop focusing so much on social media, unless it’s to spread the word about a show.

Smith said he’d like to see punk going back to being more personal, instead of just posting on Facebook.

“It would be great if there was an Atlantic City renaissance, it sounds really poetic,” Hurden said. “I hope it happens.”

As punk and politics are often intertwined, Hurden said there will always be people trying to express themselves creatively in the face of oppression.

There’s plenty to look forward to in the future.

Chivalette said with a smile: “I hope Donald gives us some good writing material.” - Press Of Atlantic City


Discography

God-Awful (B-Sides & Rarities) - 2019
The Complete Brandon Smith Discography - 2018
Honey, I'm Homeless - 2014
Welcome To Rio Grande - 2013

Photos

Bio

Brandon began playing in bands at the age of 10 in the fall of 2001. Since then, he's shared the playbill with artists such as; members of the New York Dolls & Sex Pistols, Man Overboard, Sponge, Taking Back Sunday, members of Black Flag & Misfits, The Menzingers, Lucero, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, and dozens more. 
Brandon has been a regular guest of South Jersey and Philadelphia-area radio stations, college radio, newspapers, magazines, online blogs, and an appearance on MTV. 

In January 2012, Brandon started the alt-punk outfit Urethra Franklin and released the EP Welcome To Rio Grande, which received high critical acclaim as well as the hit single, "Hide The Bottle".
December 23, 2014 was the release of Brandon's first solo EP Honey, I'm Homeless , which features fast-paced pop-punk/alternative with heartfelt lyrics and catchy hooks.

His newest incarnation of his band is known as Honey, I'm Homeless with their album Remission: Impossible set for a 2019 release.

Band Members