Honey Made

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re already salivating over all the fixings, dressings, and sauces that await us next week. But if you want something homegrown that’ll slather up your ear drums and keep you full ’til the proverbial turkey gobbles, serve yourself up some Honey Made.

The Austin-based nine-piece started oozing out of the jar at the turn of this past decade, and in 2020 alone put out not just their debut EP Couple Few but also their first full-length Brand New. Now, as with any horn-heavy stage-filling ensemble, Honey Made is best enjoyed in a live setting, so we can’t really blame them for taking their time in terms of subsequent studio releases. That said, this Friday Honey Made unfurls their sophomore EP Charge It To The Band Fund.

On top of an edit of last summer’s “Upstairs”, CITTBF totes six new tunes that attest to Honey Made’s impressive perseverance and undying efforts towards shaking rumps and sating the parched. As someone who used to play in a fifteen-piece, I can tell you that the band fund is all-too-real, and honestly a better bet for pooling towards the next big thing. So chip in as much as you can at the Charge It To The Band Fund EP release show 10PM Saturday night at the Skylark Lounge with openers The Reverent Few at 8PM. And if you want to get some mileage out of your stank face before settling in with your relatives, loved ones, or whomever you share Thanksgiving with, turn the volume all the way up, plow onto your couch, and get kickin’ with “FYC”. Whether or not you take your shoes off is up to you… - KUTX 98.9

Charge it to the Band Fund has the remarkable ability to reignite your passion for music, especially if you had a strained relationship with it before. While Honey Made claims to pay homage to the gritty spirit of the 90s and 2000s southern Hip-Hop era, the album transcends these boundaries, incorporating vibes from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and more. It defies categorization, seamlessly blending soul, R&B, hip-hop, and even Gospel elements (at least I heard gospel elements). This project literally takes the box you try to put it in and throws that muthaf**ka across the room.

Beyond its genre-blending and eclectic mix of musical eras, what truly sets Charge it to the Band Fund apart is its unwavering spirit from beginning to end. The album maintains an exhilarating pace, ensuring there’s never a dull moment. Honey Made achieves this through powerful vocal performances that resonate deeply with your heart and soul, infusing live elements that transport you to the front row of a nine-piece band’s concert, and, perhaps most importantly, lyrical content that encourages revelry, productive unruliness, and genuineness. Every aspect of the album exudes authenticity and freshness, a rare quality in the musical landscape, making Charge it to the Band Fund a standout and memorable experience. - Ratings Game Music

Austin, TX – Austin’s very own funk and soul powerhouse, Honey Made caught our attention with their new EP, Charge It to the Band Fund. The 7 track body of work is a display of versatility and authenticity as the band delivers a genre-diverse project brimming with rich sounds, engaging topical songwriting and an overall vibrant arrangement. - The Word is Bond

We are honored to be voted “Best Live Band” in “Best of Lifestyle” by Austin Fit Magazine’s “Best of 2022”. Check it out at the link below. - Austin Fit Magazine

After delighting our faces with 2019’s Perfect Getaway, Honey Made are rather incredible on a sensually loving single that will have many embracing their lovers tightly Upstairs.

Honey Made is a 9-piece Austin, Texas-based indie primal-soul RnB band who are inspired by the greats such as James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Earth Wind and Fire.

Gliding in swiftly with a classy tone that might cause uncovered necks to blush suddenly, Honey Made makes that silky treat that is so easy to digest. Vocally excellent and with an aura that shall take you places in your mind that you had forgotten, which brings your mood back to true freedom. There is a hum in the speakers that can’t be taught, as their intuitive melodies bring great joy to all who listen closely.

Upstairs from the 9-piece Austin, Texas-based indie primal-soul RnB band Honey Made is one of the more crisply woven-into-your-soul singles that will make you smile. There is an incredible quality attached here that is rather magnificently created and world class to the max, as you just imagine that sparked up night that has turned into something memorable.

When you look inside those eyes and see that romantic flame, it’s best to keep it alive.

Listen up to this top new track on Spotify and see more news via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen - A& R Factory

Honey Made’s debut full-length “Brand New,” produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, will drop Nov. 6, but in June, the 9-piece funk crew blessed the city with a much-needed ode to hope. In the video for lead single, “So Good,” a trio of soul stirrers sing down this summer’s strife. A church organ ushers the track in as a camera pans over an aerial of the Black Austin Matters mural painted on Congress Avenue while lead singer Willie Barnes delivers a heartfelt sermon on the challenges we’re facing, from COVID-19 to the “modern day revolution” of the Black Lives Matters movement.

“What Honey Made wants to make sure is that everyone out there remembers how to feel good,” he says as the song swells into a glorious chorus, rich with vocal harmony and buoyant blasts of brass.

The track was recorded before the world took a dark turn in March, but Barnes “always had this idea of it staying relevant and changing the lyrics every time we do it to kind of fit the mood and whatever is going on when we play it,” the band’s bass player Lee Braverman said during an episode of Austin360’s streaming show, the Monday Music Mashup. “He kind of came to the band and said, ‘This is a song that the world needs right now. It's not released yet. And there's a lot of things going on very relevant to this song.’”

Though the new arrangement featured in the video reflects on the pandemic lockdown and a long overdue social justice reckoning, it radiates warmth and hard-won joy.

“I mean, what else you gonna do? Especially for the Black community, we've been having strife and struggle, since we got here. And if you just focus on the bad, that's what you're gonna feel,” Chris Barnes, drummer and vocalist for the band said on the Mashup. “I wake up, I put a smile on my face no matter what I'm going through, because otherwise, they — the opposition — they win. So you gotta power through, no matter what the struggle is.”

The song soars with revival meeting realness that is second nature to Willie and Chris Barnes, who are brothers. They were raised in the church and when Chris was three and Willie was six, the family had a gospel group that traveled the church circuit singing the Word.

“Our dad's a pastor, our grandpa was a pastor, (our) other grandpa was a deacon,” Chris Barnes said. “My mom was minister of music. So was our grandma in my grandpa’s church. So we didn't really have much of a choice.”

Though Honey Made is a relatively new project, the nine-man crew has roots that go back several years. The band grew out of the defunct (de-funked?) project, Mama K and the Shades and consists of most of the original players, minus lead singer, Kelsey Garcia who left amicably to pursue solo work.

Most of the songs on the new album were written as Mama K and the Shades songs and were part of the band’s live catalog. “We kind of rewrote them to fit the Honey Made sound once we switched over to Willie singing all the songs,” Braverman said.

The group’s name is a hat tip to Mama K and the Shades’ founder, saxophonist David McKnight, who died in a drowning accident in 2015.

RELATED:Mama K and the Shades channel loss into powerful debut

“Every time, you know, anything good or tasty happened like a solo or a lick, he’d turn around and go, ‘Ooh, honey made,’” Chris Barnes said.

At a Mama K and the Shades show in 2017, the band caught the eye of Steve Berlin, saxophonist for Los Lobos and a prolific producer. When Honey Made was ready to record, Berlin came on board.

It was the first time the band had worked with a producer, and Berlin pushed the group hard.

“It was a lot of fun sometimes and then sometimes it was not fun,” Chris Barnes said with a laugh. Berlin was like “a drill sergeant,” when he didn’t like what he was hearing “he didn't sugarcoat it,” he said.

“He told you exactly what your college professors told you when you were in school. And you took it, and he brought the best out of you,” he said.

“I remember when we were doing the backing horns for ‘Brand New,’ he didn't like the arrangement at all,” Trombonist Donald McDaniel said. “We actually had to rewrite it and come back a month later with something that he enjoyed.”

Braverman, one of the main songwriters in the band, enjoyed the way Berlin’s input helped him evolve the songs. Several songs contain sections that grew from Berlin’s suggestions, he said.

The end project captures the magic of the band, soulful, funky and uplifting.

For McDaniel, the band itself embodies the core messages of their music.

“We're a band of diversity,” he said. “And I think it's also a mirror of what you can achieve with people coming together (with) different musical backgrounds, different ethnic backgrounds, different religious backgrounds. We hope that's a model for other people. As a band, we are a mirror of that kind of unity that we're talking about.” - Austin 360

The Austin, Texas funk and soul outfit Honey Made follow up their recent EP with this debut album, where the 9 members work together with a playful chemistry that’s both mature and frisky, and even touches on jazz and reggae, too.

“Chicken Sweats” starts the listen with bright horns as plenty of soulfulness and adventurousness enter the R&B influenced atmosphere, and “Brand New” follows with a calmer setting, where smooth grooves unfold with no shortage of warm melodies.

At the midpoint, “Smoove” moves with some nods to reggae as strong vocals guide the agile setting, while “Can You Feel It” recruits a festive spirit that will get your body moving to its Latin rhythm. “Canadian Mist”, an album standout, then flows percussively strong as strategic backing vocals add much to lively climate.

Near the end, “Southern Friend Funk” offers an instrumental where funk and jazz collide amid much creativity, and “So Good” finishes the listen with talking mixed in with the gospel leaings and dynamic musicianship from the talented players.

An album that parallels the energy of George Clinton And Parliament Funkadelic, but also possesses the capacity for slow burning timelessness, too, Brand New is an excellent starting point for a band we will all be hearing much more about in the future. - TakeEffectReviews.Com

Willie and Chris Barnes moved around a lot as kids. By the time they were teenagers, the brothers had seen the better part of Texas’ furthest reaches, living everywhere from East Texas towns like Livingston to McAllen and Pharr in the Rio Grande Valley. The one constant in their lives? Music—gospel, specifically. Raised in a religious family, their childhood homes were always filled with holy hymns and singing courtesy of their parents (especially their mother, who was a theater arts teacher and their church’s musical director).

But as the years passed, their interests began expanding into the broader reaches of funk, groove, jazz, and hip hop. The brothers became so hungry in their search for new tunes that they took to taping over their own family gospel albums, which they’d recorded with their parents. “We’d get home from school before our dad was back and record our favorite radio segments over the CD’s,” Chris laughs. “It was risky, but it was worth it. Willie and I broke our walkman headphones in half so we could both listen at the same time.”

These days, Chris and Willie are two of the key faces in Austin band Honey Made, a nine-man brass ensemble that’s somewhere between James Brown and Earth, Wind & Fire. Boasting a powerful blend of musical know-how (many of the group’s members are classically trained across several genres), spunk, and captivating talent, the band’s sound is as eclectic as it is jam-worthy. Case in point: Their latest album, Brand New, which was released last month.

From the outset, Brand New signals that Honey Made is unlike any other up-and-coming band in town. Harnessing a gritty, soulful—and undeniably catchy—brassy sound that transports you to the streets of New Orleans, the opening track, “Chicken Sweats,” comes on strong from the jump. After hitting you with an onslaught of horns, Willie (the band’s lead singer) slides into the song, layering in sweet serenades alongside guest vocalist Tamara Mack before making way for a scintillating guitar solo. “Steppin’ Out,” a similarly energizing song laden with tasty guitar licks a la Rick James, is another nod to the group’s heavy R&B and funk influences.

“Take one listen to this album and you’ll know what we’re about. We’re gonna come out here playing some funky, grooving, sweating-in-your-face, jumping-on-the-table type of s***,” Willie says. “‘Steppin Out,’ for example. It’s got this swing to it—that s*** is hot. You can’t sit still when it’s being played.” - Austin Monthly

“Perfect Getaway” is the latest Funk driven single from the Austin, Texas-based artist Honey Made which contains enough Soul to induce goosebumps from the first few notes in the prelude.

As the drippings of soul nostalgia intensify in Perfect Getaway, you’ll find yourself in an effervescently shimmering soundscape where every instrumental in the arrangement exudes fluid expression.

In the jazzy downtempo instrumental arrangements, you’ll find plenty of catharsis as the Perfect Getaway makes a gentle demand to let the sound resonate while in the choruses, you’ll appreciate the explosive energy from the unrestrained vocals and the cutting angular guitar progressions.

Perfect Getaway is as accessible as Funk gets thanks to the even serving of anachronistic and contemporary textures found in the single. Honey Made is well and truly an artist putting on your radar.

You can check out Perfect Getaway for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast - A&R Factroy

Nearly halfway through the set Willie Barnes II, set his microphone down and jumped down into the crowd, the audience formed a tunnel as he danced back to the back of the room, the band on stage keeping the groove going, the audience stretching their heads to the back of the crowded room to catch a glimpse of the roving party maker who soon enough was climbing back on stage mic in hand as the band pushed together into another tight chorus.

I looked over at Riley, his camera in hand. "This is so fun!" I said.

Riley smiled back with cool ease, "If you aren't having fun here, you are never going to have fun".

I scanned the room, didn't seem like anybody had that problem, everybody was moving and grooving and smiling.

You can't help but smile at Honey Made. It's hard not to delight at their athletic musicianship, their infectious hooks, or hairpin turns between the entire canon of funk feels - hard funk, hip hop grooves, or James Brown - you name it, they did it. If that was all it was, I'd still call Honey Made a great band, but it's more than that, it's their willingness to bring you into the fold that makes seeing Honey Made a great _time_.

As each song went along you felt just a little bit cooler than when you came in - more in touch with everyone around you, a part of the band, a part of a community. The way that happened was so well done. All three vocalists Willie Barnes II, Donald Ford Jr, and Chris Barnes had a way of talking with the audience and not to them. I felt like the third point in a triangle between the two front-men. It felt like an overheard conversation between two close friends and an invitation to join them. I have no idea if that was just an extension of how cool those guys are or extremely well-orchestrated stagecraft or both, anyway about it - bravo, it totally worked for me.

About those vocals. Ford and Barnes were as comfortable in their high falsetto register as they were belting out audience-rousing "hey's" and James Brownish band call outs. The interplay between the two was mesmerizing. That's saying a lot when there were 10 extremely accomplished musicians on stage that could draw your attention with either their finesse or overt mastery of their instruments.

I think one vocalist working as hard as Donald or Willie is phenomenal, two is mind-melting. I am telling you - come see these guys, you will be blown away by their musicality and how much energy they bring to the stage.

One of my favorite things about Honey Made was the brass. The arrangements were spot on - taking on a supporting role underneath the vocals while also developing interesting motivic ideas (small musical gestures with intent). However, when it was time for the horns to come forward - boom, there they were - in unison lines or filling out the sound with warm chord tones or counter melodies. We were treated to great playing from Bari and Tenor Sax player Dustin Hunter, trumpet player Joseph Morrow and Trombonist Donald McDaniel.

Another key element was the backline which is essential to all funk and soul. A funk rhythm section needs a lock - for me, that was drummer Chris Barnes, his playing on songs like the fast funk 'Love Machine' and the later Samba breakdown was right where it needed to be. The world of the singing drummer is a tough one, guitarists and bass lead singers have some tone next to their body that they can draw on to find pitch, not so for the drummer, and Barnes did a phenomenal job with his lead and backups.

There were memorable spotlight moments during the set as well - including a number of clutch keyboard solos during the show including some talkbox effects in there just for fun. David Thacker's keyboard set up included a Nord synthesizer in a wooden organ shell, an awesome bit of instrumental costumery - that would've completely fooled me if Riley hadn't been right up against the stage photographing to know differently.

Guitarist Elliot Liebman's guitar headstock was covered in a lei (leftover from an earlier gig at Oskar Blues), that visually communicated something quirky and fun about his personality, a nice touch. We got to hear a little more from him on his stellar solo on a slow 6/8 groove. It was melodic and virtuosic with a fabulous telecaster crunch tone. It even had a moment of fretboard tapping ala Van Halen. Pulling that off (hey-o! guitar pun) in an R&B tune tastefully was a feat, but seemed no problem for Liebman.

I was dumbfounded by a solo from Lee Braverman on bass. I initially thought he was doubling the keys but I think it was a pedal altered octave effect. Beyond the intriguing sonics of his bass, there was hyper-precise playing executed at an incredible clip. This was a complex solo that had echoes of Jaco Pastorius' work from Weather Report. Very complex motivic thought going on and one of the best bass solos I remember hearing ever. I think I may have gasped aloud. No joke.

Perhaps most subtly, percussionist Wesley Gonzales reliably cut through the grooves with an arsenal of percussive delights. During the set, I remember thinking, "damn, those toms sound amazing" and realizing that it was both Barnes on drums and Gonzales on timbales creating that sound. Being an ensemble player and having two musicians speak with the same voice is exactly the kind of thing a player like Gonzales can achieve. He and drummer Barnes shared a percussion duet towards the end of the set where Gonzales was given moment in the spotlight to shine as a soloist.

Tunes like "Steppin' Out" had the entire audience moving from left to right mirroring the entire band's Blues Brothers soul review dance steps on stage. The 60s spy-like groove of "Ashy Pockets" felt downright Pink Panther-ish which they doubled down on with a bari-sax solo. By the end of the night, the whole audience was waiting on cue from Willie and Donald to jump up and down in sync.

Throughout the night I kept thinking back to my brief time in Houston, Texas. I lived for a year in this house near a Baptist church. Every Sunday for a number of hours, you would hear this hypnotizing pulsing bass and drums emanating from that church. Even though it was down the street, from my living room, it still began to seep into my mind, a hypnotic mantra of music. Sitting there on the couch I would think: wow, that rhythm is bringing people together, unifying them, letting them work as one instrument. On Saturday night I got to experience that feeling again, that was us, that was the audience, that was Stubbs, that was Honey Made. - David Diers

Honey Made
Saturday 28, Swan Dive

Like the Sixties-plucked soundtrack to a 21st century heist movie, Honey Made's Brand New packs funk, soul, and brass anticipation. Particular former Music Editor Raoul Hernandez deemed it "one deep sleeper of 2020," so no more sleeping. - The Austin Chronicle

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re already salivating over all the fixings, dressings, and sauces that await us next week. But if you want something homegrown that’ll slather up your ear drums and keep you full ’til the proverbial turkey gobbles, serve yourself up some Honey Made.

The Austin-based nine-piece started oozing out of the jar at the turn of this past decade, and in 2020 alone put out not just their debut EP Couple Few but also their first full-length Brand New. Now, as with any horn-heavy stage-filling ensemble, Honey Made is best enjoyed in a live setting, so we can’t really blame them for taking their time in terms of subsequent studio releases. That said, this Friday Honey Made unfurls their sophomore EP Charge It To The Band Fund.

On top of an edit of last summer’s “Upstairs”, CITTBF totes six new tunes that attest to Honey Made’s impressive perseverance and undying efforts towards shaking rumps and sating the parched. As someone who used to play in a fifteen-piece, I can tell you that the band fund is all-too-real, and honestly a better bet for pooling towards the next big thing. So chip in as much as you can at the Charge It To The Band Fund EP release show 10PM Saturday night at the Skylark Lounge with openers The Reverent Few at 8PM. And if you want to get some mileage out of your stank face before settling in with your relatives, loved ones, or whomever you share Thanksgiving with, turn the volume all the way up, plow onto your couch, and get kickin’ with “FYC”. Whether or not you take your shoes off is up to you… - KUTX 98.9