ALISHA HAMILTO
Lifestyle Editor
It seems like there is a local CD release party every week, and it's hard to spend $10 on a local act when there are so many national acts to keep up with. However, Honeytree proves the local scene is worth your consumer dollar with the release of their debut CD 'SureEnoughSugar.'
With a sound similar to classic college radio at its best, Honeytree soothes your soul and rocks your world.
Singer Daniel Reneer, 26, a junior majoring in design from Provo, said he doesn't want to alienate anyone with his lyrics so he ends up writing most of the songs about the universal theme of love and relationships.
For instance, in the song 'out of my control,' he sings, 'I've felt this once before last time I got hurt and a mouthful of dirt/ caution is a must/ love comes after trust.' With a good bass line and beat, you can dance to the tune without even noticing the painful lyrics.
Reneer said his favorite track on the CD is 'let go,' which successfully sticks in your head with the short, fast echo of the words 'let go' throughout the song. The lyrics of this song are also romance-driven: 'you're the patron saint of crying and I can't think of anything better than drinking what you're crying.'
The opening track of the CD, 'I won't be here,' features the succulent voice of Amy Greetham, who sings for the local band Sleepy. Mix Greetham's sultry voice with Reneer's rich vocals and you have pure enchantment. Greetham also sings back up on the tracks, 'crossed' and 'zero ground.'
The only thing better than their work together on the CD would be to hear them perform together live, and this will happen Thursday night at Honeytree's CD release party at Mama's Cafe, where Greetham will do a few songs with Honeytree after her band Sleepy opens up the show.
Don't expect the CD to sound like what you hear Thursday night. While Honeytree play harder and louder live, the CD is much softer.
The band gives a simple explanation for this.
'It's kind of boring to play mellow when you're playing live,' said Chris Pearson, 24, lead guitarist and a senior majoring in Japanese from Pendleton, Ore.
'It's an Adrenalin thing live,' said Brian Beers, 23, bass player and a sophomore majoring in history at UVSC from Anaheim, Calif.
Reneer said they didn't want people to come to the show and say this is exactly what they heard on the CD -- the goal is to make the performance more fun for people.
And their shows are fun. Reneer's animated singing and Pearson's funky retro fashion sense while jamming on the guitar add to the band's stage presence.
The band also plays some varied covers to amuse the audience. 'Little Red Corvette,' played Honeytree-style, is certainly a crowd pleaser.
Reneer explained that the soul of a song is the chord progression and words, and when playing covers they strip the song down and build it back in their own style, not even trying to replicate the original sound.
Honeytree also does a cover of the ever-popular 'Blue Moon,' as well as 'Love Vigilantes' by New Order. They also plan to perform 'Get Down Tonight' by K.C. and the Sunshine Band.
With covers like these, it may be hard to figure out who influenced the members of Honeytree.
When Pearson saw Eddie Van Halen in the 'Panama' video, he said, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.'
Pearson also admitted that his first concert when he was 14 years old was Whitesnake with Great White, and he can still play 'Rock Me' by Great White, which he learned in junior high school.
Although Pearson started out as a big metal head, his playing style is now influenced by bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Afghan Whigs and Screaming Trees.
Ryan Brower, 24, a BYU graduate from Boise, Idaho, and drummer of Honeytree, said he knew he wanted to play drums when he saw the U2 video for 'Gloria.' Larry Mullen Jr. was a big influence, as well as Big Country, the Samples and Sting.
While Beers said some of his bass-playing idols were John Taylor from Duran Duran, Duff McKagan from Guns-n-Roses, and Paul McCartney, Reneer said his favorite singer is Lloyd Cole. Reneer also loves the Pixies, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, and listens to a lot of Hot 94.9.
Before you laugh too hard at their influences, know that Pearson said, 'everyone will laugh at this and then say, yeah, I've been down that road.'
Despite, or because of their influences, Honeytree produced a great CD.
The band attributes a large part of this to Scott Wiley of Basement Tapes Recording, 45 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo, who recorded their CD.
'Scott gave us ideas of how to make it sound good. If I said I wanted a certain sound, he knew exactly how to get it. No one knows how to do that in town except Scott,' Pearson said.
'He pays more attention to little nuances of sound,' Reneer said.
The whole band agreed that recording was a lot of fun, and as soon as they can afford it, they'll record more.
Don't miss the Honeytree CD release party at Mama's Cafe Thursday night, and don't forget to bring extra cash to purchase this hot little recording.
Honeytree will also play Nov. 23 at Club Omni with the Richard Pike Band and Randall Blithers.