Amy Honey is a Canadian singer/songwriter/rocker/honky-tonk
heroine. Born and raised in the wilds of rural Nova Scotia (West
Chezzetcook, to be specific), she moved to Vancouver in 1996, and 12 years later returned to the land of her birth where she now resides in a small seaside village called Seaforth.
In 1998, she joined the Vancouver ladyrockin' band, Clover Honey, and
together they won CiTR's 1999 Shindig battle of the bands competition,
put out their critically acclaimed Go Horse Go album and toured the
length and breadth of Canada several times. Asses were kicked, names
were taken, and Amy's reputation as an entertaining live performer was
born.
With the demise of Clover Honey, earlier this century, Amy decided it
was time to step out on her own and start calling the tunes herself.
In May 2002, she and her partner founded Red Cat Records (a CD
store and label), and soon thereafter, she put our her self-titled
album. Recorded by Scott Henderson (Atlas Strategic /
Nomeansno) at SOS Studios, it featured the additional talents of such
musical luminaries as Carolyn Mark, Keith Rose (Hard
Rock Miners / Royal Grand Prix) and Garth Johnson (Carolyn Mark
& Her Roommates / Beach Mutants). This album saw Amy stepping away
somewhat (but not entirely) from her Lady Rockin' persona and,
instead, explorin …
Amy Honey is a Canadian singer/songwriter/rocker/honky-tonk
heroine. Born and raised in the wilds of rural Nova Scotia (West
Chezzetcook, to be specific), she moved to Vancouver in 1996, and 12 years later returned to the land of her birth where she now resides in a small seaside village called Seaforth.
In 1998, she joined the Vancouver ladyrockin' band, Clover Honey, and
together they won CiTR's 1999 Shindig battle of the bands competition,
put out their critically acclaimed Go Horse Go album and toured the
length and breadth of Canada several times. Asses were kicked, names
were taken, and Amy's reputation as an entertaining live performer was
born.
With the demise of Clover Honey, earlier this century, Amy decided it
was time to step out on her own and start calling the tunes herself.
In May 2002, she and her partner founded Red Cat Records (a CD
store and label), and soon thereafter, she put our her self-titled
album. Recorded by Scott Henderson (Atlas Strategic /
Nomeansno) at SOS Studios, it featured the additional talents of such
musical luminaries as Carolyn Mark, Keith Rose (Hard
Rock Miners / Royal Grand Prix) and Garth Johnson (Carolyn Mark
& Her Roommates / Beach Mutants). This album saw Amy stepping away
somewhat (but not entirely) from her Lady Rockin' persona and,
instead, exploring the Canadian Roots music themes that she grew up
with. The Folkpop homage to her misspent youth, Dirtbikin',
received high rotation on CBC radio, and the album was a hit on the
Canadian college radio charts.
After much touring... and having appeared on stage with the likes of
Howe Gelb, Feist and Mr. Airplane Man, in 2007
Amy released her second album, Pioneer Woman on Self
Righteous Records. Recorded by Tolan McNeil (Frog Eyes /
Destroyer) at Lucky Mouse Studios, this time she once again
brought along good pal Carolyn Mark, in addition to teeing up the
multi-talented Gregory Macdonald (Sloan / Peppersands),
Diona Davis (Po' Girl / ESL) and Cal Dick (Neckbeard /
Fracas). Delving further into the Country/Folk Noir vibe that infects
many artists who live in B.C.'s deep dark rainforest, Pioneer Woman
was once again a critic's favourite, and became a staple on CBC and
college radio. Old Reliable Death was selected by CBC Radio 3
as the ideal track to put a stamp on the end of 2007 on New Years Eve,
and Pioneer Woman made the top 10 list of albums on CiTR radio.
Amy Honey is currently writing a new album, with tentative plans for release and touring in the Spring of 2009.
AMY HONEY - PIONEER WOMAN CD... REVIEWS
"
Amy Honey is an artist and music represents
only one brilliant note in her creative range. Photography is another;
her photographs are bold in their use of contrast, just like her music.
Finding beauty between the stark and sublime images, sounds and
influences she fits together like Lego, Honey builds metal on
melancholy. Recklessly soulful, the prowess of this pioneer woman is
undeniable. From bands Clover Honey to the Nervous Breakdown to her
second solo record following 2003’s self-titled release, this is the
land of Amy Honey. She has palate endowed with wide musical taste and a
gift for aesthetic transcendence, style and grace. Her pop sensitivity
is as keen as her ability to rock is hard and her love of tradition is
true. The Victoria/Vancouver artist can’t help but kick hipster ass and
make it better." Travis Ritchie - Exclaim Magazine (June 2007)
"Exploring
themes of urban psychosis, alienation, reckless abandon, Canadiana and
death, Amy has created an album that strides the fine line between
Henry David Thoreau and The Handsome Family." Andrew Pearson
"Now
that Neko Case is off making her own creepy brand of high lonesome
noir, VanCity wailer Amy Honey could easily step up to play co-Corn
Sister to kooky country soulmate Carolyn Mark (who delivers fine
backing vocals and saloon-style piano on Pioneer Woman). Like
Mark, Honey has a tendency to write oddball pop pastiches of trashy
country tunes, documenting the colourful characters who populate her
urban hinterland with the warped humour of that brash regular who goads
you to make it to last call at your local. She's strongest when
she reins things in, though, and there are affecting themes of Canuck
survivalism, isolation, the inevitability of death and heartbreak. Lily
My Deer's derelict mother and the beat-driven ode to Lost In The
Barrens author Farley Mowat showcase Honey at her best."
Now Magazine, June 2007
"Listening to this in my car the past couple of days... it is really earthy and edgy all at the same time
makes me wanna sell all my shit and head to the woods."
Rock N' Roll Pimp via Mog.com
"Amy has the true spirit of a pioneer in both her music and approach to
life. No frills, yet full of the beauty, joy and heartache that are so
easily hidden by all the glitzy trappings of modern day life. She sings
of the things close to her heart, and after listening to Pioneer Woman
I feel like I know her in a way I know very few people. She opens up
her soul to those of us that take the time to sit a spell and listen to
what she has to say."
Anne Murphy @ Subter.com
AMY HONEY - S/T CD... REVIEWS
"Amy Honey's first solo disc is as homey and inviting as a thrift shop from which none of the good stuff has been taken yet."
The Globe and Mail
"Honey,
formerly of alt-rockers Clover Honey, is a clever charmer with an
endearingly laid-back vocal delivery and a knack for genre fusion and
neat hooks, and this self-titled disc is a thrilling hayride of gentle
country twang, punk rock punchiness and witty lyrical twists that
doesn't stop till you're drinkin' whiskey long after sunset."
Now Magazine (Toronto)
"Honeys
debut is one of those difficult to pigeonhole efforts that defies even
the most jaded music fans attempts to slap a label on it. She can belt
out an upbeat country song one minute, a metal track the next followed
by a synth pop tune - often in the course of one song."
Sceneandheard.ca
"Damn, girl, your voice is sweeter than a moonlit drunk on my front porch!"
J. McLaughlin
AMY HONEY LIVE... REWIEWS
"Was
she funny or off her meds? By the time she kicked out the hilarious
“Sabbath!”, she had won everyone over. If you’re at all curious about
what Tony Iommi would sound like if he had grown up in the Ozarks,
catch Honey’s next show and request this song."
The Georgia Straight
