In this episode of Seeing Them Live, Charles sits down with singer-songwriter BB from BB & The Honey, a staple of Chicago’s music scene for over 20 years. BB shares stories of her first concert experience at age five, reflects on memorable performances from Mumford and Sons and Bob Dylan, and discusses a pivotal moment in her career when she was discovered singing Amazing Grace in a Chicago subway. She dives into her musical evolution, from early hip-hop collaborations to her current band, and how learning piano during the pandemic transformed her approach. With BB & The Honey’s latest EP, Reckless Heart, now streaming, she offers insight into its recording process and their dynamic live performances. Tune in to hear about her journey, upcoming shows, and where to find their music.
In this interview episode of Seeing Them Live, Charles interviews singer BB from BB & The Honey. BB is an American singer and songwriter who has been an integral part of the Chicago music scene for 20 years. Audiences say her voice is a blend of Brandy Carlisle, Janice Joplin, Patsy Klein, Stevie Nicks, and Amelda May. Her powerful interpretations range from blues, funk, soul, classic country to jazz, rockabilly, and classic rock. BB & the Honey have released a new EP of original songs called Reckless Heart, which is available on all major streaming platforms.
BB reminisces about her first concert at age five, seeing Sean Cassidy at Navy Pier in Chicago, and shares memorable concert experiences with Mumford and Sons, contrasting them with a lackluster performance by Bob Dylan she attended in the early 90s.
She discusses a formative experience in her music career when she and a friend were invited to join Arise Records after singing 'Amazing Grace' in a Chicago subway. This fortuitous event laid the groundwork for BB's extensive music journey, performing with various bands and writing a wide range of musical genres from blues, funk, soul, classic country, to jazz and rock.
The episode also dives into BB’s musical projects, from her early involvement with hip hop group Schmoov and the Family to later bands like Super D, The Jesters, and Seeking Wonderland. BB elaborates on how she transitioned into learning the piano during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed her to contribute more dynamically to her current band. BB & The Honey recently released a new EP called 'Reckless Heart,' comprising four original songs. The interview touches on the practicalities of their live performances, noting the flexibility in band size depending on the venue. BB delves into the recording process of the EP, aiming to capture the live energy of their performances. The episode wraps up with BB talking about their upcoming release party, their ongoing music journey, and where fans can find their music and live performance updates.
BANDS: BB & the Honey, Bob Dylan, C&C Music Factory, Chicago, Full Moon Vixen, Groove X, Kris Kross, Lucinda Williams, Modern Day Romeos, Mumford and Sons, Poi Dog Pondering, Santana, Sean Cassidy, Seeking Wonderland, Stock Boy, Super D, The Dead, The Jesters, ZZ Top
VENUES: Abbey Pub, Alpine Valley, Bacon Fest, beer fest in Kenosha, Baker House, Crystal Lake, Dole Mansion, Double Door, Goose Island, Hard Rock Cafe, Lake Como, Lou's Lounge, Mars Resort, Naperville, Navy Pier, Riviera, Riviera in Chicago, Ryman, Ryman Theater, Ryman Theatre, Sean Cassidy concert, Subterranean, Tinley Park, Walworth County Fair
[00:00:23] BB: And so, we were down in the subway in Chicago singing Amazing Grace, as it were. And it was dead down there. The acoustics, you know, are spectacular. And, this man came up to us and he was like, was that just the two of you singing? And we said, yeah. He said, do it again. And he handed us a business card and it was called Arise Records.
[00:00:45] Charles: Today's guest is BB from the band, BB & the Honey. BB is an American singer and songwriter who has been part of the Chicago music scene for 20 years. Audiences say her voice is a blend of Brandy Carlisle, Janice Joplin, Patsy Klein, Stevie Nicks, and Amelda May. Her powerful interpretations range from blues, funk, soul, classic country to jazz, rockabilly, and classic rock. BB & the Honey have released a new EP of original songs called Reckless Heart, which is available on all major streaming platforms. BB, welcome to Seeing Them Live.
[00:01:26] BB: Great. Thank you so much for having me. Glad to be here.
[00:01:29] Charles: Yeah, yeah, no, we got, uh, I've got a lot of notes here. And when, you know, when I go through, through guest forms, I try to find the dates and the venues and stuff, so.
[00:01:41] BB: Yes.
[00:01:41] Charles: it's not, always a hundred percent accurate, but, uh. You know, you could correct me as, as we go along here. So yeah, we'll, we'll talk about your concerts and then, get into the, your music. I mean, you've been recording music for a long time, writing lyrics, playing in bands, and then, um, yeah, we'll chat about your, uh, most recent effort. This new EP that comes out.
[00:02:06] BB: It is available on all platforms as of the last few days.
[00:02:10] Charles: Yes. I found it on Itunes. It was all there. But yeah, we'll talk about that. But let's start with Sean Cassidy.
[00:02:18] BB: Said no one before ever.
[00:02:21] Charles: Yeah. No, you were, um, you were five years old, right?
[00:02:25] BB: Yes.
[00:02:26] Charles: And, this was a concert out on Navy Pier, which is in Chicago. And, from what I found, the date was August 10th, 1979. Does that sound about right?
[00:02:37] BB: That sounds about exactly right. Yes.
[00:02:41] Charles: And I think it went on for like, two weeks or 10 days, this Festival of Music and they had some food there and stuff and there's all sorts of bands that would play there. I was there actually two days later on August 12th; I saw Chicago play there. And my friends and I, we, we went to Chicago Fest [00:03:00] all the time, , So you were with your mom.
[00:03:02] BB: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:03] Charles: And, on your form, you said basically you were in love with Sean Cassidy.
[00:03:07] BB: Yes, I was, I think he was the first musician I fell in love with his feathered hair. The funny thing is, I, I could barely remember a song he sang.
[00:03:17] Charles: I've got the album here.
[00:03:19] BB: Yes, I, I had that poster on my bedroom wall and at that concert. The souvenir that I got, that was probably the best souvenir I ever got at any concert ever, was a laminated Sean Cassidy ring with his face on it.
[00:03:40] Charles: Nice.
[00:03:40] BB: And, if anybody can point me in the direction to finding one of those, I'd love to have that again.
[00:03:46] Charles: Yeah, maybe I find one on eBay.
[00:03:48] BB: Right.
[00:03:49] Charles: But yeah, he had this album at the time called Room Service. I don't know if that's the one you were listening to at the time or...
[00:03:57] BB: Must have been, yes.
[00:03:59] Charles: Was your mom a fan too, or she just kind of went along and took you there?
[00:04:04] BB: I, I gotta say, I think she really took it for the team there. I don't know that she, that I would call her a, a fan of anything that was kind of modern at the time. You know, on Sundays she was blasting opera, if that's any indicator of where her palette was at. But I, I must have been so obsessed with him that maybe this was the only way to quiet me down.
[00:04:28] Charles: Well, I was wondering too, like my mom when I was young, like 11, she, she took me to a bunch of concerts, and. A lot of times I think she just took me 'cause I wanted to go ' cause she was very nice and understanding, although she did like some of the bands. But did your mom after that take you to any other concerts when you were younger? Like before you could drive and stuff.
[00:04:51] BB: It's a very interesting observation that you have there that I never thought about. That was a first and a last. I think that was all. All that she had in the [00:05:00] well, to give on that front there. 'cause I don't ever remember. In fact, the only other concerts I remember her going to after that were coming to my shows. Yeah, so that was it. I spent all the chips right there.
[00:05:14] Charles: Yeah. 'Cause when I would go there, it's like, it's general admission. It's like there's benches standing room.
[00:05:20] BB: Benches. I remember.
[00:05:21] Charles: That must have been quite an adventure for a 5-year-old and their mother, go through that crowd. I'm sure it was interesting for her.
[00:05:29] BB: Yes.
[00:05:30] Charles: The things parents do for us. Right?
[00:05:32] BB: I guess so. Yes, definitely.
[00:05:35] Charles: So then as your, your best concert, you put down Mumford and Sons.
[00:05:40] BB: Yeah, and, and actually it was two separate Mumford and Son events that happened to me. That are neck and neck for the best show I've ever seen. They did a show very early on, I wanna say it was like 2010 at the Abbey Pub in Chicago, before [00:06:00] they were even a name, an XRT show and the Abbey Pub. You probably know the room.
[00:06:04] I'm talking about super intimate, maybe three, 400 people. And I had a connection at the time, a friend who worked at the radio station and she called me last minute. She's like, you wanna come to this show? And they just blew me away. I mean, I kind of get chills just thinking about they were so much bigger than that room.
[00:06:24] The walls were kind of just reverberating with their energy. It was amazing. And then a few years later, I saw them at Ryman. I had general admission seats. And before I went into the concert, I went and grabbed a bite. It was actually for my day job. I was in Nashville f or work, but I snuck away from work to see Mumford and I ended up befriending a girl who was sitting at the bar and she said, you know the girl who came with me all the way from Texas, she's sick. I have these front row seats. Do you wanna sit with me?
[00:06:56] Charles: Oh my God.
[00:06:58] BB: So that's the kinda horseshoe I carried around with me.
[00:07:01] Charles: Because I was gonna ask you one, like, yeah, the Ryman Theater, it's in Nashville. I think it holds, what about a little over 2000 people? I think I saw the capacity for that. And yeah, I was wondering, well, one, why you were in Nashville, and two, how'd you get front row seats? But you just answered the questions. And so, so they weren't, that they, they were the main act, obviously.
[00:07:20] BB: They were the main act and they were pretty popular at that time. And, uh, it was just this weird serendipity that I befriended this woman. And the way that the Ryman, it was, it's weird 'cause we were technically in row seven, but the way that it works, you're, you can be right up on the stage. So, we have the two seats in row seven that felt like row one, you know what I mean? Because it does this horseshoe shape. And I would've been happy in what would've been row seven, but this was up on the stage. It was pretty amazing.
[00:07:56] Charles: Yeah, that's incredible when stuff like that happens to you. I remember I [00:08:00] was at a concert with my mom seeing ZZ Top at Alpine Valley, which is in Wisconsin, and, and we had lawn seats and this guy was his girlfriend and she had way too much to drink probably, I think.
[00:08:15] BB: Right.
[00:08:15] Charles: They had seats down in the pavilion and so he had to leave and he just happened to walk past us and said, does anybody want these two tickets? My mom and I grabbed them and, and went down there. It was, right place at the right time. Just kinda like what you were just saying.
[00:08:31] BB: Yeah, exactly. Nice.
[00:08:34] Charles: I love those stories. Okay, so you mentioned a couple of Mumford and Sons on shows, but I'm gonna put together your most surprising and disappointing involve Bob Dylan.
[00:08:45] BB: Yeah.
[00:08:46] Charles: And so, usually when we've had people on and they've seen Bob Dylan, it's one of their, most popular shows or inspiring or best show, but you're not saying that.
[00:08:56] BB: No, and the first time I went to see him, I should say I'm a big [00:09:00] fan. Completely inspired by him. absolutely full respect for the guy and just his sensibility about writing music and lyrics, I should specify. But the first show I went to go see him at was in Tinley Park, early nineties, mid early nineties.
[00:09:17] And, I was a fan at the time. You know, I was excited. He was headlining, but Santana opened for him and I don't know whose idea that was because I don't think you could get a higher contrast. Opener, they lit the place up. There were like 40 guys on stage. Everybody bringing it, you know, it was an amazing show.
[00:09:41] Completely stole all the oxygen, even outside, you know, by the time Bob got up there. I was mumbling along and you couldn't understand the words, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is, this is pretty disappointing. And I didn't give up on him, you know, I'd still love him. And I've gone to see him since, and every time I just have like, I hate to say it, I just felt like he doesn't show up.
[00:10:08] Charles: Yeah.
[00:10:09] BB: Have you ever gone to see a band where you're like, you could tell they wish more people were there. So they don't quite bring the A game. You can feel they're a little miffed or something and they're sort of dredging through the motions. That's how it felt.
[00:10:22] Charles: Huh? Yeah, I've seen Santana a number of times. I think that Dylan Santana show was at the World Music Theater at Tinley Park.
[00:10:29] BB: Maybe so. Yeah. Yeah. Tinley Park, for sure.
[00:10:32] Charles: August 29th, 1993. I have that at.
[00:10:37] BB: That sounds right. Yes.
[00:10:39] Charles: Not that I'm a Dead Head, some of my friends are, they go see the Dead lots and lots of times. So just kind of by default, I've seen them like 15 times and every once in a while, it's like, I don't know about that show. They weren't bringing it, at least for me. I've seen them when they're really good and I've seen them times where it's like, nah, you know.
[00:10:58] BB: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Charles: The parking lot was, [00:11:00] maybe sometimes. Exactly. So, BB, I was gonna say like that I mentioned 1993 for that Dylan and Santana show. I'm gonna transition into your music career. I guess the start of it, was that around that time? You said you sang backup vocals, you were signed onto a record deal with this hip hop group, and I dunno how to pronounce the name. Is it Cshmoove or Schmo? Yeah, it's S-C-H-M-O-O-V-E and it goes by, it goes by Schmoov and the Family, the guy's name's Corey, Corey Cochran. How did that come up? Was that 1993? 'cause that was like, the only thing I could find a recording on Discogs was 93, but I'm, you know, there's probably other stuff.
[00:11:49] BB: I met them, well, to be exact, Martin Luther King Day, 1991. I was a senior in high school and this girl, Sandra Delgado, who actually is kind of a big singer in Chicago, performer in Chicago, she and I used to sing together all the time. We didn't have school that day. We were like, let's go down in the subway and sing.
[00:12:12] And so we were down in the subway in Chicago singing. Amazing grace, as it were. And it was dead down there. The acoustics, you know, are spectacular. And, this man came up to us and he was like, was that just the two of you singing? And we said, yeah. He said, do it again. And do it again.
[00:12:30] And he handed us a business card and it was called Arise Records. And we both flipped out like we were found and signed and it was a really good taste for performance. It was a very good taste at protecting yourself as a musician because we didn't have anything in place.
[00:12:53] We were signed. I, we never got copies of anything that we did, but we had a wonderful time. We opened up for bands like C&C Music Factory, Kris Kross, I mean, big, big audiences. And the thing that we weren't doing was lip syncing any of it. So, we did, I think it was either the, I think it was the RIV that we opened for Kris Kross and their audio, these poor little children with their clothes on backwards.
[00:13:21] Charles: Right, right.
[00:13:23] BB: And, their audio went out and they couldn't lip sync. And they were like, lost where our audio also went out, but we could kind of roll with it, you know, so I, I learned a lot about being a performer. And it really got rid of all the anxiety I ever used to have. You know, performance day. I was a wreck usually.
[00:13:43] And then you throw yourself to the wolves enough, and those are big stages, to be a young kid on. So, you know, all in all really grateful for that experience. But they never gave us a recording. They would take us and we had our hair done and our makeup done, and they would drive us around and we had our wardrobe and everything was very glamorous, but that was about the extent of it.
[00:14:03] Charles: Okay. So, were you like out on tour? Did they tour around?
[00:14:06] BB: No, it was in Chicago. We would play if, if like a touring act like C&C Music Factory was coming through and playing at like Totos in Schaumburg. I don't know if you remember that place.
[00:14:17] Charles: Yeah, I remember that place. Yeah.
[00:14:19] BB: So, we would sometimes play there. They had good connections. I mean, we weren't, we were opening up for bands then at the time, in that scene were really, really big names. So, that was my first real, in front of the big crowd kind of experience. Started the fever.
[00:14:39] Charles: That's so cool. 'Cause the Riviera in Chicago, I don't, I don't know the capacity, but it, it holds a lot of people.
[00:14:45] BB: It was big.
[00:14:46] Charles: A couple thousand maybe. I don't know. But, that's gotta be a really neat experience.
[00:14:51]
[00:15:11] Ray and Mike: Hey everybody, it's Ray the Roadie and this is Hollywood Mike with the Rock and Roll Chicago Podcast coming to you from the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, where once a week we are interviewing local musicians and singer songwriters and the podcast itself covers a wide range of topics.
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[00:17:18] Jamie: Hi, this is Jamie James on Seeing Them Live. We all have our first concert stories, so please share them. We'd love to hear yours.
[00:17:38] Charles: You'd listed some other bands, that you would write music for or play in and write lyrics and such. You'd written, Seeing Wonderland,
[00:17:48] BB: Seeking, yes.
[00:17:49] Charles: Seeking, sorry. Okay. Super D.
[00:17:52] BB: Yep.
[00:17:53] Charles: The Jesters, which I heard a, a couple of the guys in that band are on your current album and play with BB and the Honey.
[00:18:01] BB: Correct.
[00:18:02] Charles: I don't know if you wanted to mention anything about those bands or, you know, what, what your role was, in there, because I, I know I've seen some video of you play keyboards and I didn't know if you play any other instruments. And of course you sing.
[00:18:16] BB: Yeah, so I guess to kind of unpack 'em chronologically there, Seeking Wonderland was a, uh, a project that I started with a DJ and we were kind of doing world music at the time, meets, sort of dance. You know, early 2000. Late nineties, and I forgot, there's actually a couple other bands I was in. I was in a band called Stock Boy right around that time as well.
[00:18:41] And Stock Boy had a, um, a, one of the bass players from Poi Dog, started, I don't know if you remember the band, Poi Dog Pondering. He played with them for a bit, got kicked out of that band and then started his own thing and somehow my path and his crossed and we would write some of the music together for Stock Boy.
[00:19:01] From there I went on to Super D, which was a big funk band. A drummer, a percussionist, horns, and we would play places like the Double Door and Subterranean in the city and things like that. And I was writing lyrics and melodies with the, with the guitarist there, a guy named Chris Corsell and um, you know, he and I did a lot of our writing.
[00:19:22] And then from there. I moved on to the Jesters, as you mentioned, Martin Monahan, who is primarily my bass player in BB and the Honey. He also though, does play horns and helped with writing horn lines in some of these originals. And Jim Beckwith, who plays trombone, was also with me in the Jesters and the Jesters.
[00:19:43] Just as their name implies, wrote sort of whimsical lyrics, but funk, ska, punk energy. And we would wear costumes and we were crazy and we would play places, you know, like the Cubby Bear and Goose Island and Hard Rock Cafe downtown, you know, places like this.
[00:20:06] And, at that same time, I had a band that I forgot to mention to you too called, Full Moon Vixen. And that was violin and piano and uh, guitar, bass drums. Again, with original music that I was writing. The uniqueness about what's happening with BB and the Honey is I didn't play an instrument before Covid really. I picked up the piano when all my shows got canceled and just dove in head first.
[00:20:33] So for the first time in all the years of bringing lyrics and melodies to the table with this, I was actually able to say, here's the chord progression. Here's what I hear in my head, and not just hope someone in the room could psychically get it, which I've been fortunate with the people I surrounded myself with prior to that, we would collaborate and they would just kind of figure out what I was getting at. So, it's been a really neat process.
[00:21:00] Charles: Yeah, I'm not a musician. I played the cornet when I was like in fourth grade or something. But from what I understand, the piano is the instrument to write music to. And maybe like what you were just saying, like you can hear an album I something in your head and that kind of helps to get it onto the piano at least, maybe.
[00:21:19] BB: Yeah, it really helps make sense of things. So, if a melody line comes to me, I can hear the harmonies in my head, and being able to play those on the piano helps build the chord structure. I mean; to say it's a useful tool is probably a pretty big understatement. it's very helpful for sure.
[00:21:39] Charles: Now I know there's a couple guys from that band, the Jesters, that play in BB and The Honey, and they're on this EP. And when I was reading, might have been on your website maybe, you say when you guys play out live, you can change the makeup of the band. So, there could be like four people or seven people. And I was just wondering, do people request that of you guys? How do you decide who shows up to a gig like that?
[00:22:06] BB: A lot of times it's a venue or an event that will dictate, sometimes it's just practicality and space, stage space. So the core four band members at this point is Martin Monaghan, who I mentioned, who's Bass horns. He was also co-producer. Kevin Ray, who's drummer, he was a lead producer, he did all the mixing.
[00:22:31] And then Russ Hardick, who's a guitarist, he also collaborated on these and kind of came up with his parts. So, the four of us are kind of the core. That's usually the instrumentation at a minimum. From there, if there's room and space, we often will bring in another guitarist, a guy named Chris Alvarado, who's also a really good singer. He's in a few other bands, Groove X and he hosts some jam sessions, Red Hat or Hot Chili Jammed. So, I should have it straight, but you get what I'm getting at. And when he can, he'll join us. But, he lives in the city.
[00:23:07] And then we can also have horns. So, if it's a big stage, like this summer, we're gonna be playing beer fest in Kenosha, Das Roast Festival. And so we can have the full band for that. It's a big stage. It's outside. And similarly, we're gonna be doing Bacon Fest at Walworth County, so we can have the full band and at the release party. It's absolutely the full band with all the instrumentation there. And, we have a violinist who is phenomenal and we share her with a bunch of different bands.
[00:23:37] But since meeting her, she's just been really awesome and loyal. When she's available, she'll sign on and she's great with her commitments with us. And that's Emily Sobacki, and she's just been really wonderful. She's someone that we work very well together. I will literally whistle the violin part I hear in my head, and she magically makes it beautiful. So just very fortunate to be surrounded by such great, great musicians.
[00:24:05] Charles: Yeah, because I heard you tell a story in an interview recently, how you met her up in, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Right?
[00:24:12] BB: Yes. So, we were actually at a place called the Baker House, which at the time I was playing, they had a speakeasy and my band was more jazz oriented than kind of reacting to what the market wanted. Right after Covid, it was more like we're opening our dining room and want live music, you know?
[00:24:29] And I had been at brunch with my brother at the Baker House and I was talking about how I really want this band to go more into like a rock vein. That's what I hear in my head. I hear a violin and I'm going on and on about this, and the next thing I know, she walks over to me. She's like, I couldn't help it over hear. Of course, my brother's laughing 'cause I'm a loud person. He is like, no, you couldn't help it over here, could you? And so we just became fast friends and it turned out she was magnificently talented and you know, she's been involved whenever she can ever since. So, just a wonderful addition to things and just brings such a lovely color to the sound.
[00:25:12] Charles: Yeah, so it sounds like you guys play up in Southern Wisconsin.
[00:25:16] BB: Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin, but even all the way into the city and all the way into like Naperville.
[00:25:24] Charles: Okay.
[00:25:25] BB: Ideally, most of us live in the northwest suburbs or north Chicagoland. But, we have some nice roots up in Wisconsin from playing up there as well.
[00:25:37] Charles: Okay. Yeah. 'cause I go up there quite a bit. Go to Walworth County Fair.
[00:25:42] BB: We've played there.
[00:25:43] Charles: Yeah, I, well, that's what I was gonna ask 'cause it seems like a great place for you guys to play. And then there's this place, I don't know if you've ever played there. It's a smaller supper club Lake Como. It's called the Mars Resort.
[00:25:56] BB: I have heard of it. I have not played there. Old school.
[00:25:59] Charles: I mean, it's a small stage and it's right, on the lake and it's just a massive party there. But, it's family friendly. They've got a little beach. The owner has a pontoon boat. While you're waiting for a table, he takes you around Lake Como. And so, we've seen a number of bands there.
[00:26:15] BB: Cool.
[00:26:16] Charles: You should check it out. Yeah. It's called the Mars Resort.
[00:26:19] BB: I've definitely heard of it. I absolutely have heard of it.
[00:26:22] Charles: So maybe this summer I'll be able to check you guys out. We will talk about how to get ahold of you and stuff.
[00:26:28] So, BB, you're gonna do a song for us, and you're gonna do a cover song from Lucinda Williams called Can't Let Go. This is awesome. Let's hear it.
[00:26:38] BB: [ RECORDING OF BB & THE HONEY PERFORMING LUCINDA WILLIAMS CAN’T LET GO ]
[00:30:53] Charles: All right. That was awesome. Thanks so much for doing that. I really appreciate it. You guys really own that.
[00:30:58] BB: Thank you.
[00:30:59] Charles: That brings us to this album release you guys have, that unfortunately, at the recording of this, will have already happened, but, let's talk about it. Got four songs.
[00:31:10] BB: Mm-hmm.
[00:31:11] Charles: Reckless Heart is the name of the album and the title of the first track, right?
[00:31:16] BB: Yes, that's right. That's right. So, we're having the release party on Saturday, April 5th. But don't fret, because I think the formula from here on out is gonna be one single at a time. And so, we'll have more kind of these, it's a little bit different than just a gig. We really are throwing a party.
[00:31:35] We've got some wonderful fans slash sponsors who've offered complimentary food. And, we've got complimentary macaroons by Mama Bear Max, and she's gonna put her logo on it. So, if you miss the party, but you just might, if you're hearing this after, you can probably see pictures and I'll tell you where you can find those once we get through to a point where we're talking about where to find us, but we also have, Alfie Rose Cupcake Emporium. That's gonna be making all these custom gourmet cupcakes. And we're gonna have a free signature drink for everyone who comes.
[00:32:13] And, being BB and the Honey, everybody seems to love our theme. We've got the owners of Nani's Bees who are going to be donating some sort of infuse, they're coming up with this whole thing with the mixologists, that they're gonna have a signature drink for everyone.
[00:32:30] So, that's gonna be at Lou's Lounge and we've got, Dave Levitt who's gonna be with Accu Track Solutions. He's gonna be running sound for us. So, looking forward to that. And I also wanna mention that we produced and did the mixing. Mostly Kevin Ray, the drummer, Martin Monaghan, the bass player slash many horns, and myself. I co-produced, but the mastering we used Way Sound and they did an amazing job, turned it around super-fast. They're in Cary, and you may know, if you've heard of Modern Day Romeos, one of the guys from there, he is actually one of the owners of the studio with amazing, Justin's got crazy chops on the keys. He plays with them.
[00:33:14] So, it's been a really nice experience to support local and field of support from local as well. But like I said, moving forward, the plan is we're gonna do a single at a time and maybe a few, but definitely there's 13 tunes altogether. Four are now out in the world as you mentioned, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube, and you can find those.
[00:33:40] I've got a website, BB, my initials. BB sings, like what I, dot com. Or you can keep up with us on Instagram or Facebook. The only thing is, and you'll wanna, this is something design flaw. 'cause I wasn't really thinking this far out. You gotta use the ampersand for "and". And that same is true and you're looking for us on any of these platforms. I don't know what to do about, you know? But yeah. So you gotta use BB ampersand, The Honey, and that will get you to us on Facebook and that'll get you to us out in the world.
[00:34:15] Charles: Yeah, I was gonna mention that. It does help in the search, but I was able to find it, I think. Initially, I did probably type in "and".
[00:34:22] BB: I know.
[00:34:22] Charles: You guys popped up. Yeah, one thing you had mentioned too, previously is that you guys kind of recorded this live as much as possible, and then you added the horns and Emily's violin maybe later.
[00:34:35] BB: Yes.
[00:34:36] Charles: Because you guys are kind of known for your live performances and you wanted to kind of capture that on the record as much as you could.
[00:34:42] BB: Yes. We didn't want it to be this overproduced thing where then you go and see them and it's like, Ooh, Lord, I thought they were. Hmm. Okay. We really wanted to be demonstrative of our sound. So, what you hear on these tracks is what we bring to the table when you hear us live with this instrumentation. So, yeah, the way that we recorded it was live. The core four of us. So, Kevin, Marty, Ross, and myself. We recorded with our headphones right into the board. And then from there, Kevin primarily did those initial mixes. Then we brought the others in to kind of layer on. So, that it really does sound ideally like what we would sound like live.
[00:35:25] Charles: Yeah, it sounds great. And there's a range of, I guess I'd call it genres like I mentioned on the intro. So, I'm hearing like country for sure, but also like, I don't know how to put this, like, lounge singer. One guy characterizes as torchy sounding, jazz, you know?
[00:35:43] BB: Yeah.
[00:35:44] Charles: And then you've got the horns and the violin. And, so it's really a unique sound and, yeah, sounds, sounds really cool.
[00:35:51] BB: Thank you.
[00:35:53] Charles: And, I've been interviewing musicians recently, just kind of a flurry of them, but releasing, one song like every six weeks or so, eight weeks. Or even EPs. I interviewed this guy, a band he has called Muted Circus, and he's telling a story over 10 EPs. Yeah, each EP has five, songs on it. Some instrumental, some vocal and stuff. And he's been doing that for years. Obviously, that's a lot of songs. So yeah, I don't know. It seems to be, kind of maybe a trend. Not, not that I was watching those kinds of things to begin with, but as I've talked to musicians, they're like, yeah, we've been releasing songs every six or eight weeks.
[00:36:32] BB: Yeah.
[00:36:33] Charles: A single, and then put it together in an album or whatever, down the road.
[00:36:37] BB: I think there's so much you figure out as you go. And, what you're saying makes a lot of sense to me because I feel like from a production perspective, if you've got the songs written and you've got everybody kind of on board to polish 'em up and get the recording done, and get the mixing done, and get the mastering done.
[00:36:55] And then I think from an audience perspective, it's a little more [00:37:00] digestible in doses. Nobody's gonna sit down. I mean, God love you if you do, but nobody really is gonna sit down and listen to 13 songs from a band they never heard of, right? It's gotta be like, you know what? I heard that one try. I like these guys.
[00:37:14] So it makes a lot of sense what you're saying. And we didn't do that by intention or design. It was just how things seem to be evolving. So that's good to know that, maybe it's a recipe, I don't know.
[00:37:25] Charles: Yeah. And I'm old school, well, well before streaming and stuff, and so when I an album I start the first song and I go all the way through. And I know people don't necessarily do that anymore. But yeah, I think it's a cool way, like you were saying, you could have a party around each one that you release. There's always a release party going on and new music and then play all these, previous songs, originals. And I heard you doing some cover songs as well, right?
[00:37:51] BB: Yeah, we do. And a lot of the vocal influence that you mentioned at the top here, you know. The Janice Joplin [00:38:00] and Stevie Nicks. So, it's a lot of songs that, you know, that my voice lends itself to. Lemme try to think about that, in addition to the instrumentation, like what, do we kind of have naturally going on there.
[00:38:12] Charles: Yeah. That sounds very interesting. That Lou's place is up in northern Illinois area.
[00:38:17] BB: Yeah, so Lou's Lounge is a, think of it kind of like a big speakeasy in the Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake. They've got a really good, big proper stage. They have a grand piano on that stage. It's a nice room. It's really well done and really well put together and very comfortable. Nice chairs and nice, booth vibes.
[00:38:41] Charles: Where can people find you and listen to your music and find out where you guys are playing and all that good stuff?
[00:38:48] BB: Yeah, so the best place to do that's gonna be Facebook. We keep that as close to real time as possible. If something lands out of a clear blue sky today. I'm posting about it there and I'm pushing it out to Instagram, or you can keep up with it at bbsings.com as well. But that tends to be more of the big events that are already inked, where the day-to-day stuff that's going on, is gonna be on the BB and the Honey on Facebook.
[00:39:17] Charles: All right, well, this has been so much fun. I think I'm gonna go listen to this Sean Cassidy album that I have.
[00:39:23] BB: I'm sorry.
[00:39:24] Charles: And, yeah, hopefully we'll see you this summer and look forward to these new songs that are coming out in the near future. So, thanks again, BB, for coming on, Seeing Them Live.
[00:39:34] BB: Great. Thanks for having me, Charles. I had a great time.