Photo courtesy Honey Tongue

a band attempting to break out of the Seattle rock mold, is currently touring behind its four-song EP.

Tuesday September 11, 2001

Seattle band tries to escape grunge, Britney Spears stereotypes

The goal of the "American Dream" relies on such values as "equality among the classes" and "free enterprise for everyone."

The Seattle-based band Honey Tongue has taken these credos to heart. The group is determined to rise above the current corporate climate of big business in the music industry by doing things on its own terms.

Honey Tongue is playing a University Activities Board-sponsored show today at 11:30 a.m. on the Mall's main stage.

The band consists of lead vocalist/keyboardist Jennifer Ayers (a two-time Lilith Fair Talent Search Finalist), guitarist Graham McNeill, drummer Darnton Lewis and bassist Sam Larson.

According to McNeill, the band would almost rather stay independent than sign with a big label, but word of mouth is not always the most reliable form of advertising.

"We've basically got through by word of mouth," McNeill said. "We played a show the other day and someone told me that they had came to see us because a friend in Colorado had told them about us. We're not so sure we want to sign with a big label, but at the same time, it's hard because of the distribution issue."

Rising from a post-grunge Seattle music community, Ayers stressed that times have changed.

"A music community can help you," Ayers said. "A heart definitely developed in Seattle because of the early '90s. However, it is a different scene now than it was in the '90s. We are creating our own community."

It is through this music community that the band linked up with noted Pearl Jam/Mad Season producer Bret Eliason.

"His girlfriend happened to play our EP for him, and he liked it," Ayers said. "We got together with him and practiced."

Honey Tongue and Eliason eventually agreed to create a demo to showcase the band's ability to various labels.

The band believes its affiliation with Eliason could lend it prominence among other unsigned bands, and give it a chance to separate its image from the city from which it hails.

"We are trying to break down the barriers of what a Seattle band should sound like," Ayers said.

According to McNeil, the influence of grunge in the early '90s music scene is "inescapable."

"We're from the same school of creative musical philosophies as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains," McNeill said. "Our influences come from growing up with the music of the '70s classics with bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Doors, who were more radio-friendly."

McNeill remains confident that the band's music will not fall on deaf ears.

"There is something familiar about our sound," McNeill said. "Although I guess we are an alternative sound right now, there is a wind of change in the air."

Another adversity Honey Tongue faces is the fact that the group's leader is a female singer, who, McNeill said, "will not conform to the Britney Spears image."

Ayers, however, is undaunted by what she calls the "sell your soul, sell a million fold" theme of today's music industry.

She said she has been singing since she was a child and that it was something that she could not get out of her. She is a classically trained pianist from Milwaukee who majored in psychology in college, so fronting a Seattle rock 'n' roll band did not seem like a foreseeable future at first.

Ayers moved to Seattle in the early '90s, intrigued by the energy of the music scene. It took her until 1999 to find the right blend for the band, when she began writing songs on the piano.

"It's not easy being a woman in rock when the trend is Britney Spears," Ayers said. "You just have to follow your art, be true to yourself as an artist, and do what you do the best you can."

Ayers and the band remain firm in their belief that success will come through hard work and determination. The group agreed that it has built a substantial fan base in Seattle and that it gets an "amazing response" every time it returns from a tour.

"We've done everything independently and learned on our own about the business. We built something of our own and I think people are picking up on our effort," Ayers said. "We are ready to fly."

Honey Tongue is currently touring behind a four-song EP that can be ordered on the band's Web site zwww.honeytongue.net. The band's tour dates can also be found on the Web site. After finishing the tour, band members said they will return to the studio in three to six months to record a follow-up LP.