les honky more tonkies

"Refusing to draw any boundaries in their musical style, Nashville’s Les Honky More Tonkies are a band that hits on all cylinders and delivers such an impassioned mix of dank southern rock and Econoline country that they have become the standard bearers for what a hell raising rock band should be."
- Texas Music Roundup

"Cocksure, whiskey-drenched rockers from nashville who just want to show you a good time and maybe kick your butt (in a nice way)." -The Rage - All The Rage

as reported by by idav of the Kingsport Times News on the Mountain Soul Jam of the Fun Fest Music Festival July 2007


................I went back out to the stage to take several pictures of Les Honky More Tonkies and those guys were great, energetic rock and roll band and they had attracted a much larger audience. Kingsport native, Joey Todd had a Ludwig drum set with a Tennessee Flag in on the bass drum head and bobbed his long blond hair most of the night. Together with their bass player, they were terrific performers and their songs had a raw energy that is approachable for any rock music fan.

Mark Miller is the front man for the band and I thought he did a great job singing their original music, connecting with the audience who seemed appreciative of each song of as day turned into night. When they wrapped up the set, I explained to the crowd the new CD ’76 was on sale at the side of the stage and encouraged everyone to hang around for Garage Deluxe.................

- idav/Kingsport Times News

Named after a heckler's jibe at a country show, Les Honky More Tonkies have been kicking out a spicy kind of rock they call "Motley Crue Grass" for years. In addition to having an unusual sound that ranges from pure bluegrass harmonies to fuzzed-out metal, they may be Nashville's only band with their own line of cigarette lighters. Drummer Joey Lonzo spoke with us recently about the band and their new album, The Fabled Catbird Seat.

Members, ages, instruments and day jobs: Johnny Pyro, 29, vocals and guitar, Katy K?s employee; Joey Lonzo, 29, drums, bartender at 3 Crow Bar; Buckshot Brazos, 28, lead guitar, IT guy.

How do you describe your sound? I say hillbilly rock a lot, but I think we've started to take on a dirty Southern rock thing. We used to call it Motley Crue Grass, and I guess we still do. It's kind of a rock thing, but it's all over the place.

How was the band named? The name just kind of worked out. It came from our original bass player. He yelled out ?
"Less honky, more tonky!" at a Junior Brown show back in 328 [328 Performance Hall, a defunct downtown venue]. Why "les" and not "less?" It's kind of a screwed-up thing. We all have stage names, and our old front man was Les Honky. When he left, we just decided to keep the name. What's your most memorable show? We opened for Hank Jr. at Starwood in the summer of 2001. It was unbelievable. Really surreal. We got lucky through a cancellation and got 30 minutes to play on the main stage. To think I'd ever be on that stage for any reason playing, it was unbelievable for all of us.

Any tour disasters? Our guitar player fell of the roof of a hotel in D.C. last summer the night before a show.

How would you describe your fans? I don't know if there is an average Les Honky fan. They're definitely all over the place. I'm not sure if we're ever gonna get focused on a fan base or not. It's mostly people who like to have a good time. They understand having a good time and getting drunk. They know how serious we're trying to be or how not serious. Everything we do is in the name of rock 'n' roll and fun. We do biker rallies and frat parties, and they both seem to like us. If ever the two shall meet.

Is the new album like what you've done before? It's definitely different. The recording is better; we've got better chemistry. As a band what is left over is that stylistically; it's all over the place. Just like the last one was. We feel like we've sharpened it up a little bit more. Everything's a little bit more electric, a little more rock this time - Nashville City Paper

as reported by Brad Hodge covering the 2007 Mucklewain Festival


.........Across the field the heroes (and host) of Mucklewain, Les Honkies More Tonkies, were taking the stage. These guys put on the festival, and as a band take the smallest set. It is the only time you see them stop working at making everyone happy and do a little something for themselves. They played a spectacular 30-minute set in the heat of the day, and then rode off to put out a fire somewhere........... - Honest Tune Magazine

Updated August 28, 2008 08:58:25 PM

les honky more tonkies visit Acoustic

Contributed to the Press

Ten years, countless shows, three records and several lineup changes later, Nashville neo-Southern rock stalwarts les honky more tonkies are still going strong.
As founders of the Mucklewain Southern American Rock Festival, band anchors and Kingsport natives Joie Todd Kerns aka Joey Lonzo and Johnny Mark Miller aka Johnny Pyro featured many of the Southeast’s most recognizable touring bands. Heavyweights such as Steve Earle, Drivin’ N Cryin’, Jason Isbell (of the Drive By Truckers), Lucero and Scott Miller and the Commonwealth are but a few of the 70-plus acts that performed at Mucklewain in 2006 and 2007.

Having foregone a heavy tour schedule over the last two years to work on Mucklewain, the group is back on tour now. They’ll play Acoustic Coffee House’s Next Door Stage on Saturday with fellow Mucklewain alumni and Nashville natives Ned Van Go.

Nashville singer/songwriter Lois Akin opens in the Coffee House at 8 p.m. Van Go will play at 9, followed by les honky more tonkies at 10. Admission is $7.

For more on these performers, visit myspace.com/leshonkymoretonkies, myspace.com/nedvango and myspace.com/loisakin.

- Johnson City Press