The Honey Wilders

The Honey Wilders serve up good old fashioned rock and roll that blends the raw power of yesteryear’s guitar gods with picture-perfect songwriting and a heaping helping of youthful moxie. Energetic, unpretentious, and just plain fun, they are a vital force in the Bay Area’s rock scene. Their dynamic performances and infectiously catchy songs have already earned them the top spot on the ReverbNation local charts, a feature in Guitar Player Magazine, and a nomination for Best Local Band from hometown paper Metro Silicon Valley. Fielding an arena-rock-worthy lineup of three guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards, their sonic palette is diverse enough to cover everything from swampy blues to jangly pop, spaced-out jams to hard-driving anthems. The Honey Wilders’ mix of vintage-inspired originals and bar-rock crowd-pleasers delivers a total entertainment package that is sure to get feet stomping and juices flowing. Ready, willing, and able to lay it down all night, the lads have been packing Northern California bars with music lovers of every age since 2010.

Their debut album, Singles for Singles, was released in February 2012 on indie label Rubber Bucket Records. Reviewers have already hailed it as “the album the world needs,” calling it “diverse and entertaining,” and “catchy as all get-out.” A refreshing musical cocktail that’s one part Exile on Main Street, one part Damn the Torpedoes, a dash of In Color, and always served Live and Dangerous, the record has been a runaway success, selling through its first run in a matter of months. The second printing is now available on CD at the band’s shows and online retailer CD Baby, as well as digitally on iTunes and Amazon. While comparisons have been drawn to everyone from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, The Honey Wilders prefer to see this record as inheritance from Ian Hunter’s “Golden Age of Rock and Roll,” a time when people came together after a hard day’s work to enjoy a cold one and shake off their blues to some hot electric boogie.

From the massive guitar harmonies of album opener “Summertime,” to the radio gold of “Life in Stereo,” to the poignant refrain of “Don’t Blame Me,” listeners will find Singles for Singles brimming over with hooks, heart, and hutzpah. The band shows just as much flair for greasy, old-school groove on thumpers like “Heaviside” and the Zeppelin-esque “Sugar Mama,” as they do McCartney-­era songcraft on audience favorites “Geneva Ave” and “Wake Up and Smile.” The rowdy swagger of “Sweet Alice” and southern-fried funk of “Family Ties” exemplify the “instantly recognizable guitar sound” that Powerpopaholic describes as “a cross between Mick Ronson and Slash,” and the Indie Bands Blog calls “bang on the spot that fans of rock ‘n’ roll expect to hear.” Perhaps the most fitting summary of the album comes from Absolute Powerpop: “If your local classic rock radio station actually played new songs, it might sound something like this.” A smorgasbord of sub­genres, Singles for Singles by The Honey Wilders is truly a feast for the ears—everything you love about rock and roll, and nothing you don’t.