Honor Meets the Outlaw has worked their way up to the Glass House and the House of Blues. Now, they’re looking for fans to take with them.
They started as three piece acoustic group, and after a few face changes and a naming, the four-member Alternative pop punk band is now just shy of four years old and only has one EP, The Woodshed, that they recorded two years ago.
However, band members Joey Gonzalez (rhythym guitar, vocals) and Kris Beeks (bass, vocals) say that the band has paid its toll as most bands do on the road to recognition, playing shows and promoting until they were able to open for bands such as Artist vs. Poet and My American Heart.
They are currently working on another EP, followed by a potential acoustic EP. Their lack of released material is a result of frequent member changes over the years as well as perfectionism, while their un-released music is played at shows and can be found on YouTube.
Honor Meets the Outlaw’s music sounds like a fusion between Circa Survive and Fall Out Boy, with powerfully charged ballads and catchy hooks like those from your girlfriend’s favorite band back in high school.
The lyrics are written for those that have experienced loss, because as Gonzalez said, “They’ve been there.”
He said that almost all of the band members draw influence from their own experiences of having their hearts broken.
While the subject is relatable, Beeks said newer lyrics are more universal.
The fusion of Beeks and Gonzalez singing truly embodies the band name, and the contrast creates a “good-cop, bad-cop” dynamic.
In “Every Man I Am,” Gonzalez sings optimistically about bouncing back from young love, while his passionate lyrics alternating with Beeks’, drawn over slow, heavy drumming in “Calling The Sirens,” sing painfully about a little boy that fell in love.
The melodic elements that Gonzalez brings to the table are complimented perfectly by Beeks’ aggressive side, making the band the perfect balance between sweet and sour.
Q: Where did the band name come from?
Joey Gonzalez: We played a lot of shows with different names.
Kris Beeks: Honor Meets the Outlaw came out like a Robin Hood idea and we were like ‘Okay, that actually works, that’s like a solid memorable name that nobody has … so it’s original.’
Q: So you said you don’t want to emulate the bands that influence you, but of course you must have had some influences.
JG: Bands that have influenced both Kris and myself [would be] Say Anything, The Spill Canvas heavily influenced my writing, Circa Survive, Fall Out Boy.
KB: I listen to a lot more progressive … which is more heavily based music … kinda more mathematic when it comes to the writing.
JG: Yeah I would agree. Lyrically, City and Colour, I think we are most recognized for our lyrics I would say…
Q: You guys have had a considerable amount of success. How did you get where you are today?
JG: Honestly, paying our dues. Pretty much what they do is print out a contract and say ‘OK, you need to sell 50 tickets at $10 a piece and if you don’t, you’re gonna pay back what you owe or you might not get to play that night.’ So we did a lot of those shows with pretty much just one company … and we always sold our tickets, always kept up with our contracts and always checked in with them, and then, they started calling us.
KB: It’s also who you know, and who you prove yourself to.
JG: It’s being humble, I mean … we don’t hold our band on a pedestal.
KB: It’s a hustle, a grinding, grinding hustle.
Q: Would you say that you’re still growing?
KB: Where we would really like to be is where we can play a show, and that money goes towards the band … so a good point would be getting enough respect from the industry as well to show that [we have] the fans [and] the potential … instead of constantly having to prove [ourselves] over and over.
JG: [Within the next couple months] we need a fan base that’s going to be dedicated to us … that’s going to come out to shows and try to take the time to get to know us.
Q: Would you ever sign with a record company?
JG: I have no problem working with a writer, working with a producer, presenting something and having them change it around, because a lot of the time it’s recognizing that the people that follow you may not like what you like.
Q: Did you play Warped Tour?
JG: Actually we haven’t, right now were actually in the process of battling out a spot for Warped Tour.
Q: Is that the battle of the bands?
JG: We just won our preliminary, so now were going to semi finals [on May 28 at DiPiazza’s] … if we win that one I think we go to the House of Blues.
Q: What do you think are your chances?
KB: It’s a stiff competition, even with the show that we had [and] that’s only one of many; we had solid bands that we were competing against.
JG: For our band specifically we had a four way tie, so four of us got to go on [to semifinals].
Q: Do you guys get pretty nervous?
JG: Oh yeah, without a doubt. It depends which venue. If we’re playing DiPiazza’s, its home. We go there, you’re there with friends; its cool.
I remember the first time we played the House of Blues , the main stage. I was terrified, I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Q: Is it common that you guys usually want to bring your own friends and family, or do you accumulate fans at your shows too?
KB: You want people there that will support you, to have good energy to feed off of.
JG: I think we’re more scared to talk to people than people are to talk to us.
KB: You’re crazy dude, is that why you always bail?
Honor Meets the Outlaw plays bar shows every once and awhile, as mentioned on their Facebook page.
Their Woodshed EP is available at bandcamp.com/honormeetstheoutlaw.