Are You A FOODIE?

The “Honeymoon” aint over!
by Aaron Gomes
 
Friday, May 6
HE’S MY BROTHER SHE’S MY SISTER
Honeymoon
$5, 21+, 9:30pm
The Cellar Door
101 W. Main St., Visalia
tickets: ticketweb.com
 
Monterey-based, four lead female singer/songwriter indie-folk band Honeymoon gracefully blend traditional roots and pop sensibility. 

 
***Please use both photos attached.  One is of Honeymoon, and the other is of the night’s headliner’s He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister.
 
The “Honeymoon” aint over!
by Aaron Gomes
 
Friday, May 6
HE’S MY BROTHER SHE’S MY SISTER
Honeymoon
$5, 21+, 9:30pm
The Cellar Door
101 W. Main St., Visalia
tickets: ticketweb.com
 
Monterey-based, four lead female singer/songwriter indie-folk band Honeymoon gracefully blend traditional roots and pop sensibility. 
 
Three of the band’s members are from right here in the Central Valley, and will make their Central Valley Honeymoon debut on Fri. May 7 at the Cellar Door opening for the much buzzed about Los Angeles band He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister! 
 
The young women of Honeymoon have a unique and powerful stage presence that commands an audience’s attention as they trade off lead vocals and switch between instruments with ease; combining pristine four-part harmonies with masterful arrangements played on guitar, piano, banjo, accordion, and violin.
 
I spoke with the band’s violinist/vocalist Sara Bollwinkel (formerly Sara Bailey) about the band last week…
 
A.G.: So Sara, what ties do Honeymoon have to the Central Valley?
S.B.: Three of us are from various parts of the Valley. Christina Bailey (formerly Christina Torres) grew up in Lemoore, graduated Lemoore High School, and spent a few years at COS. Matt Bollwinkel spent a number of years in Clovis, and I grew up in Visalia, graduating from Redwood High School.

A.G.: I hear we’ll be getting a full six-member band for this show?
S.B.: Lauren Shera – Banjo, Guitar, Ukulele, Vocals
         Andrea Blunt – Piano, Violin, Accordion, Vocals
         Christina Bailey – Guitar, Vocals
         Sara Bollwinkel – Violin, Vocals
         Matt Bollwinkel – Bass
         Mark Quinn – Drums
 
A.G.: Please share a memory from a past Honeymoon show.

S.B: There are way too many. Our first show ever as a band was was a sold out Jackie Greene show at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, CA. Phil Lesh (legendary bass player from The Grateful Dead)  was there that night and came into our dressing room to tell us we make the music of “Goddesses and Sirens”. 

This past February we were playing with Jackie Greene again at the El Rey in Los Angeles on Sara’s birthday, and the entire audience sang her happy birthday! It was an awesome 400 person serenade!

Recently, we’ve been able to sing on stage with the last few headliners we played with- Jackie Greene, Truth & Salvage Co. and Abigail Washburn. Lots of harmonies, and fun memories. We have also had the awesome opportunity of touring with Mary Chapin Carpenter, supporting Ray Lamontagne and David Gray at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, and headlined  the Sunshine Stage at the Furthur Festival at Angels Camp, CA within our first months as a band. We have also played with Akron Family, Joan Osborne, The Mother Hips, and Hot Buttered Rum.  The memories are a constant, and we are sincerely humbled and honored with every awesome opportunity presented to us.

A.G.: How do you usually answer the ol’ “What do you guys sound like?” question?

S.B.:  We all find ourselves inspired by Mumford & Sons. We nerded out when we accidentally ran into Marcus Mumford at a tiny venue in Big Sur this past winter. (He was just vacationing). We love a good thick chord of vocal harmonies…and we love seeing how far off the grid we can travel with our traditional folk instrumentation.  Fans have often compared us to Fleetwood Mac and Fleet Foxes (Fleetwood Foxes!).  At Amoeba, they would file us under Folk/Americana…that’s just fine with us.  

A.G.: What makes the live show engaging?

S.B.: We are four lead female singer/songwriters who play various instruments and trade off singing lead and harmonies.  Because we do a lot of lead vocal and instrumental “switching”, we feel as though it keeps our set fresh, and each song drastically different from the last.  A lot of that is due to our desire to make the show equal parts for our audiences as well as for ourselves.  We were all huge fans of each other’s music before we combined forces, so we love a good opportunity to sing harmony on eachothers original songs. 

A.G.: Can we connect with Honeymoon online?

S.B.: Yes! All four of us are big on facebook and update our blog frequently, which you can find both links to on our website honeymoonISmusic.com 
 
A.G.: Is there anything else we should know about honeymoon before we come see the band play at Cellar Door on Fri., May 6?
S.B.: We are really truly excited for our first show in the Central Valley, as it is most definitely a home coming for several of us.  We are honored to be supporting He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister, and can’t wait to see some old friends and meet some new ones.
 
much love,
Aaron