Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Honeywell - Discography





Of all the major obscure emo/hardcore bands I’ve tried to find in the last couple of years, Honeywell were probably the most difficult. Hell, I even found the Guyver-1 7’’ first, thanks to Zen and the Art of Face Punching, and all I knew about them was that, according to Andy Radin, they were “a little late in the game, but still fantastically good hardcore” (It’s excellent, by the way). Whereas Honeywell were already firmly etched onto my musical consciousness. I just had one song from Honeywell to go on, ‘You and Me/Screaming Numb Ears”. If I was walking past when that song came on my stereo, I had the (almost) uncontrollable urge to spazz out, flail my arms wildly and scream the words “I’m not listening!!! I’m not listening!!! I’m !!! not !!! LISTENING !!!!” at the floor.


I mean, considering how damn good that song is, what more would you want? Well, for a start, the [almost] entire Honeywell discography…




So what is Honeywell? As a hardcore group, they are pretty similar to bands like the Swing Kids and Mohinder. They play fast and abrasive hardcore with impassioned vocals, screamed with throat-shredding ferocity. Yet within this aural blender of distortion, feedback and guttural screeching is an undeniable sense of melody. Personally, I prefer this strand of Gravity/3OneG/San Diego/whatever hardcore to the more atonal Heroin or Angel Hair. And then there’s a further gap between this kind of early screamo and the Orchid/Saetia kind, which is fast in a completely different way.


If I had to compare this to something more modern, I guess I’d have to say Ampere or maybe Wolves. But still, they play with a different kind of acceleration. It may sound odd, but what I thought of was La Quiete, particularly their s/t 7’’. Admittedly, Honeywell are far more abrasive in overall style, but there’s a kind of connecting tangent of percussive rhythm. In La Quiete its done more through the guitars, and in Honeywell more through the voice, and in both through some degree of combination. It all works toward a certain rhythmic intensity, reaching towards sometimes a kind of heart-rending nervous strumming of the soul.



As I say, this is the entire discography. I’m not sure exactly where I found it, but it seems to be floating around places like megaupload and mediafire. The actual record is seemingly afflicted by the Troubleman curse, like the Hated. It’s eternally coming soon.


But here it is, albeit split in half. See, I hate listening to discographies, particularly those of groups originally designed to be heard in short bursts. I did the same to the even shorter Mohinder discography, burning off two separate CDs from the eMusic download. Really, it’s inadvisable to listen to this kind of music for a solid hour, and if you’re determined to do so (say, if you’re feeling super-punk) then get up off your ass halfway through and switch CDs. Of course, if you are super-punk, you’re listening to the vinyl anyway.


So what I did was split it into Pt. 1 (the Industry LP and what I assume is their first 7’’) and Pt. 2 (the Reach Out split tracks and various other stuff from comps etc.). It’s nice kind of A and B side balance. Then I made up some matching cover art using a stylish 1950s Technicolor picture of a Honeywell thermostat (cos, you know, authenticity) and stuck them in with all my other CDs.



If you think that sounds strange, then you haven’t read the name of this blog.





Discography, Pt. 1

Discography, Pt. 2




PS. The picture at the top I found on this Myspace site, 'eletrikkoolaid', along with a lot of other useful and interesting background information on Honeywell and the related band, Volume Eleven.




PPS. Interesting fact: the classical excerpt at the start of 'Mesh Control' on that side is, according to a reliable source, the opening chorus 'O Fortuna' from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana of 1937. According to the classical encyclopaedia,

"the words... are from 13th-century student poems found in the monastery of Benediktbeuren in Bavaria, which are bawdy celebrations of drinking, lovemaking and other earthy delights. Its wide appeal - a message to many contemporary composers - comes from its rhythmic vivacity, its raw, direct energy and its fusion of traditional, jazz and modern compositional techniques."

Go figure...





33 comments:

sweet baby jaysus said...

if for some reason you need the guyver 1 full length, i have it and the 7" as one file, and more than happy to send it your way

gabbagabbahey said...

I wouldn't say I need it, but I wouldn't mind having it!

blend77 said...

the 12" is kinda not that good... the 7" is balls to the wall!!! get the 7" for sure... i had it on zen too..

honeywell was pretty good... i always enjoyed them...

good post... i like the review..

jdk said...

Just ran across your blog looking for a picture of Industry to use as a msg board avatar - awesome. Thanks for posting this, it's nice to have all these songs on my computer (plus my copy of the LP has been played quite a few times). Such an unsung band.

gabbagabbahey said...

Glad to be of help. Thanks for the comment.

sapila said...

this discography is incomplete.. its missing the demo, and the posthemosis rip is wrong.

anyway, honeywell are my favorite band.

gabbagabbahey said...

apologies for the shortcomings... I've put in an edit.

what's the deal with Posthemosos or whatever it's called? I know it's a comp track, that's all...

anyway, I can see you're a big fan

sapila said...

shit.. i wrote a huge comment, what happened to it?

anyway, "posthemosis" is from a comp 2xlp called "in memory of jason" put out by monopoly records in 96. bobby czell played all the instruments on that song.

rgratzer said...

Neat. I never had the 12"... just a crappy vinyl transfer that I found online like eight years ago.

You probably know this, but the songs Keratinize through Montgomery are from the Electric Kool-Aid 7". Volume 11 used to play some songs off that record.

I saw Guyver 1 at the first GoletaFest (1996?). And they were totally awesome. They were all really nice, and they invited every one to stand really close to them. I was pretty new to hardcore at the time, and I blown away by their energy and spastics. Afterwards, one of the band members pierced a guy's dick, right by the merch tables. But I never had any of their records (except one song off a comp). I haven't explored your site yet, but I'll look to see if you posted the 7".

I'm working on transferring records to computer, and will start posting them on my site (probably not for another month or two).

rgratzer said...

Also! re: your poll. You forgot Silver Bearings. That was a mike hirsh band from 1989/90 or so. The split with Moss Icon is my dream record.

gabbagabbahey said...

- rgratzer

thanks, I did forget Silver Bearings. (Can't change the poll now, but I might put them into the second round) They're one of the few I haven't heard, and I've always loved Moss Icon, so I should track down that record (that and the Breather Walker lp... hint)

Guyver 1 are pretty great too. I have the 7" and full length, so I can post them up if you want. Like Blend says way back up there, the 7" is way better - but I think the full length has its merits. It's in my 'Coming Soon' to-do list, I think.

Drop us a line if and when you get some vinyl rips done, and I'll link you up!

Cheers, Gabba

rgratzer said...

Gabba,
From what I've heard, the Moss Icon/Silver Bearing record had a print run of 400. I grew up in Santa Barbara, and kent at Ebullition had, back in the early '90s, quite a few to sell. Of course, they were all sold. So once I knew about the record and realized that I desperately needed it, I would regularly check the used record shops and thrift stores for ones that had been sold off. I never found one. But I did have friends that found it.

I don't know this for certain, but I think kent put the moss icon side of that record on the It Disappears lp. At least, he told me that was what he intended to do when he put out It Disappears. But then he also mentioned how something didn't quite work out as he was hoping. I don't remember all the details. So those two records could have different stuff, or the same - I dunno. Regardless, I still want that split! I saw it on ebay about six or seven years ago, and it went for around $80...

I'll keep you posted on my transferring and sharing. I have some records that I am not seeing shared much (for instance, I mean, maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I haven't even seen the Reach Out stuff ... I have the 7", the split with Honeywell, and the song off the In Memory of Jason comp... I think that's all there is, save a probably very elusive demo. So that's something to start with, if it's not already widely available).

I'll keep checking back for the Guyver 1 records. I'm definitely interested in those. Do you have the "I Can't Live Without It" comp, put out on Mountain Collective? That has a Guyver 1 song on it.

rgratzer said...

Oh, and I have the Breathing Walker lp. So that'll be something to share, too.

-Ryan.

gabbagabbahey said...

ryan -

first of all, here's the guyver-1 7" to get you started:

http://www.mediafire.com/?7tydxmnm9mn

like I say, much better to listen to the 7" (five songs on it) before anything else. It may be a while before I get a Guyver post up, as I was intending on doing Mohinder first. And I don't have that comp, no.

chadski emailed me with my other two requests (i.e. not Breathing Walker) so here's the MI/SB split:

http://www.mediafire.com/?2u5fwwmj9cc

My understanding of It Disappears is that is a few live tracks of early Moss Icon material (e.g. I'm Back Sleeping or Fucking or Something...) with four of their last songs - the long, slow-building ones. Gravity and Guatemala are on both the split and It Disappears, from what I can see now. 'As Afterwards the Words still ring happ' is on the Lyburnum lp as well, so there's only one new song, 'Familiar presides', on the Moss Icon side of this split.

Check out http://www.t-dt-b.org/ for more information - very good discography database which I use a lot for this stuff.

Finally, sbj did post the Reach Out/Honeywell split (on my request, actually) a while ago:
http://burningdowndreams.blogspot.com/2007/10/reach-outhoneywell-split-7.html
but the rest of the stuff is hard to find, so go for it!

Cheers, Gabba

(ps. feel free to use email at gabbaweeks@gmail.com if you want. I get automatically notified of comments via gmail anyway, so it's no bother if you use the comments section either)

Anonymous said...

Guyver One: SUCKS

Reach Out: Two practice cassettes (92 & 93), Demo 92, Split 7" with Honeywell on Anomaly (2nd press on Kurt & Jason/Belladona), 7" on GASR (a masterpiece!) and song on the In Memory of Jason 2xLP.

Another Mike Kirsch band nobody knows is 16 Bullets. I was told that they were active from 93 to 94 and they released only a demo. They were playing fast hardcore a la Mohinder/Navio Forge. There's a flyer on the Portraits of Past site.

About V11: Yes, they have a cover of the song "Genious" on the second LP. It's amazing.

Also, Breathing Walker have a demo. It's not worth listening to at all.

Ps. Ryan, were are you from? I have a HUGE request list!

blend77 said...

Guyver One doesnt suck... that 7" is crazy good!

i seriously dont care much for the 12" though... but Zero is an insane song...

gabbagabbahey said...

heh! I should weigh in here too...

the thing is, sapila, Guyver 1 don't sound all that different from Honeywell. Both abrasive, fast, noisy hardcore stuff. Really Guyver fit best though, to my mind, with Swing Kids, maybe Clikatat Ikatowi. They've got this whole jazzy thing going on which shines through the insane noise...

and I'm listening to the 12" right now. It's good - not as good, but good nonetheless. More quiet, spacey bits which work quite well. Kinda like the first Clikatat lp. I definitely need to try and rehabilitate it for you, blend!

gabbagabbahey said...

hey, all I know is... Guyver One is a bio-weapon...

rgratzer said...

Sapila: when I saw Volume 11, they played the second song off the Kool-Aid 7" (I'm at work right now, and can't figure if that's Genious... and I only heard the 2nd lp once, and remember hearing a Honeywell song, but can't remember if it's the one they played live! I really need to get that 2nd lp, because I liked it. I'm not sure why I never bought it. but I'm friends with Ryan and his wife, so maybe they can help me.)

A friend of mine (and old bandmate) grew up Pleasant Valley, or where ever Reach Out was from, and I know he had at least one of those tapes. Yeah, the 7" on GASR is totally amazing, and I'll post it as soon as I can for whomever wants it.

Also, sapila, I grew up, mostly, in santa barbara, ca. and sometimes lived with, sometimes worked for, the ebullition folks. But I posted that and you commented... I pretty much spent all the money I earned working for them on records. plus I'd get a lot as a reviewer for heartattack. Over the years I've gotten rid of records, but I've held on to my favorites. You can email me about stuff you're looking for: master.cob at gmail. I'm hoping to get a new turntable for christmas, then I'll get to transferring.

Gabba: Thanks!! I'll grab those when I get home. Super cool about the MI/SB split. Good info. I still can't rest until I own that vinyl. But this is great for now.

Anonymous said...

I can upload that g1 comp song, if you want.

Some stuff I'm searching for (from ca):
Manumission Demo
End of the Line Demo
Downcast
Bockwinkle (ex-honeywell/pre-v11) Demo
Any v11 live sets

For all the g1 fans, check out impetus inter.

Anonymous said...

hi. my name is gilberto. i played bass in volume eleven, bockwinkle, and slack with robert bray and david astor from the locust. i can't belive people know about these groups let alone care to try and find the releases. the bockwinkle demo is lost in space. i don't have a copy. it was a live recording from KSPC in claremont ca. there is one whole live volume eleven set from the che fest 1999. it was recorded by matt anderson from gravity records. i have the adat, but have never listened to it besides the song that made it to the che fest 99 cd. if anyone wants more info etc. contact me here. myspace.com/americangil
ciao!

gabbagabbahey said...

hi gilberto. Thanks for the comment.

you'd better believe it, that people want to hear this stuff still!

if that's the ex-Hated Slack you're talking about, I really like them.

Anonymous said...

My boss at the record store sells great stuff on ebay and always starts the auctions out low. I was reading and saw people looking for certain records. He just sold a great copy of the Moss Icon/Silver Bearings record a couple weeks back and is listing a copy of "It Disappears" and some Hated stuff. It's Reptilian Records. I'm not sure of the ebay name exactly, but if you search I'm sure you'll find it. And I don't get anything for it, so I'm not advertising. Just spreading the word on tough to find vinyl.
Go Guyver!

Anonymous said...

That ex-Hated REM cover band had nothing to do with Honeywell...

Anonymous said...

You just made my year. I've been looking for these records for years. I lost a bunch of my old records and am trying to recover as best I can. Thank you!

Also, I'm in the search for some frail if you know a good spot.

gabbagabbahey said...

hey anon, here's Frail 'Make Your Own Noise': http://www.mediafire.com/?6d3n9tvzmnd

found that on Zen and the Art of Face Punching, it's a little tricky going through the archives and just type 'frail' into his searchbox and you'll come up with a bunch of other cool stuff of that era. Also, there's a few 'comment storms' there were people randomly post up hard-to-find vinyl releases.

cheers,
gabba

PS this is by far the most downloaded thing on the site. Someone should really come out with a proper discography (on separate discs so I don't have to listen to it all at once!)

Jerry A. said...

GREAT "album cover" design--just a clever idea and a kinda cool move.

thanks!

Marty Roberts said...

I gave my Honeywell demo to Jackie from Coleman, otherwise I'd send it to you. Each one had a different b-side of noise, a nod to the early MITB Noise projects. Ryan worshiped Wood and Honeywell's sound changed drastically as they played. Case in point, they used to do 'No Sleep Til Brooklyn' and Outspoken's 'Survival' as covers. They played at the colleges in Claremont several times. I'll see if I can scan some photos from back then. Trivia bit 2: There's was once a proposed Honeywell/Half Man split (half well/honey man) but that never came through. Trivia bit 3: that's Chris Jensen's head in Kent's photo at the top of the page.

Anyhow, I wrote up a bit of a reflection on 90s hardcore here if anyone's interested:
http://abovethesubtext.blogspot.com/search/label/hardcore%20punk

gabbagabbahey said...

marty - thanks. I just read your 'Putting the 90s to rest' piece and it was fascinating.

Marty Roberts said...

Gabba--thanks. I spent lots and lots of time trying to get it 'right'. Anyhow, worth searching for would be a video of Honeywell, Not For a Lack of Trying, and Rorschach up in Northridge, summer 93.

I also have a dvd version of a Honeywell set from Scripps College in 93 that I could send you in December. I'm off to India on Friday and all my stuff is in storage. It was a great show with Struggle (kind of weak) and MITB (always amazing). Let's keep in touch.

Marty said...

Okay, one final memory. On the way back from that Northridge show, the Honeywell guys and the kid I drove out there passed a micro-machines toy truck back and front between our cars while screaming along the freeway. I was sure we'd all die!

gabbagabbahey said...

I posted about that 90s HC piece on my current blog here: http://hardcorefornerds.tumblr.com/post/176281281

my email is gabbaweeks@gmail.com, by the way.

Anonymous said...

Hey sapila there was no Manumission demo.....if we recorded anything it was full boom box status just so Ani could write lyrics. The first time we recorded as a band was for the 1st 7" and Bobby from Honeywell was playing drums by that point. We did play on KCSB which was probably recorded...which might be what you're thinking is a demo. it did have the original drummer Jace Turner.
capra