Dirty Honey photographed at Good Times at Davey Wayne's in Los Angeles in March.
Dan PrakopcykBack in January, Dirty Honey singer Marc Labelle was wearing a vintage-looking Aerosmith T-shirt onstage at Nashville’s Basement East while belting out the classic-rockers’ 1976 hit “Last Child.” It was a bit on the nose, but that’s the unabashed appeal of this L.A.-based band, a Seventies/Eighties rock outfit that isn’t afraid to wear its influences — quite literally — on their sleeve.
Dirty Honey came together in 2017 when Labelle, a New York native, met guitarist John Notto at the singer’s regular covers gig at a Santa Monica bar. Notto had moved to Los Angeles from Maine on a mission to match the success of his favorite band, Guns N’ Roses. Labelle was struck by his ambition. “He seemed like a true rock & roll personality and somebody I should be pursuing a dream with in an original band,” he says.
Labelle ditched the covers show and, with Notto, bassist Justin Smolian and drummer Corey Coverstone, began writing original material like the moody rocker “Fire Away” and the smoldering ballad “Down the Road.” The quartet settled on the name Dirty Honey — a Sunset Strip-ready moniker that came to Labelle after hearing Robert Plant talk about the Honeydrippers on Howard Stern — and started to fine-tune their live show in the clubs.
“There’s a respect that’s earned there, starting from zero,” Labelle says. “A lot of the problems with [singers] on American Idol or The Voice is they haven’t done the clubs. They may have this booming, unbelievable voice, but they have no presence and no connection to the songs they’re singing.”
Onstage, and on Dirty Honey’s self-titled, self-released debut EP, Labelle evokes the wails of Plant and Steven Tyler, with hints of Chris Cornell, while Notto channels his heroes Brian May and Slash, weaving in some greasy slide. Labelle admits the band made a stab at a more alternative-leaning sound with “Fire Away” before embracing their simple guitar-and-amps setup. “We were trying to push the envelope of rock & roll a little too hard and trying to break what we thought was new ground, rather than doing what came natural to us,” he says.
Following their instincts proved to be a good idea. Their breakneck, bluesy debut single, “When I’m Gone,” went to Number One on Active Rock radio in late September, according to Alpha Data; they’ve opened shows for GN’R and the Who; and they’ve racked up more than 14 million streams to date. Like flies to honey, dirty or otherwise, the band is attracting a fan base that’s been underserved: Many of the shows on their headlining winter tour sold out, and they moved about $8,000 a night at the merch table — impressive for an independent act that plays ballsy, old-school rock & roll, not the most youthful of genres.
“I heard that a million times: ‘Rock & roll doesn’t stream.’ But rock bands sell a lot of fucking tickets and merch,” says Labelle, who doesn’t think a record label has much to offer his grassroots band. “We’ve been on the road with a lot of great artists and spoken to a lot of rock stars I really admire, and none of them have ever told me that they absolutely adore their label.”
Dirty Honey photographed at Good Times at Davey Wayne’s in Los Angeles in March.
Dan Prakopcyk for Rolling Stone
Dirty Honey aren’t going it alone. They’re currently doing pre-production for their debut full-length album with producer Nick DiDia, who as Brendan O’Brien’s longtime engineer cut his teeth on LPs by Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. The band flew to DiDia’s studio in Byron Bay, Australia, when they recorded their EP (“It’s really a cost thing,” Labelle says. “Studios in L.A. are really expensive”), but because of the pandemic, they’re collaborating now via Zoom.
Labelle hopes the band’s upcoming album will reignite the rock revival that looked to be catching fire three years ago with groups like Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons. “I thought there’d be a little more true rock & roll popping up, but it’s still pretty much slim pickings,” he says. “We’re happy to plant our foot in there.”
He’s sure that if you play loud rock chords, the fans will come. Just look around, Labelle says.
“You can go out on the Sunset Strip or walk around Nashville and there are people all over town wearing Rolling Stones, the Who, and Led Zeppelin shirts,” he says. “There is a very visible thirst for rock & roll.”
Elvis Presley – ‘Mystery Train’
“My first love was Elvis, no question. In our house, we had a French-release compilation album of his songs called ‘Le Roi Du Rock ‘n’ Roll’. As a small kid, I was obsessed with ‘Mystery Train’. The way Elvis held his guitar like a gun and the percussive way he attacked the strings made me fall in love with the guitar. Many years later, I went busking around Europe on my motorbike with a tent and played my guitar in the streets. But it was all because of Elvis and those early Sun [Records] recordings – and ‘Mystery Train’ in particular.”
Blondie – ‘Autoamerican’
“There was an Our Price on Finchley Road, North London that I’d go to with my older brother and sister. That’s where I bought ‘Autoamerican’ in 1981. Blondie – what can you say? Apart from the fact that as a young boy, it was impossible not to be in love with Debbie Harry. I love the variety on this particular record – it goes through different genres. Years later, I saw Blondie play [in 2013] at a private function in New York with Kanye West. Debbie Harry was still magnetic.”
Queen, Wembley Stadium, 1986
“Queen were supported by INXS. It was before they released ‘Kick’ [in 1987]. I only went because it turned out my friend Kieran’s dad was a big-shot in the music industry and he got four tickets. I was around 17, it was a year after they played Live Aid and Queen were phenomenal.”
The Beatles – ‘Eleanor Rigby’
“All through our early teenage years, my younger brother and I were always at the top of the house listening to The Beatles. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ reminds me of the ‘80s and the views out of our house in London: looking at the grey, rain-drizzled skies. I always felt its melancholy, looking out of the window back then as a teenager. Not that I was unhappy, but I definitely responded to that in music.”
Ever meet Macca?
“I have met Paul McCartney and he was a complete gentleman. At a political party, we were watching the American election on TV and he came up to me and said [Lewis does a pitch-perfect Macca impersonation]: ‘Oh, you understand a bit or two about the TV, don’t you?’. And I just realised he’d seen me on TV and I melted. I went to bed grinning. That McCartney knows who I am is incredible. I was completely tongue-tied.”
David Bowie – ‘Heroes’
“I know 173 other people will probably also have picked ‘Heroes’ for this, but from the opening note, it’s just relentlessly brilliant. It’s the most evocative, triumphant, euphoric song – and unbelievably cool. The second album I ever owned was Bowie’s ‘Hunky Dory’ – and he’s remained a touchstone for me.”
The Rolling Stones – ‘Little T&A’
“I listen to the Stones a lot and I can never get ‘Little T&A ‘ out of my head. Keith Richards is quoted as calling the song ‘dumb’ and that it’s just about rock ‘n’ roll energy. It’s a celebration of carnality, I’m aware of that, but that’s the one that stays in my head!”
Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers – ‘Swing the Mood’
“I can’t fucking hear Jive Bunny again! But I don’t mean that in a pejorative way. When I was in my twenties, I would go out on my own dancing to old-school rock ‘n’ roll at rockabilly nights. Then Jive Bunny came out and cut up my favourite songs into snippets and put them into this endless [novelty] medley. And then it was never off the radio, so I’d have to put it into the Room 101 of music.”
Crazy P – ‘There’s a Better Place’
“It’s an ambient rave tune with a fantastic Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory sample. I’m just that age. I left school right into the dance culture of the ‘90s and that will still always get me up on the floor.”
The Weepies – ‘Gotta Have You’
“It reminds me of moving to LA as a family with my late wife Helen [McCrory]. My daughter was one year old and my son was about to be born. We were living in Venice Canals – and I was filming out there. We had a babysitter who was a 23-year-old roller-skating, already-Botoxed sunny Californian girl. We asked her, are you listening to any good music? She gave us two great bands. One is The Shins but the other was a lesser-known band called The Weepies. That song will always get me going.”
Elton John – ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’
“I can’t say I do karaoke but I will proudly divulge that I was at karaoke in Fulham Broadway once. I went in there with a friend and I got up and sang ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ and I won a bottle of champagne for best karaoke of the evening! Very chuffed I was too. If I was back looking for another bottle of champers, I’d pick it again.”
Talk Talk – ‘It’s My Life’
“I was an ‘80s kid and I liked electronic music. I’ve always loved ‘It’s My Life’ and Andy Hollis’ vocals, as well as its slightly bombastic nature. Life’s what you make of it – seems like a good sentiment to have.”
Damian Lewis’ UK tour begins on October 2. His album ‘Sweet Chaos’ is out now via Thin Red Duke
