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AboutSomething to Believe In makes a fitting title for the debut Compadre Records release from Honeybrowne. The Austin, Texas-based band has a knack for transforming listeners into believers in much the same way that a love of music led hardcore fan Fred Andrews, Honeybrowne's singer and primary songwriter, into stepping onstage and eventually leading one of the fastest-rising acts on the Texas music circuit.
For Andrews, it's all about giving back to others what music has given him. "I want people to feel the emotions that hearing great music brings out in me," he explains. And such evocative sounds can be found throughout Something to Believe In, produced by Austin underground studio powerhouse Mark Addison, whose credits include lauded albums for Ian Moore, Guy Forsyth, Will Sexton and work with a host of other notables.
The album refines the new twist that Honeybrowne has brought to the booming Texas music scene since the late 1990s, building a sound from a roots music base that draws in strains of everything from classic and contemporary songwriter rock to the highest quality alternative and pop. Like every young Texan, Victoria-reared Andrews cut his teeth on Waylon, Willie and the boys as well as songwriting giants like Townes Van Zandt. "I have those heroes, and I love what they do. But that's not what I grew up listening to. My Dad is from Chicago, and what he listened to is what I listened to: Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis. Then as a teenager I got into bands like U2 and The Replacements. I think my songwriting reflects a combination of that stuff and my Texas music heroes."
Hence Something to Believe In plays like your favorite radio station broadcasting from the sweet spot in between country and rock. Its sweetly harmonic songs with their tales of faith and romance cast a beguiling spell produced by an infectious mix of sincerity, musicality and enthusiasm. In addition to six songs written or co-written by Andrews, it also features contributions by producer Addison and his longtime collaborator Nina Singh, former Honeybrowne guitarist Alex Weeden with Austin rocker Matt McCormack, and rising Texas talent Ryan Carter (the son of noted Austin songwriter Bill Carter).
The focus on superior songwriting reflects Andrews' abiding love of great music since his youth. "I was always really into listening to music, always more than my friends," he explains. Raised in a musical family, he didn't get serious about creating music himself until college at Southwest Texas State University, when he picked up his guitar and started playing to entertain himself and his friends. "I really didn't know how to play other people's music so much, so I made up my own. Then I slowly learned how to play other people's songs as well. And I thought songwriting was really fun." Andrews recalls.
He quickly progressed from playing at parties to a weekly gig with a makeshift band of friends at a local club that soon started packing in students by the hundreds. When they won a gig opening for Texas college faves Jackopierce and needed a name for the bill, a beer coaster provided the act with their moniker.
By the time Andrews graduated and started teaching special education in Austin, the music bug had bitten him hard enough to fill his weekends with an ever-expanding circuit of gigs in central Texas and then across the state. "It got to the point where we were touring pretty hard and it was tough to get into school on time," Andrews recalls. "So I took the leap and said, what the hell, and quit my day job and went for it hard core."
Debuting on CD in 2001 with Finding Shade, produced by former Loggins & Messina drummer Merel Bregante, Honeybrowne won airplay on Houston's KIKK radio and other stations across the Lone Star State with songs like "Texas Angel" and "Deeper Shade of Blue." Live at The Fabulous Satellite Lounge captured the infectious Honeybrowne concert experience, and another studio set, Good For Nuthin', refined the group's sound.
For Andrews, it's all been a matter of growing up in public as, with each album and every show, he has striven to create the best music he can. "I think a lot of bands do their learning in the garage or the rehearsal hall. I've done a lot of my learning in front of people - on the road, on CDs."
Experience has proven to be the best teacher. Honeybrowne plays three to four nights a week to enthusiastic crowds in both country and rock venues in the Lone Star State and beyond. And now, with Something to Believe In, "we have an album that we are very proud of," Andrews says.
"I just want to make music that's real," Andrews says. "We play from the heart, sing from the heart, write from the heart. It's just honest, good music." Or in other words, the music of Honeybrowne is Something to Believe In.
For Andrews, it's all about giving back to others what music has given him. "I want people to feel the emotions that hearing great music brings out in me," he explains. And such evocative sounds can be found throughout Something to Believe In, produced by Austin underground studio powerhouse Mark Addison, whose credits include lauded albums for Ian Moore, Guy Forsyth, Will Sexton and work with a host of other notables.
The album refines the new twist that Honeybrowne has brought to the booming Texas music scene since the late 1990s, building a sound from a roots music base that draws in strains of everything from classic and contemporary songwriter rock to the highest quality alternative and pop. Like every young Texan, Victoria-reared Andrews cut his teeth on Waylon, Willie and the boys as well as songwriting giants like Townes Van Zandt. "I have those heroes, and I love what they do. But that's not what I grew up listening to. My Dad is from Chicago, and what he listened to is what I listened to: Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis. Then as a teenager I got into bands like U2 and The Replacements. I think my songwriting reflects a combination of that stuff and my Texas music heroes."
Hence Something to Believe In plays like your favorite radio station broadcasting from the sweet spot in between country and rock. Its sweetly harmonic songs with their tales of faith and romance cast a beguiling spell produced by an infectious mix of sincerity, musicality and enthusiasm. In addition to six songs written or co-written by Andrews, it also features contributions by producer Addison and his longtime collaborator Nina Singh, former Honeybrowne guitarist Alex Weeden with Austin rocker Matt McCormack, and rising Texas talent Ryan Carter (the son of noted Austin songwriter Bill Carter).
The focus on superior songwriting reflects Andrews' abiding love of great music since his youth. "I was always really into listening to music, always more than my friends," he explains. Raised in a musical family, he didn't get serious about creating music himself until college at Southwest Texas State University, when he picked up his guitar and started playing to entertain himself and his friends. "I really didn't know how to play other people's music so much, so I made up my own. Then I slowly learned how to play other people's songs as well. And I thought songwriting was really fun." Andrews recalls.
He quickly progressed from playing at parties to a weekly gig with a makeshift band of friends at a local club that soon started packing in students by the hundreds. When they won a gig opening for Texas college faves Jackopierce and needed a name for the bill, a beer coaster provided the act with their moniker.
By the time Andrews graduated and started teaching special education in Austin, the music bug had bitten him hard enough to fill his weekends with an ever-expanding circuit of gigs in central Texas and then across the state. "It got to the point where we were touring pretty hard and it was tough to get into school on time," Andrews recalls. "So I took the leap and said, what the hell, and quit my day job and went for it hard core."
Debuting on CD in 2001 with Finding Shade, produced by former Loggins & Messina drummer Merel Bregante, Honeybrowne won airplay on Houston's KIKK radio and other stations across the Lone Star State with songs like "Texas Angel" and "Deeper Shade of Blue." Live at The Fabulous Satellite Lounge captured the infectious Honeybrowne concert experience, and another studio set, Good For Nuthin', refined the group's sound.
For Andrews, it's all been a matter of growing up in public as, with each album and every show, he has striven to create the best music he can. "I think a lot of bands do their learning in the garage or the rehearsal hall. I've done a lot of my learning in front of people - on the road, on CDs."
Experience has proven to be the best teacher. Honeybrowne plays three to four nights a week to enthusiastic crowds in both country and rock venues in the Lone Star State and beyond. And now, with Something to Believe In, "we have an album that we are very proud of," Andrews says.
"I just want to make music that's real," Andrews says. "We play from the heart, sing from the heart, write from the heart. It's just honest, good music." Or in other words, the music of Honeybrowne is Something to Believe In.
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