For the honeyrods, the past year has been an intensive learning experience—kind of like a crash course ROCK 101. “Its a sickness or an addiction---to us Rock N Roll is an epidemic.” Explains Cabaniss. “We’ve seen a lot this year, we want people to know what we know. There’s more to Rock than what the radio is letting you hear, or what TV lets you see. You’ve gotta live this. Kids aren’t stupid today. They can see right through you. We signed the dotted line and that changed everything. I’ll admit that we’ve had to play the game this year, but not anymore. We not interested in being the next Beck, we’ll let other bands do that.” Cabaniss pauses for a moment then exclaims, “The Who, now that’s a band to be!!!!!”

As the honeyrods continue their rapid-fire growth in 1998, it’s worth recapping the events thus far. Back in July 1997, when they released their self-titled debut album, the quintet was still ensconced in the region immediately surrounding their Nashville home base. Today they’re a seasoned rock band with thousands miles under their belts.

Meanwhile, the debut single/video “Love Bee” earned the honeyrods exposure on MTV’s 120 minutes and on M2(where it was a top 5 video for weeks) And an appearance on MTV’s “Oddville” provided a nationwide platform for Cabaniss and his compadres—guitarists Chris Hunter and Matt Clemmons, bassist Jeremy Brashears, and drummer Michael Dale.

The honeyrods recorded their debut record at producer Matt Hyde’s North Vine studios, a Hollywood landmark which has hosted legendary artist (including Stevie Wonder, the Beach Boys, Supertramp, and Hendrix). The album typifies a sound where brawny guitar hooks rule, from the anthemic “Float,” “Child,” and “Wishing,” to the stinging distort-o-funk humor of “I’d Rather,” a paean to a screw up. “Recording at North Vine was almost Spiritual,” says Cabaniss, “the ghosts were everywhere.”

Above all else, Hyde encouraged the honeyrods’ spur-of-the-moment energy in the studio. “Some of my favorite moments were accidents,” admits Hunter. “The album is full of them. Weird, sonic, unintentional effects really set us off.”

Armed with their arsenal of Gibson Guitars and Marshall Amps, the honeyrods proceeded to gig mightily throughout the Southeast region, earning an intensely loyal fan base with live shows punctuated by rowdy guitars and sweating bodies. Two self-produced releases set the stage for the honeyrods’ major label debut on Capricorn, and months of non-stop touring.

Meeting fans across the country has proved one thing. “Rock ‘n’ roll definitely isn’t dead,” says Hunter, “it’s alive and well. Despite all the samplers and stuff on the radio, kids out there really want to experience live rock music.”

“In some ways,” adds Cabaniss, “our shows have gotten more rowdy—we definitely like to turn it up—but we’re also confident enough to use dynamics and go into a laid back groove. We don’t need to hide behind a wall of guitars when you can express something more powerfully with a quieter approach. But in situations where we may be facing a tough crowd, we feel like we can go in there and work them over. We played a Marine base once, and I was thinking ‘man, this is going to be a tough one.’ But we kicked ‘em around, and they loved it.”

The entire honeyrods story embodies the weird, cool, and unintentional triumphs of a group which first formed four years earlier, intent on merely trying to score local club dates to play their precocious rock. Friends since childhood, Hunter, Dale, and Brashears were born and raised in Nashville, and grew up listening to everything from the Led Zepplin to Run DMC. The Tennessee contingent linked up with Austin, TX native Cabaniss and Matt Clemmons (originally from Muscle Shoals, AL) while being students in Nashville.

Despite hailing from cities famous for music, their southern roots seem to exist more subliminally in the honeyrods collective sound. “There is a lot of Canadian’s singing country music around here,” jokes Dale “So don’t tell me I can’t be from Nashville and be rock!”