Devon Allman’s Honeytribe brings their ‘Torch’ local

[2 Comment(s)]

By Jason Andreasen

“Hey! Shut the hell up!” Devon Allman shouted at the noisy Denver hotel staff with the gravel in his voice that can only be collected by growing up the son of one of the legendary Allman Brothers and performing upwards of 300 shows a year, trying to jumpstart the jam-heavy blues-rock band Honeytribe.

Honeytribe is coming to The Varsity Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The question is what can we expect from a show whose tickets are $11?

“We make music for the soul, from the soul,” Devon Allman explained.

This was the aim when the band headed in to the Memphis’ famous Ardent Studios to record their debut, Torch. The album is an 11-track ride taking you from melancholy to hope, running the gamut both musically and lyrically.

While Devon Allman is the son of Gregg Allman, and his father’s influence is apparent, Devon and Honeytribe have worked hard to make a name for themselves.

“I don’t want to abuse the last name and try to just do covers of The [Allman] Brothers,” Devon said.

In fact, outside of “One Way Out,” which was really an Elmore James cover made famous by The Allman Brothers, Devon makes few exceptions in refusing to play Allman Brothers songs.

“I made it a point to not learn the arrangements for a lot of their stuff,” said Devon.

Instead, Devon has turned his attention to making great “feel-based” music with Honeytribe, an all-star cast of musicians from St. Louis, where Devon calls home.

“We like to make feel-based music. Music that makes you feel when you hear it or see us play,” he explains. “Some guys make ear candy with drum machines and computers, and that’s just not what we do. There’s nothing wrong with ear candy once in a while, but it’s not what we’re about.”

Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and later St. Louis, Devon cites his free-spirited mother as much of a musical influence as his famous father.

“She’d always have records playing around the house and I’d steal them from her and hide out in my room. She’d have to tell my friends that if they wanted me to come out and play, they’d have to pry me away from the record player,” he proudly confessed.

Honeytribe was born Jan. 3, 2005. That day Devon decided to stop fighting his last name and the music that was inside of him. He had been trying to run from his father’s name and his music, so as to not be compared.

However, a classic “rock and roll epiphany” on that day drove him to disband the alternative rock group he was in and bring together what is now called Honeytribe.

The name came from the band’s desire to encapsulate its many faces with its name.

“We like to show you something sweet and then kick you in the teeth. It’s funny. We were trying to come up with a name and the first thing out of our drummer’s mouth was ‘Honeytribe.’ It was just perfect,” Devon explained.

The band is truly a jam-based band both at shows and in the studio. In fact, the band doesn’t rehearse except for right before they go in to record.

“Every night, every show is a rehearsal for us,” said Devon. It is this style of road-tested, road-approved music that comes through on their debut album, Torch.

The album includes a cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” two instrumental pieces and plenty of serious guitar-soloing and riffing. Devon takes his playing seriously, and it has allowed him the opportunity to record “Mahalo,” an instrumental song that came to him in the middle of the night while he was sleeping.

He woke up, immediately called himself and sang the tune to his voicemail. He hammered it out the next day.

“The rock instrumental is a lost art. Everyone is so interested in becoming a star they don’t try to master their instrument. That sucks,” Devon insists. “Every Honeytribe album will have at least one instrumental track.” On Torch there are two: “Mahalo” and “511 Texas Avenue,” a tribute to his late grandparents.

So what is the point? What is Honeytribe about?

“We are on a mission to help save rock and roll,” Devon humbly explains.

It would sound pompous if it weren’t for the fact that Honeytribe means it and works at it.

“Look on the horizon, and for rock, it’s scary. When the Stones and The [Allman] Brothers hang it up ... it’s just scary.”

Honeytribe strives to make contemporary music while holding on to the vibe that rock had in years past rather than try to conform to some more popular mold of today’s music. Torch is a not a classic rock record, it’s a jamming blues-rock hell of a how-do-you-do from a band just beginning to surface. From the sounds of it, they might just stick around for as long as Devon’s dad has, too.

Send your comments to editor@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 578 - September 5, 2007

Share on Facebook

Back to the top