On your two previous solo albums, Painkillers and Sleepwalkers, you’ve had title-tracks, but on Local Honey you don’t. Where did that name come from?
“It’s funny, because I live near a lot of farms, and down on the beach there’s a lot of organic food places where they make their own food, and they get their own honey. I always see signs that say ‘local honey’. I started reading about what it was, and it’s like a medicine for people, and they use it for all different kinds of things. I was thinking that I’m always away, and I feel like when I come home, the immediate things around me – my family and friends – make me feel better. The title isn’t rocket science or anything (laughs). I just thought it was cool, and for me, being home is like medicine. All these songs are about this love that you find at home and through your immediate family, so I was just like, ‘That sounds like a good title!’”
READ THIS: 20 classic albums that are 20 years old in 2020
What was the recording experience like?
“It was really cool. Peter Katis is known for his recording abilities, and making these sounds happen, and creating, like, movies in the songs. But I wasn’t sure how that would work for me. I was like, ‘How do you want to do this, because I’m more traditional?’ And he was like, ‘Let’s just try it.’ So I did, and I thought it worked great. It was a real collaborative effort, and for each song, we would make new sounds just for that song. You would think some of the things in there are keyboards, and they’re not – they’re other things that are put through effects. He’ll put it through, and it’ll come out sounding like something completely different.”
How do you think you’ve changed as a songwriter since Sleepwalkers?
“Oh, man! I think that you learn every time, and I’m constantly in piano and guitar lessons, and listening to music to try and find things that I don’t know. I think you grow by trying to apply yourself to learning. You could sort of say, ‘Okay, I have a career and I don’t need to learn any more.’ But then I think that it shows when you’re performing and writing. Sometimes people don’t change or grow, and that’s fine, but I keep looking for more. I always want to see, ‘How far can this go?’ and, ‘What can be done next?’ and, ‘How can I get better?’ I don’t know if I do get better, but I can try. The pursuit of that is very fulfilling.”
Local Honey is due out on March 27 via Lesson Known Records/Thirty Tigers. Catch him on tour across the UK and Europe at a show below – get your tickets here.
Brian Fallon UK/Europe tour 2020
April 2020
22 Cologne Carlswerk Victoria
23 Berlin ASTRA Kulturhaus
24 Copenhagen Vega
25 Stockholm Debaser Strand
26 Gothenburg Pustervik
28 Hamburg Docks
29 Frankfurt Batschkapp
30 Nuremberg Lowensaal
May 2020
02 Munich Cafe Muffathalle
03 Vienna Arena Wien
05 Milan Circolo Magnolia
07 Barcelona Sala Apolo
08 Madrid Sala But
09 Cascante Patio Antiguo Colegio
11 Paris Osullivans
12 Stuttgart LKA Longhorn
13 Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg
15 Norwich Waterfront
16 Manchester Academy
17 Leeds O2 Academy
18 Glasgow SWG3
20 Nottingham Rock City
21 Bristol O2 Academy
22 Birmingham O2 Institute
23 London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire