When did you begin making music, and did you ever ponder a different career?
I started learning the piano when I was 4 and to my brother’s horror was always practising! (he had to be nagged). I also loved writing stories which I guess fuelled my interest in songwriting. Later on I picked up the guitar and wrote songs for my GCSE in music… it all kicked off there really. Before uni I had a brief love affair with the idea of being a barrister… but that lasted about a week. After university I decided I wanted to surround myself in music whilst I earnt money to pay the rent so made it my goal to work at MTV in Camden. It took a couple of years but I got there eventually and worked as a Production Assistant in the studios. I performed in lots of different bands and although I loved my job, I always knew that I wanted to perform my own songs for a living.
How would you describe your music?
I would say it’s pop music with strong country, rock and folk influences.
What have you been up to so far and what can we expect over the coming months?
We’ve been to Nashville twice where we’ve written, recorded and performed and we’ve also played at South X Southwest in Texas. We’ve just had a trip to Belfast where we performed live on TV (on The Steve Nolan show for BBC1) as well as a few acoustic sessions and interviews for radio stations, including one for the main man, Mr Bob Harris for Radio 2. We’re looking forward to the festivals including The Isle of Wight Festival and also hope to do our own headline tour towards the end of the year. Go to www.honeyryder.com for more info!
If you could duet with anybody who would it be and why?
Oh no – this is SOO hard! There are too many artists to choose from. I really respect Ed Sheeran’s songwriting skills and love the texture of his voice but we might look silly together on stage cos he’s not the tallest… and I’m almost 6 foot! Maybe I should go for a legend like Dolly Parton… or James Taylor… I used to be decisive but now I”m not so sure.
What’s your desert island disc and why would you take this one album?
Again, a nightmare decision! I’m sure if you asked me the same question tomorrow I’d have another answer. But for now I’m going to say Alanis Morrisette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ mainly because it had such a huge influence on me, but from a practical perspective I could sing along to the angry songs and unleash my pent-up frustration with the fact that I’m stuck on a desert island…
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