September is not the best time to cram into a tiny bar. The humidity and thickness of the air makes a person want to crawl into a freezer, not squash into a room full of people. Yet it was all worth it last Saturday when I met up with Fuzzhoneys before they head off to London for “Malta takes London”. I spoke to Caroline (drums) and Francesca (guitar and vocals) before their gig at Rookies, where we talked about the band, inspirations, vibes and the importance of honey.
Caroline explains how they started out the band. “We had common friends so we use to meet up occasionally. I knew she played guitar and she knew I played drums and one time we were at a friend’s house who had all this equipment, and she went down to play, as she usually does, and I decided to join her.” Caroline smiles “I don’t think you remember this Fran, but this one time I posted a Black Key’s song on Facebook and she instantly messaged me like “dude we need to make a band like Black Key’s!” So she came over to my house and we literally wrote our first song "Chemistry’ ”. “I had been waiting to form a band for years!” Francesca added grinning from ear to ear. “I had literally given up on the whole girl band dream, and it actually happened when I least expected it”. “That’s true” Caroline added “and throughout the years as we keep playing, we grow closer as friends, and realise how similar we are”. You can tell that the connection between these two is strong. Once on stage, they truly rocked out, Caroline’s steady beats and Fran’s husky deep vocals draw you in immediately.
The girls explained to me the meaning behind their name. “Fran really wanted the name to have Fuzz in it. It’s the name of the pedal she uses to make our sound, so it has an important element”. “We spent ages coming up with different names; especially since it is very difficult to satisfy Caroline”. Caroline nods in agreement, “I have my moments, sorry!” she smiles and chuckles. “We went through millions of different names, but in the end we went with Fuzzhoneys.” “I like it” Caroline adds “There’s the word Fuzz, which is our sound, then honey, which makes it soft because we are both girls. It sort of gives us this sixties rockers feel!”
Fran seemed to have a deeper, more metaphoric view on the name. “Fuzz is loud, angry and breaks the rules; it got a slight punk edge to it. Then there is the honey, which symbolises us being Maltese, Malta, Melita, honey. Get it? I also love bees and honey, so it’s close to me.” We established that no honey, no life. I also couldn’t have agreed more with the way Fran described the band. Their song “Chemistry” alone just brings a whole mixture of emotions to stage. The lyrics are dark, deep and sung beautifully by Francesca who has her hair tossed all over her face. Not far behind Caroline keeps to a steady and awesome beat throughout the whole song.
This wasn’t the first time I watched these ladies play, for I watched them the first time back in June when they played at Serenity’s Bar. This duo caught my attention straight away. I felt this whole empowerment from their music, and explained to them that I when I listened to their tracks I felt the whole Karen O (lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) vibe coming from them. After freaking out for 20 seconds and after many “tal-genn’s!” the girls began to tell me about their influences and inspirations. “We have a few bands that are common interest, such as White Stripes, Black Keys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and also Blur, which is random, but they have that unique sound you know? Also the Beatles are a favourite.” “The more we play, the more we get to know each other and our sound also improves and matures” Fran added “We are making this all from scratch, and it gets better as we go along, which is cool. Every time we play we perfect the songs even more. It all just comes so naturally.” The girls look at each other and smile. “I mean Caroline on drums is amazing, she literally makes the sound so awesome.” Caroline blushes and like a school girl cheerfully thanks her band mate. “You are the beat maker” Fran adds. Both of us nod as an agreement to this statement. She is the beat maker!
Watching her play, being totally lost in space and time, as she hits each note perfectly is an experience. She explains that once she is on stage she doesn’t even notice she is playing. “Usually I just play it out and after it’s all over I’m like s**t I just played. I feel we have a connection, and that we feed off each other’s energy.” Fran continues, “Our energy is an important element to our band. Whether it’s at a rehearsal or on stage, it’s all about our connection.” It’s hard not to notice their connection on stage. Throughout their songs, they look at each other and seem to balance out their energy through their music. “For me the experience on stage is very new and strange” Fran’s voice becomes soft “If you had to ask me a year ago to play in front of people the answer would have been no. At first I was really scared that I would do something wrong or the sound would be bad. Now it’s just a lot of adrenaline and I need to master that and control it.”
How would one describe being part of “Malta takes London”? “I’m sitting on a cornflake!” Giggled Fran, where both of them just start singing The Beatles, which is amazing. Both grinning and laughing, I begin to feel the bond between these two artists have together. Francesca concludes “What’s most important is to know that we are one, not two when we play.”
Fuzzhoneys are truly amazing band not to be missed, and both artists have unique and outstanding characters that flow together so smoothly and beautifully. Their sound is different, raw and new. If you’re in London this week, they’re definitely a must see, and with them and other bands playing it surely will make for an unmissable night! These girls are truly the bee’s knees.
Fuzzhoneys facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fuzzhoneys/640357176037812?fref=ts
Event of “Malta takes London”- https://www.facebook.com/maltatakeslondon?fref=st
