MUSIC

Goode's Armadillo Palace is proud to welcome Honeybrowne.

Honeybrowne has made its mark on the Texas music scene and beyond by going song by song, gig by gig, album by album and Mile By Mile, as the title of the band’s latest CD declares. Singer, songwriter and group leader Fred Andrews and his musical compadres come by their sound and success honestly, drawing from a rich palette of inspirations and then going out and road-testing the music they create to ensure that it makes a genuine connection with music-loving listeners. Combining good ole hard work with a vibrant love for the magic of music, Honeybrowne keep their eyes on the prize of being better and better each time out.

To get to the core of Fred Andrews and his songwriting, Texas is indeed where to begin, in the town of Victoria, to be exact, where Andrews was born and spent his early years. In the Lone Star tradition, music was loved and played around the home: His father plays guitar and piano, his mother is also a pianist and plays violin, and his grandfather was handy with the mandolin, violin and banjo. Andrews played drums from age three, later took a few piano lessons and finally settled on the guitar.

Andrews was raised square within the Texas musical tradition, but his Chicago bred father also instilled in his son his love of respected pop masters like Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Billy Joel and others. Then Fred later found his own favorites like The Replacements, R.E.M and U2. “I think my songwriting reflects a combination of my Texas music heroes and all the other stuff I listen to,” he explains.

Teen years in Charleston, West Virginia also expended Andrews’s musical horizons, in good part thanks to the syndicated NPR concert show “Mountain Stage” based there, which exposed Andrews at its tapings to the crème de la crème of singer-songwriters as well the coolest alterative acts of the day.

“We’re just trying to keep it real and all about what we got into it for,” he adds. “The whole theme is to keep it real, keep it basic, keep it on the road. And to keep improving and perfecting what we do. I’ve done it my way, the only way I can and know how. No one gave me a book. I’ve learned so much more doing it this way than having someone steer me.”

And ultimately, Andrews admits, “I’m a lifer. I’m now 12 years into it and I’m still into it, step by step.” And Mile By Mile, making music that travels the distance from Texas to the rest of the world.

Photo By: www.texasmusicphotography.com.