When that rare, magical bond exists between two band members, it’s something you can see, something you can hear and something you can feel. It’s the spark that brings the duo to another level in their performance, harmonies, and songwriting. And when that magic extends to outside the professional realm and into the personal, that bond becomes transcendental. Husband and wife duo of Troy Brooks and Kassie Jordan Brooks, otherwise known as Blue Honey, have that very magic and are ready to share it as they prepare to release “August Without Us,” the first single off their upcoming sophomore EP.
Available on Friday, April 6, the upbeat, retro tune showcases the couple’s chemistry and harmonies. We caught up with the duo to talk about how Blue Honey came to be, the new single, and more.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
BH: We are Blue Honey. A husband/wife singer/songwriter duo consisting of Troy Brooks on lead guitar and vocals (occasionally wearing his tap shoes to gigs) and Kassie Jordan Brooks on lead vocals and acoustic guitar (occasionally on tambourine and cowbell.) We are a mix of country, blues, pop, and maybe some other stuff too. We love music and love our fans! Troy is a Kentucky native and Kassie is from South Carolina but have been in Nashville for about 10 years now, pursuing full time music careers and touring all over.
CN: When did you realize you wanted to be involved with music?
BH: For both of us, it was pretty young. Troy started playing guitar around 12 years old. Kassie was singing as soon as she could talk, starting off in churches.
CN: Which artists, country or not, have influenced you both personally and as artists?
BH: As a duo, we really look up to Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, lots of others. Troy is influenced a lot by Eric Clapton as far as guitar players go. Kassie grew up on Motown music, the 4 Seasons, Michael Jackson, etc. Both of us grew up around old school country music as well so Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline were staples in our households. Songwriting wise, we admire Buddy Miller, John Mayer, Patty Griffin, Fleetwood Mac. We could go on and on! We just love music. All kinds!
CN: Kassie, you made it to the semi-finals on a little show called Star Search! (Memories!) What song did you perform?
BH: I absolutely loved Pam Tillis as a child so the first song I sang on Star Search was “One of Those Things” by Pam Tillis and actually broke a Star Search record, being the first person to score 4.5 stars haha. That landed me the spot to go back for the semi-finals.
CN: You both connect so well musically and your harmonies are amazing, and that connection goes even further on a personal level as you got married in 2014. How did you guys meet? You both had success as solo artists, when did you realize that you wanted to join your musical pursuits?
BH: Both our bands were playing a lot of the same venues. And people kept telling us we should meet, that we had a lot of similarities in our “stage banter,” meaning, we both had really cheesy jokes we’d tell on the mic and we both did a mean Aaron Neville impression. So, we finally met. Dated. Troy started filling in on guitar when my guy was out, and I’d fill in as a 5th piece with his band when needed. We had a blast playing together and seemed to get a lot more attention that way as our harmonies just seemed to melt like our voices were meant to be together. So even though neither of us ever wanted to date someone in our band, we both agreed we should chase this until it doesn’t work anymore. And now it’s been over 5 years of playing and singing together and it just keeps getting better and better! It was definitely meant to be.
CN: How did you guys decide upon the name Blue Honey?
BH: We were on a road trip. A little delirious. We had been brain storming for months trying to think of a name as we had been doing shows as “Kassie Jordan and Troy Brooks” which would always end up with a venue just listing one of our names, which was annoying haha. So, we wanted a name that represented us. One that sounded a little bluesy, a little country, and sweet at the same time. Blue Honey is what we came up with. We googled it to make sure there wasn’t another band named that, and there wasn’t at the time, so we quickly bought the trademark and declared it our name!
CN: Can you describe for us your songwriting process? Do you pull mostly from personal experiences, experiences of those around you, or elsewhere?
BH: It’s always different. We are both constantly typing or recording ideas in our phone. Whether they come from personal situations, something we saw on tv, or some drama a friend of ours is going through. It’s always different. We like to keep our minds open at all times because you never know when something magical might come out of a crappy situation. At the end of the day, we always have music.
CN: Your song “Angels Come Home” is absolutely beautiful, and the music video should not be watched without a box of tissues nearby. Where did the idea for the song as well as the video come from?
BH: Troy and I wanted to write a love song. It’s so easy to write sad songs for some reason haha. Love songs are tough because you don’t want to come off cheesy. So we got together with two friends of ours, Nathan Meckel and Britton Cameron, and sat down to write a love song. I remember getting halfway through writing this and all of us just cheesing at how much we loved where it was going. Not only were the words what we wanted to say, but we made the melody powerful and fun to perform. We later had the idea for the music video when Troy and I did a show at Fort Campbell for the Spouses Club (wives and families of soldiers) and had the idea to make the “Angel” in “Angels Come Home” be a soldier away at war, and the song would be from the family’s point of view. It even makes us tear up still when we watch it. We’re very proud of how it turned out.
CN: On April 6 you will release your single “August Without Us.” Can you talk about the song? What is the story behind it?
BH: We wrote “August Without Us” with a very talented writer and friend of ours, Matt Willis. We got together with Matt and wanted to write a “dancey” tune about the classic summer fling. Beach and all. The song sounds happy but the words are kind of sad. Kind of like a Hall n Oats feel. It’s quickly turning into one of our favorites to play live. You can’t help but move to it. Makes us so happy.
CN: “August Without Us” is the lead single from your upcoming sophomore album. What can we expect on the album? Can you take us through your writing and picking process?
BH: We wanted to focus on our live show with this new EP. Our first EP, as it showcased our songwriting, didn’t really represent what you see when you come to a live Blue Honey show. The live show is much more guitar-driven and bluesy. We wanted to make sure with this new project, that we focused on songs that would best represent our live show. Power vocals, jamming guitar, rockin stuff. It was hard a hell to pick which tunes but we feel good about the project as a whole. We can’t wait to get these songs out there.
CN: Do you have a release date set?
BH: For the single, yes. For the EP, not yet. BUT…we do know it will be this summer. Stay tuned!
CN: You have been noted as saying that you love connecting with your fans on a personal level through your songs. How important is it for you to share your music with others? What do you hope your fans get from your music?
BH: Music is great therapy. There is nothing better than writing a song and having someone tell you it helped them through a hard time, or even just an awkward time, or whatever it is. To be able to have that connection and be able to put into words what others feel in their hearts…man, there’s nothing like it. Music will always be able to bring people together. And we’re so blessed to be able to create it and touch people around us.
CN: Do you have a dream collaboration in mind?
BH: About a million of them haha. Tedeschi Trucks would be one! Fleetwood Mac (any of the members). Buddy Miller. John Mayer. Those would be the first that pop in our minds.
CN: If you could describe yourselves in one word – both individually and as a duo – what would it be and why?
Troy – Passionate – lives and breathes music. All day every day. Never a job to me.
Kassie – Honest – Troy always jokes how I can’t hide my emotions on my face haha. So if you play me in poker, you will win. But at least you never have to worry about me lying to ya!
Blue Honey – butter ….cus ya know, we melt.
CN: What’s next on the horizon for 2018?
BH: 2018 has already been so exciting for us. We just can’t wait to get more and more music out there. Lots of exciting stuff to come this year. New single, new EP, possibly another music video, and lots of touring! Stay tuned!
“August Without Us” is available on Friday, April 6 on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon.
For more information on Blue Honey, visit their website www.bluehoneymusic.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Great interview, love these to so much and they are very talented and dedicated musicians!!