What if Bob Dylan gave the Coen Brothers a call and asked to collaborate on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack? It might sound a little something like Honeycomb, a beautiful album by the O’s that channels ‘60s and ‘70s songwriters in lyrics, and pop meets roots-inspired melodies. The songs are created by the duo behind The O’s, ex-Polyphonic Spree members Taylor Young and John Pedigo. They could bring in a whole crowd to sing backing vocals and the songs would sound just as good, but it’s not at all necessary here.
With Frenchie Smith returning to producing duties after he produced the band’s previous album, Thunderdog, and with time scheduled in the hill country studio of Greg Rolie (Santana, Journey), whose son Sean worked as engineer on the record,..
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…things seemed to be set. But the sessions were scheduled for this past May, and the historic levels of flooding which devastated much of central Texas also took that studio option off the table for the O’s. Thanks to a new contact Pedigo and Young have made in recent years, however, an unlikely studio along the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels was cobbled together.
“It was really as luck would have it how the album came to be recorded at the River Road Ice House,” explains Pedigo. “We had just recently played at the River Road and thought, ‘Shit, let’s rent the cabins there, bring some gear and see how it goes.’ Frenchie and Sean brought a U47, an ELA 251, a BAE 1073, an API lunchbox with a compressor or two and we went to town.” Pedigo continues with a mix of sarcasm and amazement, “There was seriously heavy sound treatment. A thin blanket taped to a wall. That was it.”
“For two weeks, we recorded, slept, showered and ate, all in a tiny room together,” recalls Young. “It was wild. We’d take breaks whenever bands were playing and too loud down the hill, or sometimes not. You can probably hear Jason Eady or Stoney Larue in the background. Not really, but maybe. And Frenchie was willing to bring in gear worth more than the structure it was to be used in was. That a big deal.”