Vakili Band – Honey

By starrymag | October 23, 2023

 

Vakili Band is a fiery five-piece rock band with a trio of albums under their belt, fronted by Lily Vakili, a savvy street poet who finds the sweet spot in the nexus formed by Patti Smith’s loose-limbed punk swagger, Grace Slick’s inviting psychedelia and the throaty blues-belting of a Janis Joplin, not to mention the full-throated howl of a Grace Potter or Brittany Howard.

 

‘HONEY’ is Vakili Band’s follow-up to 2018’s ‘OH ALRIGHT’ and 2021’s ‘WALKING SIDEWAYS’ (along with a pair of previous Lily Vakili solo efforts, making five releases over the last decade). Produced for the first time by Vakili herself, the album exemplifies the collaborative bacchanalia of lead guitarist Ben St. Jack, harmonica player extraordinaire Joel Dorow, and the four-on-the-floor rhythm section of bassist Matt Jovanis and drummer Gordon Kuba, having honed their distinctive sound in the studio as well as on tour up and down the East Coast. Recorded at Mozart Studio in Little Falls, NJ, ‘HONEY’ comes across like the band is playing together live in the same room.

 

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Please tell us the story behind the single “Honey.”

A) The word “honey” has a lot of different meanings. People use it with their romantic partners, their friends, their children. It’s used in so many different ways, but it has this connotation of love, sweetness, endearment.  The rendering of a meditative love poem into the sonic structure of a rock tune is something I find deeply satisfying – in part because of the particle accelerator alchemy that transforms a solitary experience (the writing of the poem) to a shared experience (music).

Q) What was it about the single with the same name that made it the perfect title track for the album?

A) I called the album HONEY because the songs essentially make up a long love letter… referencing certain parts of my own life from the perspective of intense yearning and desire, as well as nostalgia. It’s an incantatory chant about a state of being. The album is about the centrality of desire in all its forms. It’s our ability as humans to experience intense joy, through sex, music, poetry and art. That shouldn’t be denied; it should be embraced. We need to acknowledge it and connect to the sublime.

Q) “Mapplethorpe” is the latest single off the album. The video is beautifully scenic. What made life on tour the perfect visual to accompany the song?

A) Thank you.  The footage in the video was shot on a New Jersey Transit train and in Hoboken, NJ.  I rode the train to and from the town in NJ where I live, so not “on tour” per se.  It’s the experiences in my life, my daily experiences – riding trains, walking backways and side streets, paying attention to moments and memories that make a life – that led me to the visuals for this song.

Q) I have to ask, what inspired the song “Yves Calls Her Betty?”

A) The lyrics to “YCHB” were inspired by a Guy Trebay interview with Betty Catroux, Yves Saint Laurent’s (the famous French couture designer) enigmatic muse (a term she disliked) … I was intrigued by her role in his life and his in hers.  The band took this idea and created a wild sonic expression of fixation, intensity and compulsive originality.

Q) Which of the songs on the album hold a special significance for you and what makes it so personal to you?

A) For me, the process of making art is a search for a kind of equilibrium between where you are and what you know and escaping that very thing.  It’s being cognizant of the hard limitations of your existence while also seeking freedom. “Mapplethorpe” is a meditation on these themes and others – try as I might to eschew nostalgia, the longing for things past, sometimes you must drop the evasive maneuvers, turn and meet it, hands outstretched, with clarity of thought and an open heart.  It is also an ode to the relationship between Robert Mapplethorpe (an exceptional artist/photographer whose range of work is breathtaking), and Patti Smith (the poet/rocker).  I was attracted to that non-gender-based idea of obsession, companionship and artistic rapture.

Q) What song(s) on Honey are you excited to begin playing live?

A) Well, “HONEY,” for sure. It’s just such a groove and gift for the audience.

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole – whether as a message or emotionally?

A) There’s a line in our song “Pyro Luv Attack” – “I don’t wanna set the world on fire, I just wanna burn it up with you” – That, for me, reflects the feeling of deep joy, connection and endless possibility.  I want listeners to feel connection and joy and that the songs, sounds and words on the album speak to them in ways that provoke their own imaginations.

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

A) I’ve been listening to the Pixies’ Doggerel album – the lyrics are fantastic and specific, which I love, and their music is distinct.  No one sound captures them, and they’re not shy about playing around tonally – a mix of reverence and irreverence that I find irresistible.

Q) Lily, have you ever thought of releasing your poetry as an accompaniment to an album release – along with the liner notes?

A) Yes.  And thank you for recognizing the poems that lie at the heart of my music.

Q) What would you like to say to those who are fans and supporters of the wonderful music that you make?

A) Thank You for listening to our music, for supporting the band and for accepting our offering.  If you’re able, come see us play live.  That’s where the full experience of rocknroll communion happens!  XO

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Lily Vakili

 

Listen to New Album Honey