HI STINA, are you looking forward to bringing Honeyblood to Ireland for the first time to start your biggest headline tour to date?
The UK tour we've just finished was the biggest one we'd ever done, and this one is even bigger again. We're deliberately hitting places where we've never been before. That's really important to me because when I was growing up in Edinburgh I used to get so annoyed when bands would only play in Glasgow. It was so frustrating when I was a kid and definitely one of the reasons why I had to move to Glasgow.
We've actually never done a full Scottish tour before, which is ludicrous, and we've never been to Wales or Ireland before either, so we're definitely excited to change that.
The new album Babes Never Die has been tremendously well received by both critics and fans. Were you pleased by that, given how a lot of bands struggle to escape the shadow of their debuts?
I'm really proud of it as a record, I kind of achieved what I set out to do. Whereas with the first record (2012's self-titled LP) I think I didn't really know what I was doing at that point. I still love that record as well, but I definitely think that with Cat joining Honeyblood and becoming my collaborator and co-writer, everything fit together so much better.
Babes Never Die was a natural progression with the songwriting too and I'm really chuffed that people like it so much – because you do always get that thing where people are really into the first record and you start to worry that, if you do something different on the next one, they'll suddenly be like 'nah, I don't like it'.
That fear was definitely always there, but so far it's been a really positive reaction.
You originally had another drummer, Shona McVicar, who played on the first album. How did Cat join the band?
I've known Cat since she moved from just outside Durham to Edinburgh about a decade ago to study, so that was well before I'd even moved to Glasgow. I knew of her playing in other bands and stuff and I actually tried to get her to join Honeyblood once before, but it didn't work out because she was just so busy.
Also, I didn't really have anything to offer her at that point. But when Shona left, she was the first and only person I called and she said "yeah, that's cool." I think she was in the band about two days after Shona decided to go. And honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened at that point. I don't have an anniversary for when Honeyblood started, but I do have one for when Cat had her first gig.
The album and single title Babes Never Die comes from a tattoo you have of one of your pet phrases. Have fans started to copy it yet and where did the saying originate?
Yeah, they have. It's so overwhelmingly flattering but I'm still just like, "Are you sure?! Have you listened to the album enough to actually get it tattooed on you?!"
I've been saying "babes never die" for so long I don't even know where I got it from now. Usually, if I was having a heated moment of drunken calling to arms, I would just shout it – but then it started to kind of mean a bit more than that.
The whole thing about it is to know your self-worth and know that no-one can take that away from you. I guess the idea of it sort of moulded and morphed a little bit until the song was written.
Now it's kind of like, "f***!" About three people have sent us pictures of their tattoos, that I know of. It's incredible to think that song on the album means so much to them that they went and got it permanently written on them, because that's what it means to me too, that's why I got it.
So I'm glad that it's giving strength to other people now too.
It's one of the best songs on the album, but was also the first song written for it – so the benchmark was set pretty high?
Because I've got it tattooed I felt I had to do that song justice – because if I turned around in a couple of years and hated the song, then I've still got the tattoo!
Before you hit Ireland the band will be visiting Australia and Singapore for the first time, are you excited?
I am actually, both me and Cat have never been to Australia. So, it's gonna be exciting for that reason and obviously again it's really fun to go and play new places and to new crowds. And it will be nice and warm too!
We have some Australian friends from other bands who live in Melbourne and also my dad used to live there as well when he was in his 20s. He's never been back since – so he's actually coming with us. It's great that he's able to do that because his best friend still lives there.
So, will you and Cat will be on your best behaviour then?
No – he will!
Honeyblood play Roisin Dubh in Galway on April 6, Cork's Cyprus Avenue on April 7, Whelan's in Dublin on April 8 and The Empire in Belfast on April 9.
