DIRTY HONEY Will 'Continue To Evolve Musically And Production-Wise' On Next Studio Album

In a new interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, DIRTY HONEY singer Marc LaBelle spoke about the band's plans to record new music as a follow-up to 2023's "Can't Find The Brakes" album. Regarding the lyrical inspiration for DIRTY HONEY's new material, Marc said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm sort of more pulling from lyrically about what's going on in the world. It's tough to not have that seep its way into your mind as you're writing lyrics and stuff. So, I think that's gonna be a big change coming up. And then also, yeah, continuing to evolve musically and production-wise, adding more elements in the production."

He continued: "I think you always have to be evolving. There's really one band in history that did the same thing all the time, and that's AC/DC, and they did it amazing. And they're still doing it amazing. So, I'll let them be the flag bearers for that style."

Asked if DIRTY HONEY has already started writing and recording the next LP, Marc said: "Yeah, we've been writing and recording now since, really… I mean, we finished a tour with THE STRUTS on October 4th, so we started really kicking it into… We took about a month off and started kicking it into gear, like, November, December, and now it's time to really record the record. So we're excited to get that done, hopefully here before we go down to Brazil. So hopefully it'll be done and in the can by the time we get down there [in April]."

On the topic of the musical direction of the next DIRTY HONEY album, Marc said: "We're sort of in the process of picking a producer. I think we know who we wanna go with. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm thinking everybody's on the same page. So that's probably gonna happen by the end of this week. And then, yeah, we have some studio time blocked out at the end of the month. So hopefully… We're gonna be figuring that out in the studio a little bit more this time around, I think. Sometimes you're a little bit limited with gear and what's in the studio that you're working with. And I think we're limitless in this situation that we're seeking out. So, yeah, we're just gonna have to see how it goes. And I'm sure it'll be great."

Reflecting on how "Can't Find The Brakes" turned out, Marc said: "I think it was a really good album for us to use as an evolutionary stepping stone. I think we tried a lot of new things. We put our first acoustic song out in 'Coming Home'. We jammed a little at the end of the record and sort of explored the musicianship of the band on a tune like 'Rebel Son'. But also 'Won't Take Me Alive' was a sort of balls-to-the-walls rock and roll tune that was also fresh and different than any of the rock singles that we'd put out before. So, it had a lot of evolution."

In February 2025, DIRTY HONEY issued "Mayhem And Revelry Live", the Los Angeles-based first live-in-concert, double-vinyl CD and digital release, and its companion four-part video documentary, recorded live throughout North America and Europe on DIRTY HONEY's 2023-24 "Can't Find The Brakes" world tour.

DIRTY HONEY made music biz history in 2019 when the band's debut single, "When I'm Gone", went all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Hard Rock charts, making DIRTY HONEY the first — and still only — totally independent, unsigned artist to achieve that. The band sold out its first two U.S. headline tours, Rolling Stone named them an "Artist You Need To Know," their self-titled, debut album was released in April 2021, and with no major label affiliation or support, entered the Current Hard Rock Album chart at No. 2. The band received rave reviews and standing ovations when they opened for THE BLACK CROWES on that band's nine-week summer 2021 "Shake Your Money Maker" U.S. amphitheater tour, and averaged $15,000 a night in t-shirt/merch sales.

DIRTY HONEY first toured Europe in summer 2022, playing support dates with RIVAL SONS, KISS and GUNS N' ROSES, plus a handful of first-time headline shows, all sold out, many of which had to be moved to larger venues due to ticket demand. In January 2023, they returned for their very first full headline tour there — 30 shows in 13 countries, all dates sold out. June/July 2023 saw them playing support shows with GUNS N' ROSES and KISS, plus major festival appearances and headline dates — 21 shows in 12 countries — with all headline dates sold out.

In April 2025, DIRTY HONEY performed the song "When I'm Gone" on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The track, which was originally released in 2019, is featured in "A Minecraft Movie". It plays during the first two and a half minutes of the film while Jason Momoa's character Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison is introduced.

Photo credit: Linda Eklov