Canadian rock favourites Honeymoon Suite are showing zero signs of slowing down, even nearly 40 years into their career.
The band behind hits like “Feel It Again” and “Burning in Love” are set to return to the Okanagan in a few short weeks to once again conquer the Rock the Lake stage, an event guitarist Derry Grehan says they are looking forward to.
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“We love Kelowna and that whole area. It is so beautiful in the summertime and we always have a good time,” he said.
Since their last visit to Rock the Lake, the band has toured extensively, released one new album and has began work on yet another new album with the first single slated for a late September release.
“It has been a super busy few years, and within the last year we have started working on our new album with a producer in Nashville writing songs and recording,” said Grehan.
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“We are about halfway through it and I personally think it is one of the best things we have done in years — it is a bit different for us, but it is still Honeymoon Suite.”
The band has teamed up with Canadian-born producer Michael Krompass, a partnership Grehan says is a natural fit.
“Things are just clicking and moving along, it has been fun to work with him because he has a sound and vision,” Grehan explained.
“He grew up listening to us and is a real fan, so he knows the sound but he is also making [it] fresh and new while still sounding like Honeymoon Suite,” he added.
While the technology and processes for recording an album may be quite different today than three decades ago, Grehan says the group is working hard to preserve the sound of their golden days.
“Technology helps everything go a lot faster and the library of sounds and effects you can use is just amazing, but at the end of the day you have to have a real band playing together and that is what we are about,” he said.
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“We are not going too crazy and changing it into something it's not.”
In true HMS fashion, the new album will feature a vast variety or rock and roll flavours — a trademark for the group over the last three decades.
“We don’t put out records with the same songs on them over and over, so we won’t start now,” said Grehan.
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“We usually put a lot of flavours into our albums and it will be the same with this one," Grehan continued.
The album will include some "rockers" as well as some slow ones. Some also have a "pop edge," showing the group's versatility.
After 40 years in the business, some might wonder how Grehan and his bandmates stay inspired and motivated to keep up with the busy life of a musician and to that his answer is simple.
“It is just a love of playing and it never goes away,” he said. “I get up every morning and I start playing — I just have to, it’s like an addiction.”
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“I’m over 30 years in with a band that is still going. I get to write songs which I benefit from, and I don’t take for granted. That is what inspires me to keep going,” he added.
Although new HMS material is not set to be out until later this year, Grehan says fans at Rock the Lake may have the chance to hear some of it, along with a setlist comprised of the group’s greatest hits.
“We may put this new one in the set, it is hard to say, but we know people are coming to see Honeymoon Suite and to hear all the hits so that is what we’ll play for them,” he said.
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“We will switch the set up a bit, maybe throw in a few twists and some jams — something new to try and keep it fresh. But, we have been so lucky to have so many hits here in Canada so those will be in there for sure.”
Grehan and Honeymoon Suite are set to conquer the stage on the opening night of Rock the Lake, sandwiched between Pat Traverse and David Wilcox on Friday, August 9. Click here to get your tickets!
