Jaydon Bean – drummer

Jaydon, you joined the band this past January, shortly before you all left for the band’s UK/European headline tour. Was that similar to a “trial by fire,” or “being thrown into the deep-end?”

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say a trial by fire. It was definitely short notice and a lot of things were happening fast, but I actually go way back with all the members of DH and previously played in the band before the name became Dirty Honey. So it was a pretty easy transition and felt more like hanging with my bros again and playing music rather than a stressful trial by fire situation. I also used to live with John and Justin, so fitting into a situation like living together in a tour bus was pretty smooth since we all know each other so well.

As the newest member of Dirty Honey, what do you feel the band’s biggest strengths are?

In my opinion, it’s a mixture of a couple things. This band has a higher level of musicianship than probably any band in our market right now, coupled with the ability to write great songs. That combination together is what I think sets DH apart from other bands. Everyone is so proficient and creative on their instrument that the delivery at shows is always top notch, and everyone has a great time.

What do think differentiates Can’t Find The Brakes from the ‘Distinguished Competition’ on the 2023 music landscape?

There is a lot of versatility on this record that I think sets us apart. We had a motto in the studio, “be open to infinity” and I think we did our best to do that and still deliver a great record within our sounds and what our fans like to hear. There is everything from acoustic ballads to hard rockers, and I think those who are “album listeners” will really appreciate the journey we take them on with this record.

The first leg of Dirty Honey’s 2023-2024 world tour began in September. How was it working alongside the iconic Guns N’ Roses on this particular stretch?

Guns N’ Roses is one of our favorite bands so being able to open for them was really quite an honor. The crowds all took to us well and the whole Guns camp were all good people, really thankful to them for the opportunity!

Any final thoughts you might like to share with readers about the new Dirty Honey LP Can’t Find The Brakes?

Just give it a listen, you won’t be disappointed! If you like it, share it with your friends and come hang with us at a show!

Congratulations on your rockin’ and brand-spankin’ new LP Can’t Find The Brakes which is set to premiere worldwide this November 3! John, what served as the inspiration behind one of the best albums of 2023?

The inspiration for the new record, for me, was variety. I wanted to push our boundaries a little and show that the width of our musical soul is greater than we have shown so far. I wanted this album to be a new chapter in our artistic journey.

Leading up to the November 3 release of Can’t Find The Brakes, Dirty Honey will be embarking on a massive North American tour! Can you give readers a hint or three as to what kind of a show they can expect from Dirty Honey on this highly anticipated tour?

On the Can’t Find the Brakes tour, fans can expect some new songs, some new sounds, and some old favorites. We’re excited to perform some of these new songs that will give the set some variety, and provide even more of an emotional roller coaster for the fans.

How is Can’t Find The Brakes similar to Dirty Honey’s first LP? How is it different?

Can’t Find the Brakesis similar to our first record in that it’s still just rock ‘n’ roll music powered by a love of soul, blues, sexiness, and rhythm. But it’s different in that we’ve entered some musical areas by adding acoustic guitars and piano and background vocals. This sonic change gives us some new emotional territory that we felt we’ve always had, but just hadn’t explored yet. We are very excited to share it with the world.

Just prior to the “Can’t Find The Brakes” 2023-2024 North American tour starting, the band hit the road in September and played a handful of dates with Guns N’ Roses. How was it working alongside the iconic Guns N’ Roses on this particular stretch?

Opening for Guns N’ Roses in arenas across America was nothing short of inspiring. Every night, from before the first note, to after the very last note, we get to see how real production operates, and how a legendary band puts on a great show night in and night out. It definitely fuels our motivation to keep working hard, and hopefully get to where they are one day.

Any final thoughts you might like to share with readers about the new Dirty Honey LP Can’t Find The Brakes?

I really hope you guys enjoy this new record from us as much as we enjoyed making it. There were a lot of magical moments in the studio this time around, moments that I feel couldn’t be re-created, even if we tried. I definitely feel it’s the best record we’ve made so far.

The new single off of Can’t Find The Brakes is the incredible tune, Coming Home, which officially drops on November 18! Can you give us the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on this gem of a ditty?

Hey, this is Justin Smolian from Dirty Honey. The ‘VH-1 Behind the Music story’ for ‘Can’t Find the Brakes,’ for me, at least, and wejust kind of played all of our favorite songs. And one of the songs we played was a song called “Loud Love” by Soundgarden. Marc [LaBelle] had come to the gig also, and he said he had some other songs, but he texted me the next day and he said, hey, what was that Soundgarden song you guys played? I loved it. And so I was like, oh, well, let me try and write something kind of in that vein. And so after messing around with it for about an hour, I came up with the riff. ‘We can’t find the brakes, and I don’t think I played it for him until we were somewhere in Switzerland on our tour about a month later. After soundcheck,Marc and I got the music together up in the dressing room. I think it really came together when we were in Australia. I don’t even know if we were planning on it being on the record, but it really took on a new life once we put another hour or two into the studio. We came upwith some great lyrics, Jaydon helped out a little bit with the melodyon the chorus, and it just turned into an absolute banger that we’re super proud of.

Nick DiDia is the producer on Can’t Find The Brakes. What was it like for the band to collaborate with this highly respected producer?

Nick is an awesome guy to work with. He’s actually very chill. I have never worked with Rick Rubin, but I imagine it’s the same kind of mentality. Nick doesn’t really tell you to do. He’s really good at being in tune when you’re on to something and telling you to follow that, or if he thinks that something is not great, he’ll also tell you that. But he’s not too controlling as far as what you’re playing. He just helps you make really good choices in the studio, and obviously like he’s worked with some of my favorite bands like Rage Against the Machine. Tim Conifer is one of my favorite bass players, so getting to ask Nick how Tim got that sound, and then kind of replicating him, but doing our own thing, it was just a really special experience for me, so I’m very grateful to work with a great producer like Nick.

How is Can’t Find the Breaks similar to Dirty Honey’s first EP? How is it different?

Well, we’ve definitely got some classic Dirty Honey riffers and rocker songs on the album. But I think we’ve expanded the breadth of our repertoire a lot on this new record. We’ve got some groovier tunes, we’ve got some more soulful songs. We’ve got an acoustic ballad.

It’s really just like the next step for us. It’s like Dirty Honey 2.0. I’m very proud of this record. We have a new drummer, Jaydon Bean who is one of my best friends in the world, and super excited to have him on board. Jaden’ is an amazing singer also, so he’s brought a lot to the band as far as vocal harmony arrangements and being able to execute it live. So, I think anybody who’s a fan of Dirty Honey is going get everything they wanted, - classic Dirty Honey, plus a lot more. So I’m excited for everybody to hear it and get the feedback on it.

Leading up to the November 3 release of Can’t Find The Brakes, Dirty Honey will be embarking on a massive North American tour! Can you give readers a hint or three as to what kind of a show they can expect from Dirty Honey on this highly anticipated tour?

The show has definitely stepped it up a lot. We’ve got bigger production, lights, we’re doing a couple of acoustic songs in the set, and about half the set is new material.It’s a bigger production, and it’sreally exciting. We’re playing better every night, and every day we’re getting better. I can’t wait to see what it looks like, give it a month in the tour, once we’re used to the big production and how to work with it.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share with the readers?

Just check out the record. I think everybody’s going to be really excited and I’m just excited to hear everybody’s feedback. So, thanks for checking it out. November 3rd. November 3rd. Can’t Find The Breaks.