On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of singer-songwriters who exist in a sort of post-genre world: Evan Honer and Wyatt Flores.
Honer first came to wider attention with a cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant,” but kept people’s attention with a rapid succession of progressively more polished albums, all tied together by his own solid songwriting. For his latest, Everything I Wanted, Honer found himself a new home city, Nashville, where he built a studio in his garage and—as you’ll hear in this conversation—locked himself away to make something bolder than he had before. The result is shiny pop with a gritty heart, and just a touch of country influence. Think Jason Isbell or Pinegrove, two artists Honer cites as inspirations. Check out “Curtain” from Everything I Wanted right here, which I should mention was released by Honer’s own very active independent label, Cloverdale Records. He’s a busy dude, and he’ll be touring the US early next year, so keep an eye out for that.
The other half of today’s conversation is Honer’s friend Wyatt Flores, who travels a similar musical ground but you can hear a bit more country in his flavor profile—maybe that’s his roots growing up in Oklahoma. If you’re of the TikTok generation, you may have seen him there; if you’re a bit longer in the tooth, you may have seen Flores on Stephen Colbert, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, or even a recent Austin City Limits appearance. Part of the story behind his debut album, last year’s Welcome to the Plains, was Flores’ struggles with his newfound fame and a sense of imposter syndrome. While it’s brave of him to put that stuff out in the open, it’s pretty clear from the record that he’s the real deal.
In this lively conversation, these two young dudes talk about making music, about an impromptu road trip in a busted up trailer, about the strong coffee and rowdy crowds down under, and much more. Enjoy.
0:00 – Intro 2:15 – Start of the chat 5:44 – How to keep old songs feeling fresh 7:28 – "Do people listen more with their eyes than ears?" 12:20 – An impromptu road trip on a busted, old trailer 15:42 – On recording 'Everything I Wanted' 20:37 – On taking the time to listen to albums top to bottom 22:15 – Writing music on the road 27:56 – On experimenting with live vocals 32:20 – The surprising kindness of audiences at live shows 35:20 – On crowds in the U.K., Europe, and Australia
Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Evan Honer and Wyatt Flores for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stories at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
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