Honus Honus Interviewtion
Musical madman Ryan Kattner goes by the stage name of Honus Honus. Heâs best known for being the mastermind behind the experimental pop band Man Man, but heâs also a member of the supergroup Mister Heavenly. He recently announced his debut solo album Use Your Delusion (album cover above by Mustafa Shaheen), which is going to be released in September. In this interview he talks about why his next project is a solo album, the harsh realities of trying to âmake itâ as a musician, and his twisted childrenâs album that still hasnât seen the light of day.
Q: How does your upcoming solo album differ from being a Man Man album and when you were writing these songs did you have it in mind that it would be solo material, or did it just kind of evolve that way?
A: Yeah going into it I knew it would be solo material. As far as difference, you know, I donât tend to differentiate like, âthis is for Man Man and this is for solo stuffâ because all of the stuff Iâve ever written has just gotten into Man Man. Unless it was Mister Heavenly, in which I was writing with Nick. I was just in a situation where we had some time off and I figured I didnât want to waste any time being inactive, so I was going to make a record.
Q: Since the songs are all recorded, what itâs been like trying to figure out how to play these songs live? Do you have a special stage show planned for the tour? How did you organize who is going to be playing with you?
A: I have a very eclectic band right now, but my âmusical directorâ and also the reason why I made this solo record is my buddy Cyrus, who pushed me to make the solo record and then helped me get this band in shape to play shows. So far we have less than half a dozen shows under our belt and I can tell. Itâs really exciting. It reminds me of when I first started playing music because thereâs so much immediate potential for a wild-ass live show. I mean weâre only five shows in and itâs already crazy. Itâs very invigorating. It feels like a new baptism into weirdness.
The players in my band are super eclectic. Cyrus, heâs just probably one of the most brilliant musicians Iâve ever met. He really can play anything and play it exceedingly well. My buddy Kevin, in a lot of ways spearheaded the acceleration of putting together the live band because I didnât know what I was going to do. It seemed overwhelming to have to put together a brand new band because I donât know how long weâre taking a break with Man Man, so I was like âugh I gotta put together another bandâ and Kevin is a buddy of mine, so he just said, âsend me the songs and Iâll learn how to play all the bass parts. Weâll just take it from there.â
So I sent him the songs, then the next day he was like, âOkay I learned all the bass parts.â Then I said, âWhat? I didnât even know you played!â
Kevin is really funny because I never knew what he did for the longest time for work, âcause I met him as a friend of a friend and then now weâre really good buddys. You know, I asked him, I was like, âWhat do you do for work, man? To pay the bills?â He was real embarrassed and he wouldnât tell me at first. Then real sheepishly he told me, âIâm on Days of Our Lives.â So he plays a drug dealer on a soap opera.
Then my buddy Cully, who is playing drums, weâve been friends forever dating back to when Man Man, I think in 2005 before Six Demon Bag came out, we opened a tour for Okkervil River. I think it was around that time that I met him. He wasnât playing with Okkervil then, but I met him through those guys. He plays with Okkervil now though. He plays with Cursive. We became better friends on the Cursive tour that Man Man did with them like years ago. Weâve been talking about it for years and we both live in L.A. and he was finally like, âAlright sure Iâll do it.â Heâs such a badass drummer. Joe Plummer plays drums on the record, but he couldnât see anyone but Cully play those parts.
My buddy Casey, this is another situation, where like I wasnât expecting to have a baritone sax player, but I got him to play sax on the record. Then he just kind of started wanting to come to rehearsals and now heâs playing with us. Heâs amazing.
My friend Yuumi is our hype woman. I donât even think sheâs human. Sheâs this insane alien person She and her husband Tomoki started out as Man Man fans. Theyâre from Japan, they live here, and when I found out they lived in L.A. I was like, âHey I want to be friends with you, you guys are weird like me.â So we became friends, she sings on a song on the record. I had her sing at our first show on that one song. Then she was so amazing I said, âHey the next show do you want to sing on like every song or just do something?â So now sheâs in the band.
Yeah itâs a really weird crew. Itâs like a good/bad acid trip.
Q: Recently youâve been posting a lot of âbehind the scenesâ photos of your music video shoots for some songs on the album, so do you plan on making a lot of videos for the songs youâre going to be releasing?
A: Basically this great company called Jash, theyâre a Youtube channel and it was founded by Tim and Eric, Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Reggie Watts. They came to me and said, âHey weâre interested in producing and giving you money to do a music video. We donât have too much money, but if youâre into doing that with us then letâs do it.â Nobody was coming to me to be like, âHey I want to produce your music video.â So I said, âAbsolutely! Please, letâs do it.â
Then they gave me the budget and I came back at them with a, â...could I do three music videos with this budget?â They were kind of blown away because I think in their minds it was enough to maybe do one music video. So they told me, âSure if you can do three with this then go for it!â Then I came back with a, â...could I direct two of them?â So yeah Iâm directing two music videos. My buddy, a different Casey, he just directed one. So we have two in the can. I directed the Heavy Jesus one and Casey did a music video for this song called Red Velvet and they couldnât be more different as far as the vibe, the tone, and also the songs themselves. Iâm still putting together logistics for the third video.
Q: Along those same lines your videos for both Mister Heavenly and Man Man are some of my favorite music videos. I know you werenât personally directing them, but Iâm sure you were involved with them. It seems like the visual aspect of your music is super important to you, so did you ever study film in the past or is it just a passion thing?
A: Yeah thatâs like my horrible deep dark secret of what a waste Iâve turned into. I went to film school. I went to school for dramatic writing and playwriting. This Heavy Jesus video is I guess officially the first video Iâve directed like where I got to wear a blazer on set. I showed up on set I had my 1970âs blazer and my directorâs glasses. It was a blast to do and I was excited that Jash not only allowed me to direct my own music videos, but trusted me with confidence. It was fun. Logistically a nightmare, but it was a blessing and I couldnât have done it without everyoneâs help.
Q: Speaking of people who helped out at one point you were calling out for random specific people to help on Facebook, so what was it like working with fans to make the video?
A: Well I mean most of the people in the videos werenât fans. I had to do a random call for heavy metal dudes and gymnasts who could flip. One of the hardest things was I had to find a bird handler, but fortunately I had a friend who ended up being one. They had to find somebody who had a dove. It was pretty involved, but Iâm very happy with how it turned out. Itâs one of those things where if you pre-order the record you get that single.
Q: Youâve been making music with Man Man for a long time now, over ten years. Whatâs it been like trying to make a living from doing what youâre doing as a musician?
A: Itâs tough. I mean if I was going to tell anyone who wants to play music as a âcareerâ just stop now. You should play music because you love it not because you expect to ever make any money from it. As far as being in Man Man the only way we were able to sustain any sort of career is just from non stop touring. If we donât play shows weâre making no money. I was kind of forced with that because we werenât playing any Man Man shows, so I had to figure this solo thing out. Iâm not expecting to make...I donât know, itâs a strange one. I just want to keep making music because itâs fun. The minute it becomes a thing where youâre biting your fingernails because you need to make your money...I think it ruins the spirit of it.
Q: One of my personal favorite albums over the past few years was the one you made with Nick and Joe as Mister Heavenly. Do you guys have any plans to record any more music together or is that kind of on the back burner right now?
A: Well itâs one of those things where we have the entire album demoed. Weâre just trying to find someone to put it out. Thatâs basically where it stands right now. Weâre not in a situation where we can afford to pay for the recording of the record. The flip side of it is that weâre debating self releasing. The only reason Iâm self releasing is because the album was already recorded. The whole reason Iâm doing a pre-sale campaign itâs not like Kickstarter or other crowdsourcing. I donât need people to give me money to inspire me to go make something. Thatâs bullshit. I mean honestly I think thatâs bullshit. For me itâs like I had a record that Cyrus and I put together and I just wanted to be able to pre-sale the record to see if anyone gave a shit. Then from that I could raise money to pay for the manufacturing. Itâs expensive to press CDs and Vinyl, I mean thatâs the only reason you use a label. Thatâs the whole reason I did the pre-sale thing. Youâre going to get a product, the record is fucking recorded. Itâs mixed. I donât need your money so I can go to the corner cafe and sit down with my latte and write fucking lyrics. All of itâs done, you know? Youâre just buying the record basically. Alright I got on my soapbox, sorry. To each their own, I know some people have to do that to make their art or whatever, but Iâm just not that person. If youâre going to like pre-sale or pledge, thereâs a product. Youâre just buying it in advance is all it is.
Q: This is just kind of a random question that Iâve always wondered, but how the hell did Michael Cera end up being your bassist on the Mister Heavenly tour?
A: Well Nick is friends with him. We were in Portland for three weeks, just Nick and I, we were house sitting for Joe. He was on tour, I think with the Shins at the time. So we were house sitting and using that time as a writing session before we went in to go record outside of Seattle in Bear Creek. I think we had finished writing Pineapple Girl and we were going to go blow off some steam and go see a movie, so we went and saw Scott Pilgrim. After we left the movie I was joking with Nick, I was like, âIt seems like Michael can really actually play the bass. Who is going to play bass on tour?â So Nick texted Michael and was like, âHey man you wanna play bass with us?â That was pretty much it! Ironically in some weird cosmic whatever, unrelated to my relationship with Michael, Mary Elizabeth Winsted sings on my record and she played Ramona in Scott Pilgrim. Itâs so weird how that turned out. Totally unrelated. I didnât meet Mary through Michael, I met her through some other friends. My buddy Justin, who is going on the Islands tour with us in June with his wife Jamie to drop a documentary about âHonus starting all over again.â He directed a short film that has Mary and I in it. Mary is the lead and Iâm in it for a little bit.
Q: For you whatâs it been like to make music in L.A. specifically? Did you just move to L.A. recently or have you been living on and off there for a while? How is that different from where you were making music before?
A: The only reason I was able to make Rabbit Habits, Life Fantastic, and On Oni Pond is that I didnât live anywhere permanently that entire time. I had my stuff in storage for seven years and I pretty much lived out of a duffle bag. I didnât have the money to settle down anywhere. During that period I would come and Iâd live in L.A. for like two or three months at a time. Iâd sublet. Iâd house sit for people, like friends who are really cool. I moved out here over three years ago, finally. Iâve been trying to move out here since I finished college, basically. Then I got âdistractedâ by starting a stupid band [laughs]. It was a long coming to move out here. Even my first year living out here, a friend of mine she had an extra room that she rented me, for the first year I lived here I still slept on a couch. I had a couch in my room just because, I think psychologically, I didnât want to get comfortable because Iâve had the bottom drop out so many times, which sounds crazy. My old roommate though in my old place I lived she was like, âReally, you should get a bed! You can live here! Get a bed! You donât have to sleep on this couch!â But I had to psychologically.
Q: So what was the appeal of moving to L.A. for you?
A: I mean my background is writing, so I wanted to get back to that. Itâs one of those things where yeah you can write scripts anywhere, but itâs just a waste. Youâve just got to go where itâs happening. Itâs like I feel like if youâre a young band starting out, even in the age of the internet, if you really want to do something, move to a major city. Youâre wasting your fucking time living in the sticks. I know thereâs rare examples of people who like lived in the sticks and made it big, âbigâ I mean itâs all relative these days. If youâre a young band starting out, just like suck it up and move to the big city by you. By big city I donât mean like, Knoxville. Iâm not knocking Knoxville, I love Knoxville, but move to one of the big cities. Figure it out. Itâs going to suck, but youâre going to learn so much. Just give it three or four years and see what happens. If you really want to do it, get out. Itâs the same thing, like if you really want to work in the movies or whatever youâve just got to go to where itâs at. Youâve got to go to the source. Youâre deluding yourself otherwise. Thatâs the name of my record. Use your delusion.
Q: The other thing youâve been doing lately is writing a column about concert etiquette. So how did you get involved with doing that? Was it a situation where you always found yourself onstage getting pissed off at random things and you wanted to write it? Or did someone ask you to write it?
A: Good question, I would like to clarify all of this. So my friend asked me if I would be interested in writing a bi-monthly or monthly column. I said âYes.â She said, âPick your topic.â I was lazy, I didnât pick my topic in time. I was assigned my topic. Honestly, I donât give a fuck what happens at our shows for the most part. You know, except for extreme examples, I donât want anyone to be sexually assaulted and people throwing drinks at musicians sucks. So itâs been a real delicate balance where I donât want to seem like some grumpy grandpa bitching about everything. I mean, youâve been to a Man Man show, I donât really care for the most part as long as people are having fun and theyâre not hurting anyone. So thatâs how that happened. I like the challenge of having to write and my friend who believes in me as a writer, she keeps pushing me. As much as I hate the fact that sheâs like, âOkay, itâs time to hand in the draft.â Itâs good because it forces me to be productive. I think thereâs nothing worse than a mind that isnât productive. For me, especially, I have to keep making stuff otherwise I go crazy.
Q: Along those lines, what are some of the strangest things that have happened while youâve been on tour? Iâm sure youâve seen a lot of strange shit over the years youâve been on the road, so what stands out to you?
A: Well, the other day we just did two shows with Mariachi El Bronx, if you donât know them check them out because theyâre amazing. We played a show in San Diego. My storyâs not about that, but itâs a little backstory. My friends who are going to be documenting the tour wanted to shoot some test footage. Their DP was backstage, Reuben, he also was the DP for my âHeavy Jesusâ video. He was shooting me telling a story, which I regret telling on camera because I donât want to be associated with it. However, I will tell you now since Iâm not on camera and this will be in print. We had just finished a show in Birmingham at this now defunct venue called the Bottle Tree, which was one of my favorite venues. This guy comes up to me. Iâm not by myself, thereâs other people around. Weâre literally just rolling off the stage and he says, âHey man, I really want to show you my long balls.â Well, what would you do if someone asked you to look at his long balls? So I was like, âOkay, man.â Then he said, âReally man I want to show them to you!â So I said, âOkay man letâs see em.â So just in front of people he just like whips out his balls. All I could be like was, âYeah those are very long. You should probably get them checked out.â They were seriously like the length of my forearm. They were probably a foot long. It was a medical condition, he should get those tucked. He was covering up his twig and he was just letting his berries dangle, but it was intense. He was so determined to show me his balls. Now I must add this disclaimer, I do not want to see peopleâs balls ever again. So if you have a long ball condition, or a no ball condition, or three balls, or only one ball, I donât care! Keep it to yourself! Thatâs the one and only time I will check out a dudeâs balls in the company of other people.
Q: Looping back to the album youâre coming out with. You said it was all recorded before you launched the pre-sale, so what was your process for recording it?
A: Well like I said earlier it wouldnât have happened unless my buddy Cyrus was pushing for it to happen. We first became friends about three years ago. I was coming out of On Oni Pond touring and I was really burned out and he wanted to work on something together. I was like, âDude, Iâm totally burned out, letâs just record something and see what happens.â So I recorded a one minute song called âAnts in My Bedâ because I was having problem with ants in my bed. Well, at the time, ants in my couch. After it was done I was like, âOh yeah thatâs pretty cool! Rather than me have to worry about writing serious lyrics and whatever, why donât we just do this project that Iâve been wanting to do forever, which is I wanted to make a thirty one-minute album. So, thirty, one minute long songs. It turned into our kids record. We made thirty songs that are each one minute long and the band is called Booger Bubble. We made this amazing, weird, twisted kids record. Not educational. Adults could appreciate it. We donât know what to do with it, weâre still trying to figure it out. That was like two years ago and then he was like, âAre you ready to start working on your solo record?â Then I said, âSure!â
He has a studio, so we started last year in January of 2015. It was basically whenever we both had time. My buddy Dan has been mixing it since last August. Itâs been finished since last August. Since I donât have any money, heâs a rad guy, so he was just doing it in his free time and he was playing in Cold War Kids at the time and they were so busy. We finally finished mixing, so itâs very exciting.
Q: What does the future of your musical projects look like for you right now, in your mind at least?
A: Iâm just going to see what I can do with the Honus Honus project. The thing about the Honus Honus band is that weâre also playing Mister Heavenly and Man Man songs. I mean weâre playing any songs that Iâve written, and Iâve written a lot of songs. Nothing is off limits. It has been interesting playing the shows because itâs been a very long time, I probably sound like a spoiled brat saying this, itâs been a very long time since Iâve played shows and nobody knows the songs, but itâs also really exciting because it falls into that ethos of you have to sell your songs and assume nobody has ever heard of you regardless. Youâre believing in the songs and your performance. You should never get lazy and be like, âOh people know my songs. I donât have to do anything. I can just dial it in.â Once you start with that mindset then you should probably not be playing music. I donât know, thatâs just me.Â
Mister Heavenly, the record is written, weâre just trying to figure out who is going to put it out. Nick self released his last three Islands records and Iâm self releasing mine, so we might just self release the Mister Heavenly record. Weâll see, everything is changing. Itâs a full time job self releasing. Iâm going to be the one who is physically mailing out all of these albums. But itâs fine. The way I feel about it, is if people are excited without actually hearing a full song, thatâs so great! Youâre going to be able to pre-order the record up until the release date, which right now weâre aiming for September 9th. It sucks that thereâs so much time between now and the release date, but with all the changes in music, unless youâre like Kanye or Beyonce and you can just announce and drop on a streaming service that youâre a fucking partner of. If you really want to do a good job with releasing a record, it still takes the traditional three or four months. Unless youâre like Radiohead or someone fucking huge with a fan base. Or you donât care. But I want to do it right. I also didnât want to lose my shirt putting up all this money to put out the record, so Iâm glad that people have gotten behind it so far. The cool thing about if you do the pre-sale too is that whenever I drop videos youâre going to get to download those songs too. As youâve seen Iâve been giving away so much music, all the covers and stuff.
Q: How did you pick out the covers youâve put out?
A: I have a friend who was doing a box set of seven inches with different bands doing A and B side covers. Iâve always wanted to do the Danzig song and I didnât know what I wanted to do for the other side, so Cyrus was like, âWhy donât we do this The Nerves song?â So I was like, âOh yeah, sure!â And that was the first time I heard it, so we just did it. Thatâs how that turned out. As far as the title of the album, âUse Your Delusionâ itâs obviously a joke about L.A. The record is about L.A. and shit, I mean you can still enjoy it without knowing that. Itâs a reference to Guns Nâ Roses, clearly. But also itâs a reference to the fact that you have to be delusional to do what I do or to play music in general, these days especially, so use it!
If youâre a fan of Ryanâs musical projects make sure to donate to his Use Your Delusion campaign! Also, give him a like on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, and stalk him on Instagram!