Live and Local: Honey on the Rocks

I’ve met Bevin and Josh a few times. I can’t say I know them such that I could name drop them and thereby make myself seem like one of the cool people… I don’t know them like that. Bevin is remarkably talented as an entertainer and a musician; I’d buy tickets to see her out on stage, whatever she’s doing and whomever she’s playing with.

But I have to talk to you a little bit about Josh Fidler, if only because of a series of coincidences.

Josh is the chef at Sign of the Buck. The food there is…well, it’s banging. And it’s creative and innovative. Not only does he come up with intriguing fusions and creative plates, but he does the straight ahead things wonderfully. For example, the greatest deviled egg I’ve ever eaten in my life. Go ahead and laugh…then next time you’re at the buck, get a deviled egg and then find me an apologize and tell me you’ll never doubt my word again.

I am an amateur cook. I’ve never been paid to do it, but I’ve been doing it since my late teens, and…well, I can get out of my own way. But more importantly, I love doing it.

Josh is also a luthier. He makes some incredible instruments at Bear Mtn Guitars, including the one he played last night at the Gettysburg Community Theater. It was an offset, with a tiger maple neck, and some incredibly responsive but smooth gold foil pickups. The finish and construction was done incredibly well, and his choices for design and parts shows you this is someone who knows exactly what he’s doing at an atomic level, and he loves it.

I am an amateur luthier. I put together electic guitars from pieces and parts collected around. I have a long woordworking background, so I can use a router and sandpaper, which is most of what’s needed to make a telecaster. Josh makes heirloom quality professional instruments; I make the scratched up refurbished pawn shop guitar your brother in law keeps in the back of his Durango all week in case he makes it to open mic. But I love doing it.

Finally, Josh is a musician. With Bevin, his lovely wife, he started a band called Honey on the Rocks. They play funky soul songs, or take other kinds of songs and play them in a soulful funk fashion. Josh plays guitar with an articulation, tone, and drive that reminds me of David Gimour, for the lyrical soul of his sound, and the technical detail. He plays guitar like he builds them.

I play guitar worse than I build them, and I will remind you now of the hand dyed telecaster in your brother in law’s Durango.

So, I’m not – in any way – comparing myself to Josh in any of these arenas…I’m just saying we both love all three of those things. 

There are undoubtedly other things he does better than me, but we’ll leave it there for now. Cheers, Josh. Thanks for all the inspiration, and the beet salad.

I’ve seen Honey on the Rocks at a few venues in town, including Ploughman and Sign of the Buck. They also did a very memorable set last year at Cidernalia, where I was upstairs getting a tour of the apple museum from Ben Wenk when my lovely companion heard Bevin start singing and the tour abruptly ended as we scooted-ass down to hear them. They certainly rocked the place, and Uncle Moe had his truck right outside. Spicy Catfish nuggets. Just sayin.

Last time I saw them was at the Buck, and the place was packed to the gills. It’s a very nice bar, but it’s a little on the long and narrow side, so you end up reaching a critical mass of sound and physical space that makes it tough to appreciate the band playing all the way in the back.

So, I was very pleased to hear they were playing at the Gettysburg Community Theatre. Pleased as I may have been, my lovely companion had tickets already before I even knew about it. She’s something of a superfan.

And rightly so, I have to say. This band rocks the place, and in a small theater acting as a listening room without bar conversation and packed in people, it was a nice way to really appreciate what they’re doing.

It’s a mix of covers, mostly older soul, or soul-spin on pop songs (they do a straight up cover of B52s “Love Shack” that gets the place jumping like nothing else I’ve ever seen around here) and originals that are well done and very professionally arranged. They ended the first set with a few songs that were inspired by the story of Catherine “Kitty” Payne, with details from Deb Sandoe McCauslin, a local expert and orator who shared the story with the band as inspiration.

Seeing Honey on the Rocks is an event, to be sure. Bevin steps up to the mic with her distinctive and powerful voice and presence, adding incredible fills and detail with an electric violin, or some keyboards… she owns the stage and drives it home again and again, either getting the place jumping or adding poignant soul and heart.

Josh is back to the left, playing a work-of-art guitar of his own making, handling rhythm and doing some incredible leads that (as mentioned) made me think of Gilmour more than once. He plays fast, but also knows he doesn’t have to. The kind you want to listen to.

On rhythm is Alex, playing an alto sax with incredible presence and skill… he does what a rhythm guitarist might do in some bands, but can also step up and solo in a way that takes over the stage as a sax player should.

Around the other side, Kristen sings wonderful harmonies and backup, and steps up to do vocals on a few songs along with keyboards and bringing it on a tambourine. Jack in the back, driving the rhythm and directing traffic with sharp but smooth drums that you need when it’s time for the funk, which he lays down and no foolin… meanwhile, equally critical to funk and soul is the bass, so apparently they have worked it out to bring in the amazing Thomas Roue on bass…smooth and solid, and as cool as the other side of the pillow at all times.

Honey on the Rock is one of those bands that you’re happy to go and see  whenever they’re playing, and wherever… but they have a fully formed show to give, and their music is complex and precise. Even the covers are clearly THEIR versions and worth hearing just to appreciate what they do with a song that you know. Their originals are thoughtful and varied and very well presented.

I hope to see them again soon, though not NEARLY as much as my lovely companion does. If HotR gets a logo, it will probably be her first tattoo.

So what have we learned?  Go to the Gettsyburg Community theater. I’ve seen two concerts there already now, and the place is great to sit and listen to a band with horns and volume and complexity in a small intimate area that’s purpose built. They also do improv and plays and you might even run into our beloved WooJew when you go.

Catch honey on the rocks whenever you can. Buy tickets, or catch them at a local spot or fest, or anything you can. You’ll want to do it again.

Go to Sign of the buck and get dinner. I took lovely companion there for dinner and she’s still around, beyond all sense and logic…so that’s how good Josh’s food is!

Learn about the story of Kitty Payne, because it happened, and you should know about it. Sadly, the story isn’t even unique in its details… which leads me to a shameless plug: if you’re interested in civil war era history, I’m writing a novel set in that period. You can catch up on the process and hopefully some good discussion at my substack, Tomdudra.substack.com. if that’s your thing… nuff said.

Finally, thanks again to the folks at GCT for pulling things like this together, showcasing a local band in the best possible way. Also great to have more venues as we continue to grow the incredible pool of artistic talent walking around Gettysburg.

Talent like the folks at Ploughman, who invented, then cruelly pulled away, the Yardbird…cocktail of the gods. Throwing that in because i caught the tail end of Mike Kell’s set going on in parallel at Ploughman that night. He was great, wearing the whitest shirt in the history of industrial textiles…man, a Yardbird would have gone down just right…