Marc LaBelle Discusses New Dirty Honey Album + Tour

On Oct. 18, Dirty Honey kick off their headlining tour in support of their upcoming record, Can't Find the Brakes.

As frontman Marc LaBelle explained to Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights Wednesday night (Oct. 4), fans should expect to hear the band pushing itself in new directions both on the record and in the live setting.

"[We expanded] our creative palette on this album and introduced some new instrumentation," he explained.

"There are some stylistic changes that maybe aren't right on the nose about what you think Dirty Honey is. That's just a part of being a band that evolves over time. All my favorite bands did that, from Zep to Aerosmith to Guns N' Roses to Rolling Stones. The only one that didn't, maybe, is AC/DC, but they're just so rock and roll it never mattered."

Much of the maturation of Dirty Honey's sound since their debut self-titled album is because this time, they were able to actually record together in the same room as their producer.

"During COVID, we were forced to record in the studio with our producer on Zoom," he said.

"It really wasn't ideal at all. At the time, we were kind of like, 'Wow, this is magical.' Technology is a wonderful thing, but at the same time, all my favorite bands, they recorded in the same room together and there's just some sort of magic that happens when everybody's doing that. [On Can't Find the Brakes], you're really feeling that push and pull of musicians playing with each other."

Why Marc LaBelle Loves Playing Live in Kansas City

Along with Can't Find the Brakes, Dirty Honey are celebrating a big year for their live shows thanks in part to opening for Guns N' Roses at a handful of dates and launching their latest run of headlining concerts.

It was clear LaBelle is excited to bring Dirty Honey's new songs to the stage and as he talked about it, he opened up about how much he loves to perform in the Midwest—specifically in the Kansas City area.

"That's always a fun show," he told Chuck, who is based in Kansas City. "That [radio] station there, with Johnny Dare, those guys are awesome to us and I don't know what happens in Kansas City, but it goes off every time."

LaBelle reminisced about the first time Dirty Honey played Kansas City. They were supporting Alter Bridge and Skillet in 2019 and opened the night at The Midland Theatre.

"We came out and it was just a really responsive crowd for an opening act. There's something about this place. When we went back to headline, we played a little club, it was maybe like 300 people and it was just batshit crazy. I loved it. Every time we've gone back — I can't wait for shows in Kansas City because it's a really, really fun city for concerts, man. Especially rock and roll."

As LaBelle continued to heap praise on the Midwestern city, he turned his attention back to that first show opening for Alter Bridge.

"We came down from Chicago — which was a great show — and then went into Kansas City. We were like, 'What the hell is happening here?' It was nuts and I specifically remember it being like a Sunday night. We weren't expecting it to get too raucous or anything. It was a really fun time, always has been. I love playing there."

What Else Did Dirty Honey's Marc LaBelle Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

The difference between opening for Guns N' Roses and performing at their headline shows
Why "Won't Take Me Alive" isn't necessarily a good representation of the overall sound of Can't Find the Brakes
What it was like recording in Australia for a month: "It was very freeing for me."