Episode 175 – Hear 2 Zen Hangs With John Notto From Dirty Honey
Welcome to episode 175. Today we are talking with John Notto, lead guitarist from Dirty Honey, ahead of the bands first tour in Australia.
Some musicians take a while to build an audience and connect with fans. For the Los Angeles quartet DIRTY HONEY, success came right out of the gate, and hasn’t let up one bit. To start, the band’s 2019 debut single, ‘When I’m Gone,’ became the first song by an unsigned artist to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
Their second single, ‘Rolling 7s,’ entered in the chart’s Top 5, and to date, its companion music video has exceeded 10-million YouTube views. During the Summer of 2019, DIRTY HONEY was the “must-see” band at major North American rock festivals, and for their first U.S. headline tour, every, single date was sold out. DIRTY HONEY’s self-titled debut album – produced by Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine, Stone Temple Pilots) and recorded at his Byron Bay, Australia studio – captured the band’s lightning-in-a-bottle dynamics and energy of their live sound.
The album hit the streets on April 23, 2021, and made its bow on the Hard Rock Albums Chart at #2. Following the album’s debut, the band headed out on a nine-week tour as main support for The Black Crowes’ “Shake Your Money Maker” U.S. tour, receiving glowing reviews and standing ovations over the course of the tour – not bad for a then, still-breaking, opening act.
After spending the past year conquering the U.K. and Europe with three sold-out tours, DIRTY HONEY – Marc LaBelle/vocals, John Notto/guitar, Justin Smolian/bass, and new drummer Jaydon Bean – returned to Byron Bay with DiDia in April ’23 to record their sophomore album, Can’t Find The Brakes.
The album’s first single (already top 5 at active rock radio,) ‘Won’t Take Me Alive,’ is a literal, take-no-prisoners-balls-out rocker. DIRTY HONEY launched the first leg of their 2023-24 world tour in the U.S. in September, supporting Guns N’ Roses, and headlined U.S. dates until December ‘23. In February, they return to the U.K. and Europe for yet another headline run before they hit the Byron Bay Blues Festival early April and then will treat Melbourne & Sydney to two special side shows soon after.
• SYDNEY – Crowbar – Wednesday April 3
• MELBOURNE – Stay Gold – Thursday April 4
Tickets now on sale from waxstartouring.com & octoberpresents.com
