Revisiting four decades of classic rock with Honeymoon Suite

As part of our fun chatting with Canadian musicians and legends this spring, we welcomed Derry Grehan of Honeymoon Suite for a visit to discuss the old MTV and Much Music days and a new album, “Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down.” Who didn’t love the song and video “New Girl Now”? Time to feel it again…

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Prepare for and conduct upcoming interviews on the WNST AM 1570 Towson/Baltimore Positive show with Luke Dosa, April Wine, and Triumph, including any necessary follow-up communications.

Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Introduction to Derry Grehan

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the Maryland crab cake tour, sponsored by the Maryland lottery, and mentions upcoming events at Costas, Koco’s, and Pizza John’s.
• Nestor shares his excitement about meeting Derry Grehan from Honeymoon Suite, a band he has admired for 40 years.
• Nestor recalls meeting Honeymoon Suite backstage and mentions finding an old autograph and backstage pass.
• Nestor reminisces about the band opening for 38 Special in 1986 at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Canadian Rock and Honeymoon Suite’s Legacy

• Nestor discusses his frequent trips to Canada and his love for Canadian rock bands like April Wine, Loverboy, and Barenaked Ladies.
• Nestor expresses his admiration for Canada’s support of its bands and mentions Honeymoon Suite’s signature sound.
• Derry Grehan thanks Nestor for the support and mentions the continued airplay of their songs on Canadian radio.
• Nestor praises Honeymoon Suite’s melodic sound and their influence from bands like the Beatles and Zeppelin.

Modern Music Production and Honeymoon Suite’s Approach

• Nestor and Derry discuss the evolution of music production, noting the ease of making albums at home with modern tools like Pro Tools.
• Derry emphasizes the importance of playing together as a band, even if recording separately.
• Nestor highlights the benefits of having control over one’s art in modern music production.
• Derry shares his experience of working with talented people to produce quality records without large budgets.

Challenges and Opportunities in Modern Music

• Nestor and Derry discuss the lack of big record deals and budgets in modern music, contrasting it with the past.
• Derry mentions the advantages of recording at home and the changes in the music industry.
• Nestor talks about the importance of staying focused and engaged in making music, especially for older musicians.
• Derry reflects on the changes in the music industry and the opportunities it presents for working musicians.

Honeymoon Suite’s Touring and Fan Engagement

• Nestor asks Derry about what motivates Honeymoon Suite to tour and the demand from their fans.
• Derry mentions their upcoming tours in Canada and their efforts to tour in the US.
• Nestor shares his admiration for Honeymoon Suite’s studio setup and their love for music.
• Derry expresses his desire to tour in the US and mentions the support from their fans.

The Impact of Videos and MTV on Honeymoon Suite

• Nestor and Derry discuss the significance of music videos and MTV in the 80s.
• Derry explains how videos helped Honeymoon Suite gain visibility and popularity.
• Nestor reflects on the transition from audio-only music to the visual experience of music videos.
• Derry shares his thoughts on the impact of videos on the music industry and the band’s success.

Nestor’s Personal Connection with Honeymoon Suite

• Nestor reminisces about his interactions with Honeymoon Suite backstage and the impact it had on him.
• Nestor expresses his gratitude for Derry’s kindness and the lasting impression it left on him.
• Derry reciprocates the sentiment, acknowledging the importance of treating people well in the music industry.
• Nestor shares his appreciation for the opportunity to chat with Derry and the significance of Honeymoon Suite’s music.

Future Plans and Final Thoughts

• Nestor mentions upcoming guests on his show, including Luke Doucet and members of April Wine.
• Derry expresses his hope to tour in the US and perform live for their fans.
• Nestor encourages listeners to continue supporting Honeymoon Suite and their music.
• The conversation concludes with Nestor expressing his love for rock and roll and the impact it has on people.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Honeymoon Suite, new album, Canadian rock, MTV history, Bruce Fairbairn, melodic rock, modern music, touring, fan demand, music videos, 80s bands, live performances, recording process, Canadian music, rock and roll.

SPEAKERS

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Derry Grehan, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. Taking just a break from the baseball and the footballs and the NFLs and all that stuff, we are doing the Maryland crab cake tour several times this month. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I’ll have those Maryland treasures scratch offs to give away, as well as well as a handful of my Harlem Globetrotters, but crab cakes everywhere, faintly. Is on Friday, we’re going to be at Costas on the 16th, Koco’s on the 23rd and then down to Pizza John’s in Essex on the first of May. I’ll be having a cheese stick along with my crab cake that day, probably some proper french fries and gravy, some poutine, as the Canadians would say over at Essex, also brought to you by friends at GBMC, keeping me healthy as well as farnin and Dermer, our friends with HVAC and took care of my plumbing. Last week we had that flood in here, and it was a mess. So I have a lot of Canadian rock stars coming on here. There is no rhyme or reason as to why dairy grant is about to come on from honeymoon suite, other than the fact that I’ve loved the band for 40 years. I met this guy backstage on kind of a steamy summer night 40 years ago. Now, I looked this up. I had to figure out I’m like, I know I met the honeymoon suite guys. I love New Girl, and I love the band. I remember the second album, and I’ve gone and I found my CD, produced by Bruce Fairborn. So you know, it was good back in the day, in the big prize. So I have my CDs out. But Terry, I got to tell you, man, I was wondering what tore you open for, because I distinctly remember meeting you guys. I have like, an autograph backstage pass from that night that I couldn’t find before it came on. And I’m like, dude, who did they open for? Like, what band was it? And then I realized it was kind of a weird mix you open for 38 special in the summer 86 at Merriweather Post pavilion. And I, I have the evidence to prove it.

Derry Grehan  01:44

That’s right, we did. We were on

Nestor Aparicio  01:46

that tour, man. You guys were a coming band at that point when the Canadian rock thing, and I just chased Brian Adams all over South America, and I have Luke dosa coming on this week’s Canadian week here, I said that everybody but Getty and Alex, but we’re working on that. But I, when I come to Canada, and I come once or twice a year, I fly into buffalo, I make my way across the Peace Bridge, or up through your town, through Niagara Falls, and I cross over and when I put Canadian music on your band, April wine, all every Sarah McLeod, every band, lover boy, all of it. I love the fact that Canada honors its bands, including Barenaked Ladies and and The Tragically Hip and but when I put Canadian rock on, I feel really at home, and I always hear a honeymoon sweet song. So it is just, it’s fun to catch up with you, and I know you’re making new music, and I just want to give you a chance to promote it a little bit.

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Derry Grehan  02:38

Yeah, man, well, thanks for that, we’re pretty, you know, happy. We get so much support from Canadian radio, you know, 40 years later, and it’s great, still spinning the songs, man, it’s, it’s a good it’s a great thing. Well, you have

Nestor Aparicio  02:53

a signature sound, though. I mean, when I hear your sound, it has this melodic and I’m sure you came out of some sort of Beatles school and Zeppelin. They all did. We all did from that era. But when you’re making new records and you have a new record that came out last year, I’m friends with a lot of musicians. I would say our age. You got me by a couple of years. But I am always inspired by the people who love music and make music, and I know what you went through in Vancouver and Bruce Fairbairn and slippery one wet and all of that, and making these big productions. But I think there’s something really cool about modern music, that you can be a working musician still at this point in your life, tour make money, but more than that, make your own music on your own terms, where you don’t have to fly off the studio in Montreal or up in Quebec to make an album, that you can make an album these days and be a working musician. And I, I always love having people like you on not just talking about the old stuff, but talking about the songs you’re writing now. Because I think if we’re good at our craft, we get better at it as

Derry Grehan  03:55

we get older. Yeah, I think so. I think so. I just, we just never stopped working. I never stopped writing. And it’s, we just, we just keep writing songs, because that’s what, what we love to do. And yeah, it’s, it’s kind of all changed. You don’t have to go to a studio and spend two grand a day, you know, making a record. I mean, you can. Everybody’s got a home studio now, and there’s a lot, there’s a lot of different, easier ways to do it now, at least the writing process. So the tools that we have available to us now with Pro Tools and everything else, as opposed to the early 80s, it’s, it’s a game changer

Nestor Aparicio  04:26

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well, and especially, I think when you were the kind of band you were, where you had a record company, you had management, you got, you got a great producer to make an album you wanted a certain sound that you had to go somewhere special and do that. And I think from an artist standpoint. And when I talk to more artists of the 80s and 90s, which tends to be my wheelhouse, and what they’re doing these days, I think it’s easy for musician to stay focused and engaged on getting the sound they wanted based on maybe what they even learned when they were younger, working with Hot Shot producers in these big studios.

Derry Grehan  05:00

Totally man. Well, you know, there’s, first of all, there’s no big record deals and no big record budgets anymore. To give you 100 grand for an album to go into a fancy studio with a producer. I mean, I’d love to do that and record on tape, but those days are gone now. Everything’s digital, and you can do things that I can do a lot of recording at home, but I will say there’s no substitute for going into a studio and playing together and at least cutting your live drum tracks and playing as a band, as opposed to just piecing things together. So we’re still old school in that respect, because we’re a rock band and we like to play together live. Well, I

Nestor Aparicio  05:34

think covid changed a little bit of this too, especially for bands that are a little displaced, where members live in different parts of the world, because that’s where it gets to be when you get to be gets to be when you get to be parents and grandparents and move around a little bit. You made your way from Niagara Falls, famously honeymoon suite and the heartbed and all of the things that new girl now brought to me as I was 15 years old then that you remember this all these years later, but you settled in the state, so you’ve made a life in Illinois. And I find it even more fascinating for Canadian folks that’s even page on who lives in upstate New York that, you know, music’s without borders, I think, in a lot of ways, but I always think of you as a Canadian actor, and you’ve been here a long

Derry Grehan  06:12

time, right? Yeah, 25 years, but that’s because my wife is from Illinois, and we’ve been together for a very long time, and we eventually moved. Moved when our kids were on we moved from Toronto back to Illinois, because I’ve always loved the states. I love Canada. It’s our bread and butter. But all those years we toured in the States, I loved going around America. It’s such a crazy place, and it’s so big and so many things to see and do. So I’ve always enjoyed living here, and I spent a lot of time in Nashville as well. So it’s a there’s so many great things musically down here as well. So I get the best of both worlds. You know,

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Nestor Aparicio  06:49

Gary Graham is our guest. He is up with honeymoon suite. And if you’re familiar with the big prize, familiar with the videos from the 80s, still out, still making music, still touring around Canada, got to get you down the states on a gig here, but I’m putting an album together in the modern sense of the word to say, Hey, I’ve got something to say. I got some songs I’ve written. We talked about the ease with which you do it, and making your music Give me a modern take on honeymoon suite and the band, and kind of trying to hold it together all the years later. And I have great admiration, and I love singing the songs. And I I just chased Brian Adams around South America and AC DC. I still love going to shows. I’m still a rock and roll. I didn’t grow my hair long. I’d let it out for you. My hammer Jack’s hair from back in the day, but putting an album together and deciding you’re going to do that, as opposed to, well, we need a tour, we need an album, we need merchandise, or all these things that go into making a band wanting to make new music, and feeling like you have something to say, and I know you’ve done that here with Wake me up when the sun goes down, which is your latest album?

Derry Grehan  07:50

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, we just, we make, we make our records. We don’t have huge budgets, and we do a lot of things ourselves. So there’s always, like I said earlier, there’s a way to do it and not spend, you know, 100 grand and still come out with a quality sounding record. You just got to be smart and work with really talented people.

Nestor Aparicio  08:13

Can you get exactly what you want sound wise when, when you’re you know, there were so many times when I would talk to musicians back when I was a kid, and you were a little older than the kid, where I’d be in an interview, and they’d be like, well, the record company wanted it this way, and they were the one paying for it, or the producer wanted it this way. And I didn’t get along with the producer, but he was a hotshot, and we were band trying to make it. And I would think that control of your art is something that I think has probably come a long way for anybody your age has been doing it as long as you have, yeah,

Derry Grehan  08:44

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well controlled art. That’s a matter of picking the right producer for one thing. And with Bruce bearburn And Ted Templeman, you know, we were very careful who we selected. We We met with them first to make sure that we had a good, good rapport, and get a guy to come in and just change everything and just do it his sound. We wanted a guy that recognized what we were about, and just take our good songs and make them great, and we we were lucky that way. So it’s about choosing the right people to work with. Well, I think at

Nestor Aparicio  09:12

this point there’s brand recognition for what honeymoon suite is and getting out and touring. I know you’re running around Canada, what, what gets you out on a tour at this point, and how can we get you around here and see you guys play? Because it’s been a little while, I’m embarrassed to admit that I saw you, but I haven’t seen you recently, but I’d love to come see the band play.

Derry Grehan  09:30

Yeah, man, well, look what gets us out. We can’t wait to get out, and we’re quiet right now, but we’re starting to book up the summer in the fall, so we’ll get out all over Canada this summer, as we usually do. Hats off to our fans, you know, because the demand is still out there. That’s why we do it the US we’re working every day with with agencies down there, and I live in the US, and I really miss touring here, so we’re doing everything we can to try and get down to the us on a tour, or maybe on a package tour with some American. Fans because, man, I really miss it, and I know we’ve got a lot of fans.

Nestor Aparicio  10:03

I love your your studio there, man, you got your Van Halen stuff, rocking your martial lamps like you know, have it all going on the Canadian part for me, and I’ve just admitted that I’ve chased Brian Adams around. I’m having Luke docent on this week, because he was filling in for Keith Scott. Got this weird call to run around South America with Brian Adams rush going out with Monica Neal’s. I’ve had Rick Emmett on, and I’m Gilmore is going to be joining me, and they’re out with April wine, who’s another band that every time I’m driving on the Q, E, W, past your home in Niagara Falls and going think St Catharines and going across Hamilton waving at Rick Emmett on the way out, I hear the Canadian music. I saw lover boy running around with Sammy Hagar three or four times couple summers ago as well. There. There is some staying power in your era of Canadian music, that you’re in a nice little wheelhouse for something that’s really never gone away. No.

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Derry Grehan  10:56

Man, we got so lucky that we had such a run of hits in Canada and the few in the US. We got really lucky in the in the mid to early, early to mid 80s, okay, with the first three records, and those songs have sustained us all these years, 40 years later, is still getting airplay, and that’s the bottom line, man, it’s just, it’s the catalog, it’s it’s the songs. We’re very lucky.

Nestor Aparicio  11:20

Well, yeah, and I feel that, like when I saw Brian Adams, like, what makes him great, great friggin songs all night long, you know, for four, you know, I looked at, I looked at your album, and I’m thinking, man, when’s the last time I heard what does it take? And how much I love that song. And I, you know, 98 rocks, not playing it here, you know, classic rock 100.7 they’ve moved more into like playing more 90s and more modern rock than what I would consider you don’t hear Crosby Stills and Nash or the doors as much anymore for your band, and the sweet spot of pop rock and the melodic rock that You play, I still feel like, whether you’re a serious XM person, or whether you’re a person with an iPod, and that’s usually me, the old school stuff, you know, I feel like the music hasn’t dated itself in that way. I feel like that, that what modern bands are doing is sort of wanting to sound like you guys. And Led Zeppelin in some way, you

Derry Grehan  12:19

know, it’s, it’s melodic rock. It’s melody, man. What can I say? People? People like melody. We’ve got our older fans, but we have a whole younger generation of kids discovering the music for the first time. And remember, this is the this is new to them. All this music from the 80s, it’s new to them, and they’re gravitating towards it because they like it makes them feel good. I don’t know. It’s melodic, and it’s what, what worked back then is working again. Now.

Nestor Aparicio  12:44

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What can I say? I see that Van Halen shirt on you and Hagar running around doing those old 5150, songs a couple years ago. I mean, there’s, there’s nothing like feeling 18 again, right? Like you feel it again, like you would say, right?

Derry Grehan  12:57

No, I mean, and I didn’t get to see that tour. I wish I did, but it was amazing, you know, and it did so well. So it just goes to show you, man, it’s the songs again. People love it, no matter how old you get.

Nestor Aparicio  13:11

Well, I got to ask, because I’ve never had you on before, but the original video and the honeymoon suite, part of you being from Niagara Falls, and the heart bed with the nail like, how did that imagery happen? I’m sure you’ve answered that question at 10,000 times in 40 years, but when I think of your band, I think, man, you had the gift of vision for MTV to capture someone like me. You’re all good looking guys and rockers and whatnot, but it was the image of love and the honeymoon suite and the broken heart and and the first videos that that that captures a magic that I think I saw Brian Adams, usually he’s playing this time when his hair was different in the black and white, but videos were so powerful and such an important part of all of those bands

Derry Grehan  13:59

at that time, they were Man. And again, it’s all timing. We were so lucky to to come out when we did right at the beginning of much music and MTV and videos were everything back then. And we really, we really explored that, and you and, you know, utilized that and it, it helped us tremendously. You know, it’s just, it’s just timing, right time, right place, and videos. Yeah, fans

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Nestor Aparicio  14:27

didn’t have that when you were a kid learning how to play, to get like you didn’t have that thought other than the album itself or being in the record store. It went from being something you heard to being something you saw. And I think that even 40 years later, for all the Canadian bands I’ve mentioned, mentioned, or any one of that era I had, you know, I had Greg hawks in the cars on recently, right, that were a part of that, that you could move from audio to video during that period of time, you could create a life of music which your band is done with honeymoon suite.

Derry Grehan  14:58

It was a game changer. Video revolution. Let me tell you, when I was a kid, all I had was circus magazine and maybe the album cover to look at. You didn’t the bands were mysterious, you know, you didn’t know till you went and saw him in concert. Then videos happened, and all of a sudden, everything changed. It’s great.

Nestor Aparicio  15:14

Well, I’m very appreciative of your time. I want to encourage everyone to go out, continue to listen to honeymoon suite. Wake me up when the sun goes down, is the newest album they’re going to get out on the road. And you straddle that Canadian American thing pretty well here. And I know it’s a big summer for Canadian rock bands and bringing bands back. And I’m very appreciative that I finally got a chance to chat with you and say, thanks for being kind to me 40 years ago backstage at Merriweather on a really sweltering night in the middle of a tour.

Derry Grehan  15:41

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Oh, I’m glad I was, I was friendly and polite. Thanks for reminding I do

Nestor Aparicio  15:45

remember that. I do. Yeah, well, you remember when Whitney Houston wasn’t, you know what I mean, you remember the people that didn’t treat you right backstage, even all these years later. So you do remember because, you know, I listen, I was at the sun. I was a kid interviewing band, just trying to get a little 10 inch story in the paper and get paid my 25 or 50 bucks for stringing, and maybe get a couple tickets to a concert and have a hot date. So remember all that when you’re 18 or 19 that all these years later, that we made a little bit of time, and I do hope you come around, strum it, play it, sing it. We’ll all come out and be a part of it, because there’s nothing

Derry Grehan  16:17

like live music. Yeah, man, well, we’re doing our best to get down there, so

Nestor Aparicio  16:20

fingers crossed. I appreciate you. Dairy grant joining us here from honey moon sweet. Find them out on YouTube. Find the old video. Sing along, tap your toes. Music still makes the world go round. It’s the one thing left that still makes me feel good, so that’s good. My appreciation to dairy and everybody setting that up chip and the folks too as well. And I’ll be having some more rock and rollers on here. I got Luke dosa joining us this week. We’re also going to be chatting with some fellows from April. Wine and triumph is going out and doing it for real for the first time this weekend, right? Rick emmett’s been a friend of mine for a number of years. Been on. We talk Blue Jays, baseball and all that stuff, and Russia’s going out. So it’s a big summer to feel it again and get some rock and roll going. My thanks to honeymoon suite. Dairy grant. I am Nestor. We are W, N, st, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, keeping it real with some rock and roll. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us.