The roots are on loan, but the fire's their own

Livin’ for today / singin’ for tomorrow...

Is it safe to say that some of the world’s best New Orleans-style funk and soul bands come from the West Coast? Probably no. But our track record puts the odds at better than good of at least getting into the pantheon of soul, especially when you take into consideration Cali bands such as Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, Tower of Power, the Sons of Champlin, and Oakland’s the California Honeydrops. The last sounds as if Sly Stone himself and Booker T formed a band that nobody knew about. It’s almost eerie how close to the soul bone is Call it Home: Vol. 1 & 2, the Honeydrops’ new double set.

The ‘Drops started underground. Poland-born guitarist/vocalist Lech Wierzynski and Ben Malament, a drummer, found an endless captive audience beneath the city of Oakland in the subway system. During 2007, they busked the daily commute and learned the craft in the way that only face-to-face public opinion can provide. That particular grind worked well enough that by 2008 the duo had come upstairs, literally, and hired three more musicians. That same year they released Soul Tub!, their debut of originals.

In March, Call it Home got a little love when Rolling Stone magazine added it to their list of the week’s 10 Best. Who didn’t see that coming? From day one, the Honeydrops have placed in the winner’s circle. What makes the band popular is not their slavish blue-eyed approach to all things Motown of the 1960s. It’s the fire in each performance. The Honeydrops can peg a listener’s meter with the authenticity of knowing that for this band, there was no other choice but to make this music, even though the roots of it are on loan from another generation’s worries. True words: “I don’t want to leave here,” Lech sings, “but I know I can’t stay.”