HONEY WILD LIVE

Official Music Video: Sweat on the Brain

ABOUT

Original Alt-Rock.Band

Ripping guitar solos, catchy horn licks and powerful vocals, HONEY WILD is Funk Rock with an attitude.

The band is the brain-child of singer-songwriter HANA DENSON, whose early performance background and musical taste includes classical, musical theater, rock, pop, and jazz. As an adult, she spent 4 years as resident of New Orleans, where, heavily influenced by the active Blues, Jazz and Funk scene, she began writing her own tunes. Her lyrics describe personal experiences with a mixture of borderline-uncomfortable-honesty, sass and humor.

The band's core includes STEVE BARE (bass, guitar, vocals), CHRISTIAN LOPEZ (drums, vocals), NICK MARZULLO (bass, guitar, keys), and NIKO ARENA (guitar). A three-piece horn section adds excitement to studio and larger-venue performances.

Over the past five years, HONEY WILD has been featured in prominent venues throughout New York City and New Jersey, including: The State Theatre New Jersey, Asbury Lanes, The Saint, Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, Arlene’s Grocery, and more.

HONEY WILD's most recent single, 'Sweat on the Brain', was released in July 2023, with their sophomore EP to follow in November.

PRESS & REVIEWS

"HONEY WILD is back with a great new single! “Sweat on the Brain” is the perfect groove for the steamiest time of the year. However, while It’s a very hot song, that heat is not derived from the weather."

- Tom Hanley for Jersey Rock 95.9 The Rat Weekly Podcast

"2019’s Makin Waves song of the year-winners had an understandably quiet 2020. But that doesn’t mean that 2021 is going to be a repeat for Hana Denson & Co. Spending the bulk of the year expanding their repertoire and writing new material will surely help Honey Wild reclaim its spot as one of our most thrilling new bands."

-Brian Erickson for "You Don't Know Jersey"

“Don’t Call Me Baby,” the lead-off track to the eclectic rootsy, yet edgy five-piece’s three-song debut EP, is a Pat Benator-like Me-Too anthem... The expose of pig men who undress women with their eyes and cop cheap feels not only is the Makin Waves Song of the Week, it’s also the Makin Waves Song of the Year, topping my Top 10 albums list that will be posted here later this month."

-Bob Makin for "New Jersey Stage"

"I saw your band over at Tallie Fest at the Asbury Park Yatch Club and you guys totally killed it that night."

- Tom Hanley for Jersey Rock 95.9 The Rat Weekly Podcast

HANA DENSON

Vocals / Keyboard

Hana Denson was a musical theater kid in elementary and high school. A trained vocalist at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, NYU's CAP21, and during a brief stint at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT, her musical history includes opera, choir, acapella, hard rock, jazz, blues, and cover-band pop. As the band's main songwriter, she relies on knowledge gained from equal parts classical training and experimentation to create songs that cross genres and dodge predictability.

GET TO KNOW THE BAND!

STEVE BARE

Guitar / Vocals

Steve Bare grew up as a band nerd, playing low brass in everything from jazz ensemble to marching band before picking up guitar and bass. In college, he helped transcribe music for talented-but-untrained songwriters while also playing at every opportunity, whether as lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, or solo acoustic act. To this day, Bare remains passionate about bringing novel ideas into collaborations with other artists.

CHRISTIAN LOPEZ

Drums

Christian Lopez is an active music director, educator, and performer throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the Director of Music at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey. A graduate of Penn State University, he holds a degree in Music Education with a Performer’s Recognition Certificate in Percussion Performance. He regularly gigs as a percussionist and pianist in a variety of settings including theater, rock, jazz, and funk groups throughout the state.

NICK MARZULLO

Bass Guitar

A multi-instrumental who was born into rock and raised on funk, Nick Marzullo now takes up musical residence somewhere between modern prog, jazz and soul. A regular session player and producer in the tri-state area, he can often be found gigging in theater pits and well-known indie venues such as The Bowery Electric and Rockwood Music Hall. Marzullo’s love of harmony and exploration of sonic textures lends itself well to the unconforming style of Honey Wild.

Guitar

NIKO ARENA

Niko Arena has been playing guitar and writing songs since they were 9 years old. Just 3 years later, they were ripping solos in casual backyard parties and in some of New Jersey's most notable venues. A jack of all trades, they picked up drums, bass, and piano in high school and taught themselves music theory and home-recording techniques in order to satisfy their incessant love for music. Having briefly studied at Berklee College of Music for a year, they are now at Montclair State’s John J. Cali School of Music pursuing a degree in music education. Niko is most comfortable on stage where they can shred rock/blues/jazz licks to Honey Wild’s diverse array of songs.