Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Bunce.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Steven. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a small town called Canaan, CT, where I was the 5th generation to grow up on my road. Every house on the “hill” was filled with family, going all the way back to my Great Great Grandparents. It’s the kind of town where anyone can have a picturesque childhood, but there comes a time when you want to get away… far away. For me, that faraway place was Boston where I would attend Berklee College of Music. Let me rewind a little bit. At the age of six, I started playing percussion with my father in the local marching band. I loved being surrounded by music and instruments, and at a very young age, it became an obsession. I can remember dad bringing home any and all instruments; a trombone at age 10, Euphonium and Tubas a year later, guitars, drum sets, etc. Dad has a crazy talent of talking to anyone and everyone to find stuff that he wants and needs. It’s seriously impressive. He could talk to a guy on the street, and the next day we would travel a few towns over because that guy knew a guy, who knew someone who had a trombone he didn’t use anymore. Fast forward to middle school and high school, I had a band that I played drum set in with my two cousins, and in this band is where I fell in love with writing music. Every day after school we would write and play and write and play, get in trouble for getting stoned, then write and play some more. With this type of childhood, it seems like Berklee is the obvious life progression, but I had a problem. I played all of these instruments, but I never really focused on one. Noodling on all of them led to me never mastering a particular one, which was kind of an expectation for a musician attending Berklee. The summer after high school I was pretty lost, as I spent my time working a landscaping job with my sister, and not playing much music at all. That’s when I ran into an old music teacher, Ram Miles. Who could forget a name like that? He is just as epic as his name. Ram is the kind of guy who has never had a drink or smoke in his life and LOVES life all the same. He was the seriously motivating mentor I needed, and with his guidance, I decided I would attend Berklee to study Bass Guitar. He started giving me Bass lessons, and in no time… well, about 6 months… I was in Boston for my audition. I got in… Woo! There was a good friend of mine also from Canaan, who applied to Berklee on vibraphone and was also accepted. His name is Dylan, and he is way cooler than you. He is covered in tattoos and plays the vibraphone, which I’m sure you are thinking “What is a vibraphone?” Google it. It’s cool. You’re probably also wondering how my cool friend Dylan is relevant to my personal story, so I’ll continue. Around the time we left for Berklee, we started a new band called Light Bright, and for the next 5 years we would play everywhere from Allston basements to Royale in Boston. We opened up for local bands and some big acts; most notably Balkan Beat Box and Coolio. Yup, ‘Gangster’s Paradise’ Coolio. Not only did we open for him, but it just so happened to be the night Coolio played ‘Gangsters Paradise’ not once, but twice, and also invited all of the ladies on stage where he proceeded to ride a girl like a horse. The next day, I believe TMZ phrased the story as, ‘Coolio rides chick like a horse’. As all good things must come to an end, Light Bright fizzled out around 2016 after releasing our final album, ‘We Got Problems’. While it is tough to walk away from a band, we will always have memories of great shows, and Coolio riding that poor girl. It wasn’t long after, that another group of musician friends and I started writing some new music together. We call it Honey Talk, and our musical style is roots rock. We all love music from the 70’s, such as Jackson Brown and the Allman Brothers, and also some music from the 90’s, so we have a good variety influences. I like to define our genre as, ‘what the 80’s should have been’, or ‘southern rock from the north’. We have our self-titled album, ‘Honey Talk’, online on bandcamp.com, and a new album entitled, ‘Real Original Songs: Volume 1’, coming out oh so soon. So that is where I am at these days, living with my girlfriend and our 9 month old Catahoula Leopard Dog, Savannah, and promoting the hell out of Honey Talk. On top of all the promoting for Honey Talk, and my newly discovered passion for dog training (especially my girl Savannah), I play 200+ shows a year between my wedding band Men in Black, my bar bands Spike the Punch and Dive Bar Juke Box, my duo with my girlfriend Cortney, performing with Honey Talk, and also playing with whichever band calls me to fill in on bass! Some places you can catch a set are either The Burren or Bell in Hand with Spike the Punch or The Green Dragon every Wednesday with Dive Bar Juke Box. My duo plays before and after Red Sox games at House of Blues and all over the North Shore. Or did I mention I have an original band called Honey Talk? Honey Talk plays all over and we’re excited to be adding more shows in new venues all the time. Despite all the new gigs, our favorite spot to play is Toad, in Cambridge. You can catch us there every other week or so. Oh yeah one more thing. Honey Talk.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My road has been fairly smooth. Becoming a professional musician is very challenging, but when I put it in perspective, I wake up every day and get to do what I love. If I had to pick the most difficult part it would definitely be trying to make a livable wage to afford the forever rising cost of rent. Most clubs pay bands based on a door deal. This means that if nobody is in the club, the band gets no money. I remember living in a 7-foot by 9-foot room with my (physically) very close friend. Being 6 feet tall, when I would lay down in the room there was a half a foot on either side. This was all at the cost of not getting a “real” job. But, these challenges are the best part. And also, money’s not real anyways.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Honey Talk, Honey Talk, Honey Talk!!! I am so in love with the sounds we make. We write lyrics that come from our hahhhhhtsss and play songs that come from our fingahhhs. Southern Rock from the north. What the 80’s should have been. Boston Roots rock. Call it what you want, but you gotta come see a show and experience a true Boston band.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was a classic American child. Played a lot of sports and had a lot of friends. About halfway through my teenage years I made a huge transition and quit all sports and started playing music as much as possible. I guess you could say I have always been somewhat extreme when it comes to stuff like that. When I want to do something I do it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1 Manning St Apt 3
- Website: Honeytalkband.com
- Phone: 8603091266
- Email: Stevedcbunce@gmail.com
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Honeytalkmusic
Image Credit:
Photo Credit – Brenda Fonseca & Chris Anderson
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