Sunday Honey band members Max, Callum, Elliott and Fox contemplate a world of musical possibilities. Photo: Isaac Brooks
The four members of Sunday Honey speak to Sarah Halfpenny about their rapid rise from university friends to one of the Mornington Peninsula’s most exciting up-and-coming bands.
Who are the members of Sunday Honey?
Elliott Willis lead singer/rhythm guitar; Fox DeRoche drummer/singer; Max Hilli bass; and Callum Johnson lead guitar.
How did you come up with the band’s name?
Max’s dream was to always be in a band. He kept a diary with hundreds of different band names. When we first joined as a group, a band name wasn’t decided so we scouted Max’s ‘band name diary’ where we all resonated with the name Sunday Honey. Although we didn’t come up with the band name together, I think we all agree that it represents our music well – so much so, we like to describe some of our tracks as ‘honey soul’.
How did you form Sunday Honey?
Three of us actually met at university. We were all studying music production together so we had that connection from the start. Things really started shaping up when CJ reached out to Elliott, asking if he wanted to start a band. Fox was commuting to uni with Elliott in the car as this message was received, and Elliott passed the message to Fox, who was keen. It was a week or so later when the three of us reached out to Max asking if he wanted to play bass. The rest is history.
As a band formed relatively recently in 2021, what has been the most memorable moment of your journey so far?
It’s crazy how many goals we have achieved since starting Sunday Honey. I think the most memorable for us would be playing to a 600-plus crowd at The Espy’s Gershwin Room supporting our much-loved friends, Des Cortez. I think that was our first moment where we had that rock star feeling of playing in front of hundreds of people screaming our name.
Your latest release, Wasted Time (Take One), has been receiving great reviews. Tell us about the making of this track.
Fox actually came to the band with the main riff that runs through the track. It was bare when we all first started working on it, but that’s often the way we write. One of us usually has some chords or a riff, along with some melody or idea of lyrics. It’s in the band room when things start to boil together. Fox and Elliott are the primary lyric writers; those two wrote the lyrics and melody together, with Max and CJ weaving in their twists and adding some heart to the track.
Who are your influences?
This is where our different musical tastes come into play. You could ask any separate band member this question and you will receive different answers each time. If you were to ask Fox he would say Beatles, Max would say Metallica, CJ would come with a Blink-182 reference and Elliott would probably say K-pop vibes, but as a whole I think we aim for that Oasis/Ocean Alley vibe.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
The plan is to release five more singles this year, three of which will be followed by headline shows. We recently did our first Sydney tour and are planning to branch out into different states later in the year. Our next release will be followed by a headline show on July 13 at the Workers Club, so keep your eyes peeled on our socials @_sundayhoney on Instagram for all the information on Sunday Honey you’ll need.
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