Freshly Pressed – Honest Heart Collective’s “Fine.”

Thunder Bay rock ‘n roll band, The Honest Heart Collective was featured last October on From The Strait in our “Your New Favourite Band” series, and they’re back again – this time with a brand spankin’ new single. We caught up with singer Ryan MacDonald to chat about their latest song “Fine.”, songwriting growth, and dream festival lineup.

From The Strait: Your latest single is called “Fine.” (great track, by the way!). Is this a one-off single or part of a collection of songs? Is there an EP or LP in the works?

Ryan MacDonald: We’re not entirely sure. It could be just a single, or it could be a part of a new collection. I guess it depends on how long it takes us to create another body of work that we’re proud of. Even though the industry is being directed towards singles, there’s a part of us that is still a little old fashioned.

FTS: Lyrically “Fine.” covers a lot of ground – what would you like for fans to take away from this song? 

RM: You can’t always trust yourself to have your own best interests in mind. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn a few times.

FTS: There’s always an evolution or growth evident in your songwriting. Many bands put it on autopilot and go back to the same formula… how important is it to show your growth from record to record, or project to project?

RM: Some bands can get away with it, but we’re not one of those bands. We’re always trying to find ways to push ourselves, whether it’s how we write a song or capture that new guitar sound in our heads. It’s something we’re always striving for. I’m proud of everything we’ve written. Would I like to go back and do things differently? Sure, but you can’t. A band’s back catalog is a timestamp of who they were at the time. That’s the sound you found in that moment. Afterwards, you either refine, rediscover, & build off that starting point, or you get lost in it.

FTS: Ok, here’s a more fun one – you’re curating your own festival – what 6 bands do you assign headlining duties to? 

RM: Easy. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Gaslight Anthem, Against Me, The Struts, Sam Fender, Kelsy Karter.

Check out The Honest Heart Collective’s latest single, “Fine.”