The California Honeydrops - Soft Spot (2022)

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) In their fourteenth year together, bay-area soul/R&B favorites The California Honeydrops hit the post-lockdown ground running. Today, the Honeydrops are sharing the very first taste of their upcoming release Soft Spot-out October 7th.

"Takin' My Time" kicks off with a slinky groove that the Honeydrops are known for, having made a career out of their signature blend of Bay Area R&B, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second line. With tasty horn-section interjections dancing around well-timed background vocals, "Takin' My Time" embodies exactly what guitarist, trumpeter, and lead singer Lech Wierzynkski wanted to channel with the song's lyrical content-as he describes, "Slow down, erase your social media, smoke some weed, watch the sunset, get out of the rat race."

The Honeydrops have come a long way since Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland subway station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California. With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Beaullieu on bass, they've built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski's vocals.