Interview: Honest Mechanik discuss being an ‘Outsider’
Indie-pop project from Susan Cattaneo and The Grownup Noise’s Paul Hansen on art, fitting in, and getting invited to smoke weed
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Debut self-titled album set for release this summer
MEDFORD, MASS. [May 11, 2021] -- These days, perhaps more than ever, we’ve all felt a bit like an “Outsider.” Whether it’s a case of imposter syndrome as an artist, watching our friends and colleagues living their best lives on the internet, or just trying to be heard beyond the towering walls of our digital echo chambers, many of us have spent the past year or so feeling like we’re living on the outside looking in. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.
Honest Mechanik, the new indie-pop duo from Boston music veterans Susan Cattaneo and Paul Hansen, have tapped into that feeling of FOMO -- a “fear of missing out” on something, anything, everything -- on their infectious new single “Outsider.” Released digitally last month, the track gets the visual treatment with its official music video, set for release Tuesday, May 11. And it’s a rally cry for all those who feel left out in the never-ending film of life. publi*sist chatted with Cattaneo and Hansen about the song, its underlying message, its video, and who they’d like to go and smoke weed with.
publi*sist: This might be an obvious question, but what is “Outsider” about?
Paul Hansen: I want to say something more profound, but at its core I think “Outsider” is about FOMO. Also when people feel disconnected they can use, whether ultimately true or not, the myth of the outsider for themselves as a kind of shield. Susan and I were also discussing the line “everybody thinks of themselves…” as a bit of a nod to just plain old narcissism.
Susan Cattaneo: Who hasn’t felt like they don’t belong? Who hasn’t experienced a sense of wanting to be included and yet feeling left out? You often hear about a group of musicians being part of a scene hanging with the “cool kids”. “Outsider” speaks to this idea of trying to fit in, trying to belong to a music scene and that constant yearning that all artists have for their art to be recognized and validated. It’s about feeling insecurity in your community and obscurity in your art.
How did the track come together?
Cattaneo: Honest Mechanik’s songs usually start with Paul coming over to my house with some tasty guitar part and a lyric idea. All the magic happens in my living room with our Lab retriever, Willow lying at (or more like on) our feet. Paul will usually share his idea, and we work from there. I think “Outsider” was the last song we wrote for this album. Our songwriting process is very fluid and easy, and I think the songs reflect that sense of relaxed creativity that we have with each other.
Hansen: I’m so happy this track made it on the album. I think it was the last song we finished and kinda came out of nowhere. A song seed, as we like to call them, that I brought to Susan. And after we worked on it, we were like... oh yea this HAS to be on the album!
How does “Outsider” reflect Honest Mechanik's musical vision?
Hansen: I think in our own way, Susan and I feel a bit like outsiders. You know.. we’re both not young anymore and we come from fairly different music scenes. And we are excited for something new. What comes out of the two of us together feels different and unknown, and it’s quite reinvigorating to explore this.
Cattaneo: The message in this song is beautifully ironic if you consider that our partnership as Honest Mechanik is essentially playing “outside” what we both do as solo artists. I come from an Americana/Folk sound and Paul’s musical sensibility is more indie/ rock in style. So joining forces, I think we’ve created something special and unique. Lyrically, I keep telling Paul that I loved the line “Everybody thinks of themselves” which stands alone for the first two times in the chorus because it speaks to everyone’s inherent narcissism.
How did the music video come together?
Hansen: The video was me trying to stumble and explore Premiere Pro like a kid on a playground. I definitely scraped my knee but it was fun. Also it’s so cool to explore all the beautiful public domain images out there.
Cattaneo: From the video that we created for our first single, “Movie” to our upcoming album design, Honest Mechanik has developed our own specific look. Our vibe has been this combination of black and white, older style footage with more modern, quirky elements thrown in. The video for “Outsider” is like our music. We want our listeners to feel like they’re hearing something at once familiar but also new and surprising.
How does the video's visuals/theme reflect the track (and possibly vice versa)?
Cattaneo: Paul did a wonderful job creating this video! I love the fact that we are literally captured in boxes within different still scenes, so we are inside looking out into the world and not part of it. It speaks to feeling alienated from the action, and I think it’s the perfect visual to accompany the song!
Hansen: I think the visuals reflect the song as it shows us alive in motion, but trapped inside our little boxes. Plus I’m always game for some heavy handed juxtaposition. I love how juxtaposition can take two distinct concepts and invent maybe a third concept, or a random new thought that leads you somewhere else.
Referencing one of my favorite lyrics in “Outsider” (“I don’t fit into any scene / Nobody calls me back to smoke the weed”), if you could name anyone, who would you want to invite you over to smoke up and get high?
Hansen: Oh man, there are too many. I guess since I’ve been slowly reading his behemoth novel these days, I might have to choose Marcel Proust. I imagine at his place we’d both be laying around just staring at each other in subtle confusion. Until at which point he writes the most beautiful 500 word sentence about how my hands look holding a lighter and how his eyes were attempting to say “…yo, are you gonna pass that..?”
Cattaneo: I’ve been listening to The Beatles lately, so I’d probably like to share a doobie with Paul McCartney and co-write some overly long and completely obscure song that makes perfect sense at the time but doesn’t actually make any sense at all! But honestly, what with the pandemic and the fact that I haven’t hung out with anyone in person -- including Paul! -- in months, I’d be grateful to be invited out of my house for anything.
Contact michael@publisist.co for more information.
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Honest Mechanik is:
Susan Cattaneo - Vox and Writing
Paul Hansen - Guitar, Synths, Vox, and Writing
With Marco Giovino on Drums and Percussion
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Media contact and press/radio inquiries: michael@publisist.co.
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