On My Honor, they are not 'pretty boys'

On My Honor pops your punk balloons. The band is, from left, David Fear, Lucas Sams, Drew Justice, Jordan Garner and Trey MeHaffey.

KNOXVILLE — Knoxville's own pop-punk/"Fal-core" road warriors On My Honor have poured years into a touring effort that seems to be paying off. With 300 gigs in the past two years, the band has spent months at a time traveling the country, only to return home for a month and book more shows before venturing back out.

The time spent away served as inspiration for On My Honor's recently recorded EP "Nature and Nurture," which will be released later this summer on Little Heart Records, a Louisville, K.Y., label that the group signed with recently.

On My Honor has built a name for itself as a promoter of all-ages shows, which proves a challenge in less familiar territory on the road. And while the group's shows bring in more than just teen fans, On My Honor has often had to defend its chosen style to older, die-hard punks.

The "pop-punk" genre occasionally draws fire for being, in itself, an oxymoron, but the band says its music is not an attempt to commercialize the anti-commercial, but rather to create catchy songs driven by a punk, do-it-yourself and play-what-you-like mentality.

"People are afraid of pop, and people can't decide what punk is," says guitarist Lucas Sams. "So when you put the two together, it becomes an irritating conversation. A lot of people associate the word 'pop' to a desire to change what they really wanted to do to achieve some kind of mainstream success, like they're selling something out. I don't think people realize that some people just like the way that stuff sounds, and that's what they want to do. Nobody ever says The Beach Boys sold out. Pop is just a hook. We're kind of stuck in between. We're not a bunch of pretty boys like a pop band, and we're not a punk band, so it's hard for us to fit in the middle of that. To me it's just about what you like, and that's punk to me."

Although On My Honor possesses the melodies of pop and machine gun rhythms typical of a metal act, the band maintains a punk inspiration to its music as well as its promotion. Beyond its touring work ethic and pushing for all-are-welcome shows, the group insists on booking its own stops, partly due to bad experiences in outsourcing the duty.

Having recently signed with the diverse Little Heart Records, On My Honor will release its first company-backed EP upon completion of its summer tour. The band chose the label for its hands-off approach, and describes its affiliation with the company as relaxed. While Little Heart helps with publicity and promotion, it is unrestrictive, allowing easy release from the band's three-output commitment, and stays out of the creative process.

"We've been trying to get back to that DIY ethic," says vocalist Drew Justice. "That's a great thing about Little Heart. It's made up of people who are really like-minded in that regard. They just want to offer help when we need it, since a lot of the stuff we can still do on our own. That's why you do this to begin with."

"They do all our publicity and handle everything as far as licensing," adds Sams. "I'm still overseeing tour booking right now, but that will probably change in the next couple of months. ... We've only done one tour we didn't book ourselves, and it went terribly. I'm kind of weary to leave that to someone else."

On My Honor's forthcoming EP "Nature and Nurture" was recorded locally by Miah Lajeunesse and focuses on the theme of home. It contains five new tracks that, when pre-ordered, offer access to bonus material. The EP will be unveiled to Knoxville at an Aug. 12 CD release show at The Valarium, but won't be available elsewhere until Sept. 6.

Coma cast: Coma Cinema and Modern Man join Coolrunnings on Sunday night at The Pilot Light. The 10 p.m. show costs $5.

Door prize: Wolf at the Door treats Preservation Pub to a night of prize-worthy rock on Monday, June 20. The Weird Andys also will play at the show, which starts at 10 p.m.

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