The Rifle Honeyden

For a while, it seemed like the Rifle was the hub of Tucson music, whether representing Southern Arizona on tour with bands like the Exbats or The Elegant Rabies, or making an impact on top albums lists from far beyond our dusty "shores." In truth, it hasn't been that long since we've heard from them, but the past couple of months' live show hiatus seems, in Tucson terms, inordinately long, like when John Lennon took a five-year sabbatical from recording. And, much like Lennon's extended exile, the Rifle's slight hiatus was prompted, among other things, by domestication. The band's frontwoman, guitarist/vocalist Nelene DeGuzman and her longtime partner, bassist Kevin Conklin were married last November, in a service officiated by their good friend (and Conklin's Elegant Rabies bandmate) Michael Ely. The couple also bought and are renovating a house and even drummer Randy Rowland has been doing a bit of nesting, having recently moved to a new apartment. With a Rifle-shaped hole in our musical hearts, many local music fans are psyched to hear that 2019 is set to bring a followup to the band's breakthrough album "Anabasis," and that new music is on the horizon. And, much like the proverbial groundhog, they are emerging from hibernation with an eye on a glorious spring.