When I was three or four years old, I stood in front of my parents’ TV and watched with awe as colors bounced around the screen to orchestral music in Disney’s Fantasia. I moved my fingers in the air — gesturing the way the conductor, Leopold Stokowski, did. And so began a lifelong passion.
Many of my early memories are speckled with the music that served as their soundtrack. I remember nights waiting for dinner to be ready and my parents playing the 10,000 Maniacs, REM, Neil Young, Sade, the Counting Crows, and others. I remember driving to basketball practice in my dad’s Toyota Camry and having him play me Making Movies by the Dire Straits. I remember coming home with a bad grade in elementary school and my dad consoling me and then playing “Happy Ways” by Joe Walsh on his record player.
Music was all around me, and I always wanted more of it.
In middle school, I first became interested in learning how to play the guitar. My dad had an old Ibanez acoustic guitar in the attic. The bridge was cracked and anyone who plays guitar would tell you it was completely unplayable, but at the time I didn’t know the difference. I found a way to tune it and I started practicing basic chord shapes.
Later that year, my parents bought me my first guitar — a black Squier Stratocaster. It came with a little 15-watt amplifier. I turned it up loud and played a bunch of garbled muck, loving every second of it.
Over the next ten years — through high school and college — I taught myself how to play. I studied music theory and listened to everything I could get my hands on. I played in a garage band or two, but nothing serious. During different times in my life, playing and writing music has ebbed and flowed in its day-to-day prominence. But recently I have found myself unable to ignore the pull. For over twenty years, I have dreamed about doing what John and I are trying to do here. I don’t want to look back twenty years from now and say I wish I had started back in 2020.
Most of the music we are recording these days was written in the past year. It’s been a tumultuous time — personally and globally. The world is facing a pandemic while the United States is in the grips of socio-political unrest. John is navigating the joys and strains of being a new father. And I have experienced the highs, lows, and eventual loss of a four-year relationship. Music has never been more important.
As artists, we are extremely fortunate to have a medium through which to probe our emotions and observations. In each of the five songs we have available on our site, you will hear these recurring themes: love, loss, social critique, etc.
We are mindful that what we are putting forward at the moment is imperfect. I have never had confidence in my voice, and for a long time that dissuaded me from doing what I am doing now. We do not play or sing every note perfectly. And some of our lyrics/melodies have room (in some instance, substantial room) for improvement. But, these are not reasons not to chase a dream.
We are excited to bring you the music we have written and continue to write. We look forward to playing it for you live. And we hope you will enjoy and come along for the ride.
-O