Hello kids. It’s an exciting time of year, what with all the school busses back on the roads, and we have good news for you. We started production on our sophomore album! Woo! At band rehearsal this past Wednesday we ran through two of the new tunes and started getting ideas for arrangements. If you are in southern NY on September 25, come by and give them a listen at Purchase College. We’re playing an alumni concert with Abby Payne. This particular concert is going to be really fun because Dan is going to rock the accordion and Chris will man the upright bass.

Hello all,

I know it’s been awhile, but my sister and I have been up to no good – and by that assertion I mean that we’ve been writing our follow-up album to our debut. I am very, very close to being done with all the writing for this record!! (yaaaaaay!) I have a total of 11 songs, 9 of which I plan to record, and 6 of which will most likely (cross fingers) end up on this next recording.

This week I’m dog sitting for our drummer, Dave. He has a very sweet Australian Shepherd mix named Leia, and she and I have become quite good friends. Dave also happens to have a piano, which I find myself seriously lacking in daily life. Because of this easy access to a keyed instrument, and perhaps because of the lack of responsibility to tend to my own home – and let’s not neglect to mention the amount of beer I have been consuming – I finished a track I was having a lot of difficulty with. It was mainly the lyrics that were perplexing. I had two lines that just would NOT come. No amount of coaxing was doing the job. It’s a funny thing, lyrics. I don’t know why they take so long for me sometimes. I suppose it’s because I base a lot of what I write on actual experience…even if that is exposure to someone else’s experience.

Whew!!! I feel as if I have been ‘talking’ a lot… so I will bid you adieu. Keep your eyes and ears alert, as we will post more on the recording progress (and other exciting news that you will have to join the newsletter to experience).

Love and Peace,

Beth

As a songwriter, how does the creative process begin? By plugging away at some guitar chords? Some plunkety plunk on the piano… or perhaps a melody that has you entranced?

At a very early age, I loved to write lyrics and build little melodies around them, but as of late, I find myself mostly writing the harmony first. (Being mainly a guitarist that means a chord progression or riff, although the piano is transforming that process for me). Lyrics are written in a slew of notebooks in various corners of my ‘music room’ and melody always comes last. Now this is a very personal formula…a custom formula, you could say. I’m sure many people have it quite different than that.

The most blessed experience is when a song comes all at once – like a little lightbulb being switched on in your head. It’s like you take a breath in, and there it all is, simultaneously and unwavering. I have only had one of these moments, but I always hope more will come.

To the musicians out there, I’d like to conduct a poll. As a starting point – which do you prefer to write first? Harmony, Melody, or Lyrics?