A lot of the songs on the Our Home Is Gone are acoustic; what made you decide to switch from that style to a full instrumentation?
Meg and I have always liked the sounds of drums and bass…and all other instruments for that matter: piano, cello,etc. However, in a lot of our songs, Meg still plays the electric/acoustic, so we are sticking to our roots.
How long have you been together as a band?
As a band, about 3 and a half months. As just Meg and I, about 5 years.
On the album there is a song called “Timmy”, when you play live, its chorus has changed and the name has been changed; what made you decide to make this change?
Meg all of a sudden decided to write a “better” Introduction to the song. The only thing she wanted to change originally was the intro, until she started to make it too different, so that when she added it to the song it didn’t flow right. She was so attached to her intro though, that she wrote different pieces of the song differently to accomadate it better.
What is your favorite aspect of being a musician?
I love creating new things and I love writing. Music has always been a very personal thing, but at the same time, you can share it with everyone. It’s a way to capture memories, and emotions into something melodic and lyrical. I love telling stories through song also.
Did you grow up in a musical family?
Ironically, no. I wish we could say that our mother used to be an amazing singer and my dad used to be in a band but that’s not the case at all. My parents and family both love music of course, but they are more of a sports family. Meg and I had our music passion pop up out of nowhere and we were lucky enough to have our parents support us. Now, however, I would say that our family is much more musical simply because of us. Our little sisters (age 9) are now taking piano lessons, etc.
What artists have been major influences for you?
There are so many amazing artists out there and they all have influenced us in different ways. Some artists that we all can agree on are: Rufus Wainwright, Steel Train, Joni Mitchell, The Mars Volta, Rocky Votalato, Ben Folds, Coldplay, and Death Cab for Cutie.
“My Baby’s Better Than Yours” seems to have a sort of political aspect, what was your motivation when writing this song?
Meg and I have always had this really negative outlook on war. Of course, we’ve never been, or fought in an actual war, but we’ve both read extensive novels on war. (Some of my favorites remain, “Things Fall Apart,” and “The Red Badge of Courage,” and “A Farewell to Arms.”) Killing another person, even in war, has always been a terrible thought to me. War, in my opinion, is like an organized massacre. I always think about the other side….they’re just like you and me. Good people fighting against good people for something that isn’t worth it. Nothing is worth innocent blood…is it? I don’t want to get to politic, because I still have so much to learn about politics and war, but that’s just how we feel now.
Rumor has it that you are moving to SLC from Las Vegas; is this true?
Yes, it is. In fact, I just moved up there the other day. We’re going to stay up here for the summer, and then in September, hopefully go on tour, and then once again move back to Las Vegas and begin writing for a second album. That’s the plan anyways…who knows if it will fall through.
What are your five favorite albums from the 1970s?
Five favorite albums from the 1970’s….Hm……
Joni Mitchell- Ladies of the Canyon
Styx- Pieces of Eight
Neil Young- Harvest
Aretha Franklin- Lady Soul
Ray Charles- Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music