Quick Q and A with the Vespers
 by Kathy S-B  ·  13 April 2013

The Vespers have been called an underground sensation. As the interview below notes, the Cryar sisters (Phoebe and Callie) and the Jones brothers (Bruno and Taylor) discovered that the music that they make together is unique and unlike any other music “out there.” They have a gospel folk-rock-pop sound that is irresistible.

For more information about the Vespers visit their website. Check out this video from their CD release show in Nashville.

How long have the four of you been singing and playing together?

We started jamming together in May of 2009.

When you first collaborated, could you tell that something unique and magical was happening?

Yes. The first time the four of us were in a room playing together with the instrumentation that we had at the time, (upright bass, etc) we felt we had a unique sound developing, unlike anything we had done in the past in other bands.

Who is responsible for the songwriting in the band?

All four members of the group contribute in certain ways. Some of us are better finishers than starters when it comes to writing, & vice versa, but the team works well together in that way.

Callie and Phoebe, your father is involved with the music industry. Did he ever try to dissuade you from going down that road? Have you gotten any pearls of wisdom from him as you continue to navigate the sometimes rocky roads in this business?

He never dissuaded us. On the contrary he encouraged it! Something he’s told me that I’ve always remembered is to be there for your audience’s enjoyment, don’t act like they are there for your enjoyment. It is your job to entertain them, don’t assume that they are there to support you because even more than that they are there to be entertained.

Bruno and Taylor, you guys keep the back beat going in the band. Do you have any interesting anecdotes about being on the road?

Ha ha, there’s plenty but I’d have to tell em to ya in person. :)

How much of the country have you seen while touring? Have you had the opportunity to play abroad yet?

We’ve seen about 40 states & have played on both coasts & lots of places in between. We’ve not been out of the country as of yet though..

Your music is a crossover of pop, folk, and Americana with a dab of Christian on top. Have you been surprised by how much secular music fans have embraced your music?

No, not really surprised. At first we wanted our music to be enjoyable for anyone, but we ran away from the Christian label. Nowadays we embrace the gospel centeredness of our songs & try presenting them in a way that still anyone can enjoy them in hopes that the gospel may be spread through that approach.

What’s in store for the Vespers?

Hopefully a batch of great songs that we can use to make a 3rd album with.

Quick Q and A with Hayley Reardon
 by Kathy S-B  ·  13 April 2013

In this interview Hayley talks about her work about anti-bullying for teens and how that mission has become such a focal point in her life lately, her involvement with the documentary about Club 47, For the Love of the Music, and her new full-length CD, Where the Artists Go. Hayley has matured as an artist before our eyes here in her hometown of Marblehead, Massachusetts. She takes her role as a youthful folk music emissary seriously. She is a remarkable young woman and is using her music to impart her wisdom in all kinds of wonderful ways.

To learn more about Hayley, check out her website. You can read about the anti-bullying program at the PACER Center here.

You’ve had some wonderful opportunities with your work with the PACER National Bullying Prevention Center. How does it feel to be a teenage ambassador to travel around and speak and sing to all kind of kids across the country?

For me, it has been the most amazing and special part of this whole journey. The students I meet inspire me in ways that I really haven’t even found the words to express yet and my mission and purpose seem to have done nothing but grow over the past three years.

Tell us about your trip to Alaska. What was that like?

Aside from Alaska being the beautiful place that it is, and the farthest I had ever traveled for something music related, the thing that really struck me about the whole trip was the realness of everyone I met there. The people take a real ownership in the land and the beauty around them and seem to really focus their attention on what’s truly important. The communities, students, and teachers I spent my time with up there were just very relaxed and genuine people and I loved every minute I got to spend with them.

What was it like to be chosen to participate in the documentary about the folk scene and the history of Club 47??

Every time I watch For the Love of the Music it becomes a little more real to me just how great the honor of being in it is. I’m intrigued, inspired, and at times overwhelmed by the history and community that has gone into making Club 47 and now Club Passim the cultural landmark that it is and getting to feel like a part of that in some small way has been truly remarkable for me.

You’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with some real heavy hitting folkies like Tom Rush and Peter Yarrow. What do your classmates think about this? Are kids you know and hang with even aware of this part of music history?

Aside from knowing “Puff the Magic Dragon,” I don’t think many of my friends have any idea who Peter Yarrow or Tom Rush are. But I’m sure there are teenagers out there somewhere who do! It is definitely a cool feeling to be so connected to the music that came before me. At times I feel like I’m in on a secret that my peers don’t know about, and with that, for me, comes a lot of responsibility. If I’m the one lucky enough to be in Peter Yarrow’s living room hearing his stories of performing at the March on Washington and what that felt like and stood for, it’s my job to soak that in and make it real again. It’s my job to share the songs and stories that represent something so much bigger than just the music our parents used to listen to.

Tell us about the making of your album Where the Artists Go. What was it like to work with such a prestigious backing band and producer?

Where the Artists Go was my first experience making a full length record, and pretty much set a standard for how I want that process to go for the rest of my record-making days. I was 15 for most of the time we spent making the album, and Lorne was very thoughtful in filling the studio with not only amazing musicians, but great people in general who would see me as an artist before they saw me as a kid. These guys brought my songs to life and taught me so much in the process. I actually remember getting in the car with my dad after our last day of recording and saying “I think the past few days have been some of the best days of my life so far.”

Quick Q and A with Elana James (Hot Club of Cowtown)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  6 April 2013

Hot Club of Cowtown is sizzling hot. All three members of the band (Elana James on fiddle, Whit Smith on guitar, and Jake Ervin on stand-up bass) play their respective instruments impeccably and with a passion that is undeniable. Their gypsy jazz infused music is infectious. It’s nearly impossible to sit still in your seat when listening to them. Their new CD, Rendezvous with Rhythm, harkens back to their roots and more than exemplifies their dedication to the musical brilliance of the masters — Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli.

Your new CD, Rendezvous with Rhythm, is a major nod to the masters of gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Did each of the Hotclub band members come to know this music early on in their music careers?

Well, I have always had an affinity for that kind of music — like from watching Woody Allen movies growing up (in Kansas), the movie Blue Velvet. It never occurred to me until much later that I had always been drawn to this style but didn’t even know what it was or who played it or where it came from. I got more into it when I met Whit in NYC in 1994 — fortunately he has very good taste and he helped point me in the right direction. I could just as easily have ended up playing hip hop covers at Sea World with a headset in the killer whale show. This is a better fit for me. Whit, for his part, started out as a rock ’n’ roller on Cape Cod but got into Django/Stephane through country music — I think some of the guitar players he discovered that way, like Eldon Shamblin, George Barnes and Freddie Green and Thumbs Carlisle — had a style that led him back toward early hot jazz.

Lloyd Maines produced this CD for you. What was it like working on this project with him? Did he bring some new elements to the discussion table and help you find the sound that you wanted?

Lloyd is like a Buddha. He is calm, has excellent musical ideas, and just to have him there while we are recording is very reassuring. It’s like having an adult present at a kids party. In case things go wrong there’s someone in charge. He’s a really cool person, and, musically speaking, is very good at tweaking small things to bring out drama in a song or in little suggestions that make things sparkle more. He has helped us with lots of arrangements over the years and still whenever we play them I always think of him, of where they came from.

Was there one song on this collection that was the “anchor song” that you knew right away would be a crowd favorite?

I do love “Dark Eyes,” which is the first track on the new album Rendezvous with Rhythm. It has a slow build and unfurls into a frenzy.

Hot Club of Cowtown is a multi-faceted band: you seem to attract a variety of different kinds of music fans (which is a very cool thing). You get the jazz aficionados, country devotees, and intrigued folkies! All these people love good music and know that they’ll get it when they listen to you and get to experience you live. With such a diverse fan base, do you find yourselves playing at an extreme range of types of venues?

Over the years we have played a pretty crazy combination of places, for sure. We’ve been fortunate to play a few tours for the US State Department which has been one of the greatest thrills in our band’s career so far. We’ve played a rodeo in Hawaii. We recently played for the mayor of Salalah at a cultural festival in the Sultanate of Oman. We were the first American band ever to tour in Azerbaijan, we’ve played several times on the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville as well as on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” We’ve played biker bars, remote villages in Armenia and the Republic of Georgia and at Jazz at Lincoln Center. We’ve toured with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and once, when we were just getting going, we played a show for one person in Kentucky. Just last year we played a week-long residency at a fancy casino in central London, we played the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV, did a three-week tour of the UK that wrapped up in a little ancient church in the far north of Scotland, the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, Montana, a Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli gypsy jazz festival at a big folk venue in Berkeley, CA. . . . Last weekend we played a dance event at BYU in Provo, UT where this huge troupe of undergraduate dancers leaped and twirled to choreographed versions of three of our songs and it was awesome. The list goes on and on. That’s about normal for us! :)

Do you have any musical aspirations that haven’t happened yet and that you’d like to float out there into the universe in hope of making them come true?

We are looking forward to being an overnight success.

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