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May 27, 2026
The Open Studio Interview - Larkwing
The Open Studio Interview - Larkwing
00:00
35:06
Transcript
0:00
One, two, three.
0:25
[upbeat piano music] Hello and welcome to the Open Studio interview.
0:38
My name is Allie Marcus, and I'm sitting down today with Andrew Haynes and Bellamy Fetterkins of the local band Larkwing. Larkwing is an acoustic folk duo made of two best friends.
0:49
The duo blends ancient music traditions with modern American folk to create an ethereal and grounding new sound. Based in the Pacific Northwest, the dark and vivid nature of their home informs their music.
1:01
Larkwing is intimate and wild, natural and new. Andrew and Bellamy, thank you for being here today. Thank you. Thank you for having us. [laughs] My pleasure.
1:12
Uh, firstly, I wanna say congratulations on the release of your new record, Mother of Waters, which I just had the privilege of being able to listen to in its entirety before we sat down today.
1:24
Um- Thank you for listening to it. Yeah. You're welcome. What a treat. Today is your release date- Yep... which is May 18th, which is the day we're recording this conversation. Yes. It is indeed.
1:35
Why is May 18th an auspicious day? 'Cause 46 years ago today, Mount St. Helens erupted and killed nearly 60 people.
1:44
The second half of this album, um, is kind of a tribute to the people who were killed by the explosion, and just kind of some ponderings about that.
1:56
The album as a whole also has some kinda themes of what I would call volcanic inevitability, or the culture that we have around volcanoes in this area.
2:06
Particularly wanting to highlight with the song Blue Zone, which is kind of a really pivotal song on the album, that there was a lot of government oversight that led to a lot of the deaths from that explosion, where volcanologists were telling government officials a broader area needs to be restricted and evacuated, but they were not listened to, and the quote-unquote blue zone, or the safe zone from the blast, ended up being more extensive than it should've been, and a lot of people died because of it.
2:36
Volcanic inevitability. Mm-hmm. Also a story of a catastrophe, a particularly American kind of catastrophe.
2:46
Not even particularly American, because if you look into the history of these kinds of things, it's a story that's played out over and over again, where in various different countries around the globe, countries of all different kinds and sizes and cultures, um, people tell the government officials, "This volcano's going to erupt.
3:02
Evacuate the area. People are going to die," and they are not listened to, and people die. Mm-hmm.
3:07
It's something that's repeated itself over and over again, and I'd highly recommend that everybody look into it more, because it is a huge part of our history as people of Earth, not just people of America.
3:19
Yes, and you're making art about it, which is such an important piece of communicating that. Thank you. I think
3:26
a lot of what, what inspired me to make half of this album about that was me reading about the actual people who died in this explosion, and the fact that there was, um, government neglect involved, and a lack of protection of the citizens of Washington, and how a lot of these deaths could've been avoided.
3:49
Mm-hmm.
3:49
And I think that the human toll of the blast, even if nearly 60 doesn't sound like nearly as monumental of a death toll as some other famous volcanic eruptions, if you can imagine a room full of nearly 60 people, and imagine that room just exploded, that's a big deal.
4:07
Yeah, especially- That's a lot of people who died... if it's preventable. Yeah. Yeah. Did you from the start think, "I'm gonna make an album about Mount St. Helens"? [sighs] I don't remember.
4:17
[laughs] Have you in the past made themed work like this in a historical way? No. I mean, we're kinda just getting started.
4:26
Our last album was more a combination of various songs that we've played live, mostly at The Black Dog's queer open mic in Snoqualmie, which by the way is run by Nova Blair, also known as Nova and the Ghost on various streaming services.
4:40
She's awesome, and she's a big queer community leader in the Snow Valley area, and a big music coordinator and person who just gets people and their music off the ground. She's amazing, and we wanna shout her out there.
4:55
And we'll be doing a collaboration album with her later this year. True, true. Awesome.
4:59
But yeah, we got our start, like, last year playing a lot of songs at that open mic specifically, because I really appreciate the queer open mic, 'cause as a band of young queer people, we're not in the actual urban Seattle area.
5:14
A lot of other, like, open mics and music venues tend to feel like they're really not built for us, and you kind of feel a little bit, like, ignored or undervalued, or like our presence makes people uncomfortable.
5:26
So that space was really monumental for us being able to get our start as a band. And it's at The Black Dog in Snoqualmie. Yes. Yeah. The Black Dog Arts Café. Wonderful place. Yes.
5:37
We started playing a lot of folk songs, and then started writing some originals, and I started using some originals I'd already written, and that album, Shelter Among Wolves, our first album, ended up being kind of a combination of all these songs we'd been playing live with not a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it.
5:52
And then after that, I was like, "Okay, that was a good first album, but even though we just released it, I need us to make a second album that really shows-Our potential as artists Mm. Interesting, yeah.
6:05
'Cause in listening, before today, I had only heard your first album, and it was a really interesting mix of what I was guessing were originals. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
6:15
There's a song called Sammamish, which I assumed you wrote, 'cause- Yes... I've never heard of other songwriters from Sammamish or writing about Sammamish.
6:24
But then there's also The Wind and Rain, which I know is a many hundreds of year old- 400 years old... child ballad- Yes... and then some It's a murder ballad. [laughs] Yeah.
6:32
Uh, so yeah, so I was curious about your writing process and how you, how you came from one album, which w- had this nice mix of old and new, and past and present, and different places around the world kind of feeling, to this very place specific Mount St.
6:47
Helens story. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we certainly don't intend to stop playing traditional folk songs.
6:53
In fact, the bonus track on this next album, which will only be on CD and vinyl release, is The Parting Glass, which is also several hundred years old, and is a traditional Scottish ballad.
7:04
In future albums, I think we'll certainly have more folk songs again. But I am a songwriter, and, um, I write all of the songs that we've released so far that were originals I have written and composed.
7:15
I wanted to have that more kind of concept-focused album for this last one to showcase what we can do with our original music. Say like, "Hey," like, "we're not just a cover band," you know?
7:24
[laughs] We're not just playing stuff from the folk repertoire. Definitely. And so Andrew, you were explaining to me that, um, a lot of the writing starts with you, and then it goes to Bellamy. Bellamy, you go by Bee.
7:36
So- Yeah... Bee, then you come in and kind of bring in the guitar, and maybe other harmonies, or how, how... Explain how that works for you. Yeah.
7:44
So often Andrew will come to me with a song idea, like lyrics written, at least some part of a melody, and they'll give me like an idea for what they kinda want the vibe of the guitar to be.
7:58
And, uh, in their own words- [laughs]... they'll, they'll say that they play it kinda badly, and then they're like- [laughs]... "Can you make it better?" [laughs] And then, um, I, I go, "Yeah, sure."
8:08
And I figure out- And then they melt faces [laughs] [laughs] And then I figure out some way to put my own spin on it and bring it together. And yeah, I add my own harmonies and stuff, too.
8:21
I am also a songwriter, though none of the songs that we have released yet are my own originals, but, uh, keep looking out for that. Yeah. They'll be coming in the future.
8:30
Wanna clarify, not for, like, me being tyrannical or anything- [laughs]... they've simply only written one song as of yet. [laughs] Completed. There's, there's not a... Yes. Yeah.
8:38
They've only completed one song as of yet. [laughs] There's not a whole treasure trove of written Bee originals that we're just neglecting. [laughs] Andrew is an absolute machine when it comes to songwriting. Oh.
8:49
They can, they can whip one out in an afternoon. Lots of different styles with songwriting. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. That was kind of funny.
8:57
On our last album, for the song The Hunt, we sat down, we were just like, "Okay, we're gonna spend a few hours to really crack down on recording today." Bee was off recording, like, the previous song on the album.
9:08
I just sat down on the couch with my notes out in front of me, and I was like, "Okay, what are we going for? Um, dark, simple, folksy, Joni Mitchell kinda rhythm. All right, let's go."
9:18
And I wrote the entire song in one sitting, and then Bee came back out, and they were like, "I finished recording my guitar part for the last song." I was like, "Sick. Okay, here's the next song.
9:27
Can you do this on the guitar?" And they were like, "Yes, I can." And we pulled it together, and we were like, "Okay, this is what we're doing," and we sat down and we recorded it. And that was, like, what, four hours?
9:36
[laughs] Yeah. I mean, a lot of people would hear that and just be totally mystified as to how you make that happen, especially with another person. So- Yeah. Thank you.
9:44
I am in the band with Andrew, and I am still always amazed by their [laughs] abilities.
9:49
I'm amazed by your ability to play the guitar so well considering you're completely self-taught, and you've invented several techniques of how you play entirely on your own. Well, thank you. That is true.
9:59
I only started learning guitar late last summer, so I, I have been teaching myself entirely. I am a multi-instrumentalist. I play lots of other instruments. I play piano and harp, which is featured on our, our album.
10:14
Classical clarinet. Classical clarinet. Um- Maybe someday I'll find a way to work that in. Mm. I play, uh, recorder. I play, um, ocarina. Mm. I've played lots of things in my life.
10:25
So, but, uh, piano is, like, my, has been my main instrument for a long time, so I kind of relate everything to that. And that's kind of how I've related learning the guitar as well.
10:38
So I kind of just invent my own techniques to, to just what makes sense to me, and my brain, and my hands, and I like to, I like to really lean into the, the s- more sort of percussive side of the guitar as it- Mm-hmm...
10:54
as it's compared to the piano. Mm-hmm. And I like to, I like to use it as, like, sort of, you know, my stringed instrument, but also my drum set. Mm. Yes. You are the drum set of the band, for sure.
11:04
Well, that makes sense for a piano player, to wanna be the, the rhythm. Yeah. So- Of course... I get that. Yeah. [laughs] Uh-huh. So h- when did you start playing together? How did it all start?
11:14
Well, we've been playing music together just, you know, casually as a hobby for years. We are both very passionate musicians, and, uh, we are best friends, and we also live together.
11:25
We have lived together for, uh, several years now. So it's been a, just a p- a shared passion of ours for a long time. It's about three years? Yeah, yeah. Three years. Three years. And something sparked
11:39
the urge to start recording this past year. Yes. Oh, actually, it was super specific. Um, the first time we actually, like, played in front of an audience ever [laughs] was last year in July.
11:50
It all started with a historic Issaquah violin that I restored. Long story short, I have this cool friendship with the Issaquah History Museum now. Shout out Issaquah History Museum.
12:00
[laughs] They will answer any interesting historic question you've got, and they will do it in a way that you can't find on Google. You should definitely email them if you have any questions. They are so cool.
12:09
Um-And they ended up inviting me. They were like, "We have an open mic that's recurring every month," it's also a cool open mic, "um, at the historic train depot. You just restored this Issaquah violin.
12:22
Why don't you come over and play it for us?" And I was like, "Sure.
12:26
And also, uh, how about I get my two friends," which was Bee and our other friend, Jedika, "to play with us and just do a little, like, bluegrassy show to showcase that violin?"
12:40
And so we [laughs] played the song Ain't No Grave, which is now a song that Bee and I open a lot of our shows with live. Really revs up the crowd. Really revs up the cla- crowd.
12:49
We played that one live, and I played the violin, Bee played the guitar. Jedika also sang with us, and it was a great time, and after that, Bee and I were just like, "Wait, we should keep doing this." [laughs] Wow.
13:02
So the first time we played live with the hammered dulcimer and the guitar as our Larkwing lineup of instruments was the following October, where we went to the Black Dog Queer Open Mic for the first time, and we played two songs.
13:18
They were the first Larkwing songs we ever played, which was Wind and Rain and a cover of In the Woods Somewhere by Hozier. Ooh. And these were the first time that I had ever sung publicly ever- Yes...
13:32
which was very nerve-wracking- Mm-hmm... but it was very encouraging as well. Yes. Open mics, the good open mics are, are always about pulling people out of their shell. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Showing you it's okay. Yeah.
13:44
[laughs] I think the Queer Open Mic did an amazing job of that 'cause it really, you know, the crowd was really hyped up to see a hammered dulcimer for the first time, and Wind and Rain is just such a really deeply cool song, and I- Mm-hmm...
13:58
truly think that we have an awesome cover of it. It's a song that I know from the bluegrass band Crooked Still, so that's- Mm... why our version probably sounds the most like Crooked Still's.
14:08
But several artists have done it, and that's why that song is pretty special to us, 'cause it was the first song where we got up there and we were like, "Hey, we have a hammered dulcimer.
14:15
Here's a 400-year-old murder ballad." And then we, the reception that we got, which was interest and people thinking it was really fun, was what made us start thinking like, "Maybe we should keep doing this."
14:27
[laughs] Maybe we could be a band. Yeah. [laughs] Maybe you already were. It was kinda too late. [laughs] It's true. [laughs] And so- It had its hooks in us. [laughs] It pushed us into the river to drown- Oh, boy...
14:38
by the Wind and Rain. I mean, any song in the last 400 years must be a pretty decent song. Must be- Oh, yeah... a banger. Yeah. [laughs] So you both play really gorgeous instruments, and unusual.
14:49
Bee, you play the harp- Mm-hmm... on some of these songs, and Andrew, you play the hammered dulcimer. Yeah. Um, how did you get into these instruments?
14:56
And I'm also, as a former touring musician and somebody who lugged around a lot of stuff- [laughs]... to a lot of places- [laughs]... for a long time, you know, what is that like? [laughs] Oh, boy. Mm.
15:08
But anyway, yeah, how did you, how'd you get started with them, and what have you learned? Yeah, well, I, [laughs] I have a little bit of a funny, um, way that I got into the harp. It was during the pandemic.
15:21
I was staying at home. I had been a, a full-time college student at the time. Uh, I was an art student, and unfortunately, that's not really a, that's not really a degree that you can continue online.
15:33
They were a pottery major. I was a pottery major. [laughs] So yeah, school was not working out because of the, the shutdowns and everything, and I was spending a lot of time at home just kinda bored and listless.
15:49
[laughs] And I thought to myself one day, "What if I bought a harp?" Wow. [laughs] And then I thought, "Well, I should-" As one does... yeah, as one does. [laughs] And I thought to myself, "Well,
16:03
that's probably gonna be pretty expensive, so I'm gonna wait a week and see if I still want to buy a harp as an impulse buy." So I waited a week, and I still wanted to buy a harp. [laughs] So I bought a harp that day.
16:16
Um, it's not a grand harp or anything. It was not a $50,000 instrument. It's a, a little Harpsicle. Um, that's the brand. It's a, it's a- It's cool. They can sling it-... portable...
16:27
over their shoulder with a guitar strap- Yeah... and play it standing up. Yeah, it's a portable harp. How does one buy a harp same-day purchase? Online. [laughs] Okay. [laughs] Yeah, just on a website. Yeah.
16:39
They've got a, a workshop I think in Virginia. So you understand music. You understand music theory. Mm-hmm. You were like, "Well, I can figure out how to do this." Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's- Mm...
16:50
it's very similar to a piano in a lot of ways. It's linear. Mm. Use both hands, so- Plays in the Western eight octave. Mm-hmm, yeah, so- Mm... I was able to once again translate a lot of my piano skills to that.
17:03
And as for lugging it around, it only weighs six pounds. Wow. Uh, it is a very portable harp. Yeah, I think it has 32 strings, so it's not, it doesn't have, like, the full range of a grand harp. But- Mm-hmm...
17:16
yeah, it certainly gets the job done. Cool. Yeah. And Andrew, how'd you get into the dulcimer?
17:21
Yeah, once when I was younger, I saw a hammered dulcimer player playing live in Leavenworth, I think, with some band for some event. I don't remember. I was pretty young.
17:33
And I remember just staring and being like, "What is that? That's the coolest thing I've ever heard."
17:40
And I, I've been raised as a classical violist, so that's my classical instrument, which you actually hear some of a- on our new album. I'm also a luthier, so that's, like, my whole job too.
17:52
[laughs] But the hammered dulcimer has always just been passion and fun for me, which is cool.
17:57
Um, eventually, after years and years of putting hammered dulcimer as the only thing on my Christmas wish list [laughs] as a kid- [laughs]... my dad caved and got me
18:07
a hammered dulcimer from Dusty Strings, their smallest, most simple model-Which I think is kind of fun, 'cause now it's forced me to be creative since I don't have a big, fancy dulcimer.
18:19
Like, one of the songs on our new album, I'm literally using my hands to slap the strings to mute them, which if I had a big dulcimer with dampener pedals, I wouldn't have to do.
18:28
With my background as a folk singer-songwriter- Mm-hmm... and having been here in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years, meeting one person who talks about
18:42
dusty strings and Hammond Ashley in the same conversation- [laughs]... almost never happens, and you work at Hammond Ashley- I do... and build and restore string instruments. I do.
18:53
Everyone get your violin and viola set-ups from Hammond Ashley. We're the only ones who actually care about action and bridge height, and having the correct fingerboard scoop.
19:00
[laughs] If you don't want your six-year-old to give up playing the violin because their fingers are raw and bloody- Okay [laughs]... from a bad fingerboard action, go to Hammond Ashley.
19:08
You are s- you just couldn't be more right. [laughs] I mean, I think about, I don't teach those instruments, but teaching guitar and ukulele to kids, why are the intro- Oh, my gosh...
19:20
instruments the worst-made instruments? Oh, it makes me so mad. Like, does anyone- Don't get me started... who makes instruments ever want- Don't get me started... a child to feel motivated to play? Honestly. I, I do.
19:29
Then why? [laughs] I do. That's my job. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
19:32
All summer long, we get school instruments from all the school districts in droves, and our job is to take these instruments that are probably designed to discourage students from playing string instruments, and make them playable.
19:46
[laughs] That's wild. Yeah. Good for you. I'm glad for you. Thank you. So your songs are, some are instrumental, some have lyrics. Do you lean one way or the other, or do you go for a mix? How do you think about that?
19:59
We don't really bother thinking about that. [laughs] Honestly, we just go, uh, for whatever we wanna do for each individual song. Like- We do what feels right... Land of Rest. Yeah.
20:10
Land of Rest, on Shelter Among Wolves, is an instrumental that's also traditional. It's just a song that I really like, so I was like, "We should do Land of Rest. I bet you could play that on the harp."
20:20
And B was like, "I don't know." And I played it for them, and I was like, "I bet you could play this on the harp." And they were like, "Yeah, I can do that." [laughs] [laughs] What was the first song you ever wrote?
20:29
For, well, I guess for B there's only one answer. [laughs] Maybe. Yes. Well- B, you can answer first... uh, yeah. It's currently unreleased, as previously said.
20:38
It's a song that I wrote about my, uh, previous relationship that, uh, was not very good. It was not a very good relationship. It was quite bad, actually. It was pretty bad.
20:49
[laughs] Um, the song was originally titled, um... [laughs] Well, it had a couple original titles. [laughs] First it was called Toxic Waste. Good. And then it- Good metaphor...
21:00
and then it was called, um, You Owe Me Four Years and $20,000. [laughs] And now its title is Marry You, for the line, "I thought that I'd marry you." Hmm.
21:14
I mean, the story of the changing title is [laughs] part of the song at that point. It, it tells a lot, I think. Can you tell that they're into emo music? [laughs] Yeah, I'm the emo one of the band. Yeah.
21:24
That's, that's... I kinda bring that energy into my guitar. Yeah, I love it. I try to. [laughs] And how about you, Andrew?
21:32
The first complete song that I ever wrote was a few years ago, and I haven't released it as of yet. I might someday. It's called The Evening Months, and it was a rather personal one.
21:44
I think more interestingly, the song out of these two albums that is the oldest that I have written is the first track of our new album, Ocean Choke Me, which I wrote a year ago while I was in college, and was kinda picking up songwriting again.
22:00
Mm-hmm. Who would you say are your major influences? I have a list, actually. [laughs] Let me pull out my list. It's such a high pressure question. [laughs] That's why I made a list.
22:10
[laughs] I was like s- I hope someday someone asks us, and then I'll be prepared. [laughs] I have rather silly answers myself. [laughs] You go first. Okay. [laughs] I'm laughing just reading my own influences.
22:26
So, [laughs] so the influence that I have listed are the WolfQuest soundtrack, which WolfQuest is a video game. It's an educational video game.
22:37
It's an education, educational video game about, uh, the l- lives of wolves in the Yellowstone National Park. That sounds amazing.
22:46
It's really fun, and it has a very, a very bluegrassy, uh, all guitar, well, almost all guitar, uh, soundtrack. And I'm just a big fan of it, so...
22:56
[laughs] For years, whenever I would play any bluegrass music for B, they would say, "This sounds just like WolfQuest." [laughs] Apart from that, uh, the only other influence I have listed is the Breaking Bad theme song.
23:10
[laughs] Oh, that's good too. Which, I just love it, you know? I like how the really, it's got the grit, you know? Sure does. Yeah. I like it.
23:19
Also, for your vocal influences, you had written down Amy Lee and Billie Eilish. Mm. Yeah. Which I can see. Yeah. Amy Lee, um, because I've been listening to her since I was 10. I love her. She's the queen, amazing.
23:33
Um, and Billie Eilish, I really appreciate her softer tones. I, I do not have a very belty, powerful voice, and I have long believed that, like, that was the only kind of good way to sing. Mm.
23:50
And, like, if you couldn't do that, then you're just not, you could never be considered a good singer. But Billie Eilish has been inspiring to me, to see, like, a really soft, whispery tone be celebrated.
24:05
Her song My Future is my favorite. It's just so beautiful, and
24:11
it, I love how it highlights the, the, the, the little intricacies of her voice, and the tiny little softness, and the, the skill that she has.Without needing to be like a crazy belter. Mm.
24:26
I would also say that one influence that we both share is Aurora, who is a kind of experimental pop artist right now. She's my favorite artist, and we both love Aurora a lot, so that's a shared influence.
24:39
As for me, um, the influences that I'd say are more deep influences from like my younger years that shaped my taste in music and the way that I sing are, um, first of all, some Seattle bands like Sky Cries Mary, all of the classic grunge bands, [laughs] Led Zeppelin, U2, trance and trip hop, like the band Delerium.
25:02
Whereas more recent influences that
25:05
have more to do with the kind of music I make today would be like Julie Fowlis, who got me into Scottish and Celtic folk music, and every other Celtic folk band that I have religiously listened to ever since.
25:19
Um, Lifias Dely Khadad, which is an African guitar folk group. Um, they're Tuareg, uh, three girls who play just the coolest guitar and vocal stuff that I've, like, ever heard.
25:35
So honestly, I'm always trying to learn from them and, um, incorporate just their general vibe and sound into my music in whatever way I can. They are so cool.
25:46
They just have such a, a very, like, hypnotic sound, and I really wanna try to channel that kind of stop, take a deep breath, focus kind of music, rather than just yapping on a guitar. [laughs] Well, that makes sense.
26:02
I mean, you just made a record that in seven songs tells a story. It has a start and a finish, and each song on its own is a unit- Thank you... but together it's a story. It's- Yeah... you know, and I, that, that...
26:15
We used to take that for granted, that that's what albums were supposed- Mm-hmm... to do, but it's quite rare for people to do that now. It's very important, yeah. Yeah. Like, track listing order is very important.
26:25
[laughs] Mm-hmm. Yeah, some other influences are, like, Joni Mitchell, A.R. Rahman. I'm very, very into A.R. Rahman. [laughs] Lots of raga, um, in my own free time, but A.R. Rahman is always just, oh my God, so fun,
26:38
and Cocteau Twins. Oh. I hope someday I can be half as good as Cocteau Twins. Do you like to go see live music in the area?
26:47
We don't seek it out that much, but we love seeing whatever's playing at The Black Dog pretty much. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Usually on accident- Yeah... but it's always a good time. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
26:56
Do you, do you have any other local bands or groups you would recommend? I've already shouted out Nova and the Ghost. She's, Nova is an incredible singer. Um, we're...
27:05
Yeah, like B said, we're gonna do a collab album with her later this year, and we're also gonna be playing live at her little birthday show on June 7th, and it's always a really fun time to see the three of us collaborate, 'cause she's an amazing singer.
27:20
Incredible. You'll probably hear us do Teardrop by Massive Attack. Cool. Stay tuned. [laughs] We've done it before, and we'll do it again.
27:28
I also wanna shout out a Seattle musician who I used to work with, and her music is awesome for, like, the more experimental hyperpop girlies, Cyra Wirth. That's C-Y-R-A W-I-R-T-H.
27:43
I know it's totally not folk at all, but if you are a folk person, her EP One Cold Autumn Evening is beautiful, and you should listen to it.
27:52
It's really awesome the way you are spending a lot of time throwing out your support for others as part of the way you talk about your work. Well, thank you. Thank you. I think it's only fair. [laughs] Well, yeah.
28:03
It's also, you know, something that I think we mostly do digitally in, in the world of social media and hashtags and- Mm... other things like that, and I- I... S- I'm sorry. Yeah. Speaking of that. Yeah. My brother.
28:18
I have to shout out my brother- Oh, of course. Please... who produced our last album and mastered this last one, Hainstorm. That's H-A-I-N Storm. [laughs] Kind of a play on our last name.
28:30
[laughs] Um, he is an amazing electronic artist. Like, so good. He's, he's bringing back what I would call a 2010s revival, which nobody else is doing really, but he's doing it and he's doing it well.
28:42
He released this awesome, like, kinda neo-funk lo-fi album last year called Brake Lights. He is just incredibly talented. Check out my brother, Hainstorm, everyone. [laughs] That's great. Sorry. Okay, I cut you off.
28:56
No, it's fine. [laughs] Please continue.
28:58
I wanted to ask about your experience with social media and being a musician and being in, you know, the Seattle or Greater Seattle or East King County or South King County, whatever community you wanna call it, in this, living in this metro area- Mm-hmm...
29:14
and working in music in multiple channels and sort of thinking about how your network is or how you'd want to meet people, how useful is social media in helping you connect? Not at all. Not at all. Sorry.
29:30
Not, not even a bit. [laughs] We don't, we're not social media guys. We know people who know people, and that's the only way we've ever done anything. Mm-hmm. We don't even try with social media.
29:40
I mean, recently I tried making a TikTok for our band, just, you know, shoot our shot or whatever, but it almost immediately got taken down by the algorithm because we
29:51
mistakenly used the hashtag queer band, and that just- [laughs]... doesn't fly. Huh. So we were blocked from that, but, you know, whatever. You know, us, a queer band. You know, how dare we? [laughs] Wow.
30:04
Yeah, we're not social media people. Mm-hmm. Yeah, we took that- Our Instagram-... as a sign to not try.
30:09
[laughs] Our Instagram is pretty much just there for the people we do know in real life to treat it as a newsletter and know where our concerts are and what we're doing.Yeah.
30:19
I know it's probably a disappointing answer, but- Oh, I wouldn't- We're just not about that life... say that at all. I was asking more in a sort of sociological, like, "I'm an old person- Oh...
30:28
tell me what the youngs are doing." [laughs] As youngs, we're exhausted with social media- Yeah... and we don't wanna deal with it. Absolutely. We wanna talk to people face to face.
30:38
We want to- Want to throw my phone in the ocean. Wanna throw our phone in the Puget Sound. [laughs] We wanna, we want to put on records on our record player. We wanna hear physical sound. We wanna play CDs.
30:47
We wanna w- write... We wanna decorate by hand our own CDs and sell them to people by handing it to them, rather than shipping it to them. We want people to actually own the, the music that they buy. Yes.
30:59
And not just stream it or the, risk losing access to it g- if- The whims of corporations. The whims of corporations. Mm. People like you give me a lot of hope. Thank you. It's wonderful.
31:11
There's more of us than you think. Oh, yes. Well, that's why I'm asking about where y- where you go and where, where to do and that sort of thing, because I think that people want to know where those places are, right?
31:23
Mm-hmm. Well, I wish we could say how we made it big, but we haven't made it big yet, so... [laughs] We're still kinda- Uh... we're still kinda putting our feet in the water here. Mm-hmm.
31:31
So how can people engage with you all in the coming months? You mentioned that you have a show coming up on June 7, at The Black Dog, right? Yes.
31:39
Uh, you can see all of our shows on Instagram, and also on our website, which I should update. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's, um... I can include a link to- Yes, thank you... your Instagram and website when people listen to this.
31:51
Great. Yeah. Do you have a mailing list? We do not, no. Um, we don't really have, like, an audience that is not people we know pers- we don't know personally. Mm-hmm. So it's basically just people we know.
32:04
Usually, I just text everyone, and I'm like- Yeah... "Hey, we're playing a show." [laughs] We have sold a handful of CDs to some people at The Black Dog, so I suppose there's them. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
32:13
If you wanna talk to us, like, DM us on Instagram. I don't know. We're friendly. Hang out. Let's jam in the park together. Yeah, let's have fun. [laughs] I mean, that's how I got your attention, so... [laughs] Yeah.
32:24
I can vouch for the fact that it works. For sure. Mm-hmm. Well, thank you so much for sharing your music, and- Thank you...
32:31
talking with me today, and I think there will be a lot of people, you know, the vast audiences who listen to this podcast- [laughs]...
32:40
will really enjoy hearing your music online, and awaiting the chance to hear your new album, Mother of Waters. Well, thank you. And see you at The Black Dog or somewhere else in the area. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much.
32:58
Yes. [piano music playing] Before you go, take in a sample from Gales of Spring, track two of their second album, titled Mother of Waters.
33:08
Andrew and Bee played this live for me in their home after we recorded our interview. Enjoy. [singing] Gales of spring Taking me on the wing
33:22
The windstorms can be tamed Wash my heart in the rain Da, da,
33:37
da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da Da, da, da, da, da Da, ya, da, da, ya, da, da, da,
33:56
oh [piano music playing] [singing]
34:43
Gales of spring A memory of solitude they sing Softly sweeping you away Wash my heart in the rain
The Open Studio Interview
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