rockyourlyricsYour debut album “Home Far Away From Home” will be released in few weeks, can you share with us the most difficult moment of its preparation? Any crazy/funny behind the scenes?
I think the biggest challenge for us was learning when to relinquish control on the songs and let them become something different than what we’d imagined.
And conversely, when to speak up and insist on our interpretation of the song, etc. It’s a fun learning process.
There is a lot of magic that happens when you let go and let session musicians and the producer take more control. I think we came out with some wonderful moments from riding both sides of that fence.
One crazy moment was when we realized post recording that we really wanted/needed to change a vocal take.
But we didn’t have any more studio time, and we were out of the country, so we didn’t even have our home studio. But, nearest, we set up a very make-shift vocal spot in the kitchen of Patrick’s parents’ house, and the result came out better than expected!
How do you usually write the lyrics of your songs?
(Anna) I like to go for a walk alone (or if I happen to be out of the city, I like to drive alone) and just speak words out rhythmically, but not with a melody.
Then I’ll take to writing them down with pen and begin the editing process.
What is the best verse you ever wrote?
(Anna) Not sure, but hopefully if it was my very best verse, I turned it into a chorus!
Do you remember the day you wrote “ Stanley”?
(Anna) Yes, I do. I was in the basement of my in-laws’ home in Ontario. We had been away from home all summer, traveling, and performing our debut EP. Our baby wasn’t even three months old, and we were all pretty tired.
I wrote it with the intent to be sung by both of us as a two-voice song, so that the melody is not clearly in either voice.
What was the soundtrack to your childhood?
(Anna) musicals!
What was the first record you ever bought?
(Patrick) Use Your Illusion 2. That or Beyond Belief by Petra.
What has your journey in the music industry been like up to now?
(Anna) Exciting, depressing, and different every year. When I began graduate school, I thought that I would end up in the film music industry.
But after having tasted New York, I didn’t want to move to LA, and it was in grad school that I really began to write songs and lots of them, when possible.
So, between songwriting for myself and others, teaching piano, accompanying, playing piano for ballet classes, and now performing and recording with my husband, I have pieced together the beginnings of life as a musician/student/teacher.
What inspired “Falling In Love” ?
(Patrick) Anna was in NYC. I was in Vancouver. We hadn’t been dating for long, but something was up. I wrote this song in a flash, recorded a demo, and then ran out the door to catch a flight to visit her.
Hopes were high, but who knows? I’d never been in love before. I didn’t know what was going on…but I kind of did.
And “Press Play”?
(Anna) Riding the subway and tuning out the scary world. Watching people escape the noise and the pain through music.
Are you ever scared of revealing, aspects of your personal experience, to strangers through your music?
(Anna) No, I am much more scared of revealing aspects of myself to those that know me!
What does music mean for you?
(Anna) Specifically, playing the piano means a lot to me, because it is the only thing I’ve done essentially my whole life. I began taking piano lessons when I was 4, and with the exception of high school, I’ve never really stopped studying.
What I particularly appreciate about piano and songwriting is that even though I miss the hours I used to have in my schedule to devote to the craft (insert new routines in a life with two small children!), I don’t feel like time is running out.
The music and the inspiration can wait. Things will come to fruition when there is time for them.
It’s not the same when I think of athletics (my alter ego and a pursuit to which I spent most of my teenage and early adult years pursuing) in which the time really does begin to run out for some endeavors.
What is the best show you ever played?
(Anna) My most notable performance was when I had the opportunity to do an opening song for Paul Simon, but it was quite possibly one of my worst performances.
Darn! I think some of our best shows have been at the location where we first started performing together.
A sweet cafe owned by good friends of ours in Riding Mountain National Park. Shout out to @clearlakelawnbowling photography etc!
What are your plans for 2018?
We are planning on playing shows in Canada in the summer and then playing the Northeast come fall, 2018.
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