Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: We met 25 years ago while working in a professional office environment, and subsequently married and had two kids. We wanted music to be a part of their up-bringing, so we played and sang with them from the start, joining a large family folk chorus pretty much as soon as they could stand on stage. This experience led us to appreciate the importance in our lives of interacting with people and communities through music, including as live performers and songwriters.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: Monique and Andy are mostly self-taught, but they’ve learned a lot from some great players and teachers they’ve seen, heard and played with. Monique was lucky enough to study clawhammer banjo for several years with Canadian old-time banjoist Allison DeGroot.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Crowes Pasture’?
A: Our style of intimate duo singing was initially inspired by The Civil Wars (John Paul White and Joy Williams).
In terms of harmonic blend, the Milk Carton Kids (Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale) continue to be an inspiration.
In terms of song selection (for covers), we’ve been influenced by a wide range of singers and materials that has somehow stuck with us over decades of life and listening – including The Cure, Mary Gauthier, Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, Leonard Cohen.
Our songwriting has been influenced by John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Paul Simon, David Byrne, Scott Cook (plus many lesser-known great songwriters we hear in venues and on the street)
“Crowes Pasture” is a salt marsh on Cape Cod (Massachusetts) where the tide goes in-and-out nearly a full mile, every 12 hours. We like the cycle of continual re-birth, discovery and rejuvenation.
Q: You have just released your new album ‘Don’t Blink’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Since the release of our prior album “Slow It Down” in 2019, the world experienced a global pandemic that caused many to re-examine the choices they were making in living every day. Our songwriting and song selections for Don’t Blink reflect the preciousness of life and the importance of being a conscious (deliberate) and active chooser of the life you lead. Plus a few songs that address some of the social/policies challenges facing the US (and many other countries, as we’ve learned).
Q: What is the message of your music?
A: From above: “be a conscious (deliberate) and active chooser of the life you lead, and perhaps realize that it’s all the “present” – we never really get to the “future”.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: We sing with our hearts, and we hope that comes through in our records. At live shows, many audience members experience strong emotional reactions to our music – often describing having a “spiritual experience” at our concerts.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Making the music we are making is essentially life-changing for us. Other than raising our kids (who are now 21 and 18) – there is nothing else that requires so much creativity, persistence and constant learning, and yet returns so much satisfaction and fulfillment. An extraordinary benefit is the tremendous connection we make with people in all sorts of venues, situations and circumstances. It can be pretty hard to make meaningful connections these days, and our music makes that happen a lot.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: Our songwriting reveals things to ourselves that were not apparent (to ourselves). It usually starts with a guitar groove and or lick, then words start to come out to meet the music, and then ideas come out to meet the words that met the music. In the end, more of the self is revealed than could be achieved by a more targeted approach to subject matter.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: This is probably not a very original answer but the hardest part for us has been managing all of the different aspects of our musical careers, many of which have nothing to do with music. There are many weeks where we spend more time on issues like booking, graphic design, recording and editing videos, website management, social media, merchandise design, etc., than we do actually making music. It’s difficult not to feel like an imposter when you’re doing so many things that are out of our comfort zone.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Having just arrived at our first SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference) a few years ago, Monique parked the car and was walking through the parking lot when a man across the lot saw her and started singing (very loudly) the words to a song that we had released a few months earlier (Take Back the Red, White and Blue). It took a good 30 seconds for Monique to figure out what was going on, but when it finally dawned on her, she immediately smiled at the realization that our music was making an impact.
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