Published: July 30, 2009 12:14 AM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight August 2009 Edition
Glenn and Chelbie
Glenn and Chelbie
Husband and wife music duo, Glenn and Chelbie, first met when Glenn noticed Chelbie singing in church. After that magical moment, a musical journey was born. Now, the two musicians are creating wonderful music together and fans are starting to take notice. In this recent interview, our Webzine speaks with the husband and wife team about their music and what fans can expect from them in the near future. Enjoy!
Isaac: What has been the best part of 2009 for you musically so far?
Glenn and Chelbie: Well, we came here last year from NY where I was playing with some of my best friends. Being new to California, we're excited to have made new musical friends like Paulie Pesh and, especially, Tiana Star.
Isaac: What do you feel has been the biggest accomplishment for 2009 so far?
Glenn and Chelbie: We stopped bickering over our music and started getting out and performing our own music, rather than standing in the talented shadows of our friends.
Isaac: Describe the music scene in your area.
Glenn and Chelbie: Orange County and LA can be competitive, but it's not directly competitive. On any given evening, we might share the stage with some Bro Dudes band or a hippy jam band, a poet singer, or some angsty screamo band. Its a big shock for us having come from New York where things progress forward so rapidly that you have to be hipper than hip to stand out, which ironic brings fresh new ideas and yet a lot of sameness, too. In California, there's a unique loyalty to local artists, and they aren't disposable commodities here. There has been a great deal of appreciation for playing music that draws from a place beyond our years. I guess people have a deep respect for the past here.
Isaac: What has been the best venue to perform at and why?
Glenn and Chelbie: It's tough to say. I played all the great Lower East Side staples back in New York; Pianos, Arlene's Grocery, The Annex and they always had a built in audience. I love that. Here, though, you gotta work for it, but that's a good thing.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Glenn and Chelbie: Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, definitely, when he ended up buying back his album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot from his label when they refused to release it, leaked it on the Internet, and then sold it back to their subsidiary label when it blew up.
On the creative side, it is artists like Elvis Costello or Gwen Stefani; artists that have career longevity because they break out of the public's ideal of who they are and evolve as artists and show off multiple dimensions. I mean, if someone told you that you could only listen to one genre of music, you'd tire of that. Performing and writing is no different.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Glenn and Chelbie: We have many unique qualities as a husband and wife duo; we're multi-instrumentalists who play all of our own instruments on our recordings, we've lived all over the place, and Chelbie's not too bad to look at either (ha). We are also taking on the Goliath known as the "pay to play" system here in California. We and fellow artist Tiana Star only take gigs that pay or that we choose to do for fun/exposure/free food/ or because we didn't have time to get together to practice that week (I'm kidding).
We strongly feel that if artists knew what kind of opportunities we've had, and what is out there, they'd wouldn't have to hustle to sell tickets to their friends and family. If this catches on, it would change the shape of the music scene in LA. I have no delusions, it's a tall order, but everywhere else we've been we've gotten along just fine with out this parasitic system. If we continue on the path we're going, we won't need it.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Glenn and Chelbie: I'm more interested in what certain producers can bring out of an artist than anything. Rick Rubin pulls the best albums out of the artists he works with, like Blood Sugar Sex Magic by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the American recordings by Johnny Cash. He got Aerosmith and Run D.M.C. together for "Walk This Way" Also Jon Brion's work on Fiona Apple's Tidal. mmmmm. So many artists tried to get that vibe, even Kanye had to hook up with him. His music in the Adam Sandler flick Punch-Drunk Love is intoxicating.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Glenn and Chelbie: Being multi-instrumentalists, you learn lots of different types of music. Having musician parents with diverse tastes will do that too. We have written a lot of music that's all over the map, stylistically, but we've only recently stumbled upon a theme or a vibe that started running through our recent material, which is pop folk rock with early rock/soul roots influence. We both love throwback artists, unlike kids today who have their own musical demographic and brands of artists for them, we listened to what our parents, aunts, and uncles listened to, The Beatles, Metallica, Deep Purple, NWA, Stan Getz, Stevie Nicks, Tom Waits, U2...
Isaac: What type of feedback have your received from fans about your music?
Glenn and Chelbie: I'm always amazed when we're distracted by hitting the wrong chord in a song, or being unable to hear ourselves and we get down on our performance but then someone comes up and asks about our songs' lyrical content or says that something we sang really touched them. Chelbie's songwriting has an earnest passion that a lot of women connect to. I love when someone takes note of our lyrics. We work hard to craft them.
Isaac: What can fans expect from you in the next five years?
Glenn and Chelbie: You can expect to hear our music selling everything from deodorant to tacos (not really). Well, a baby for one (Chelbie's 6 weeks pregnant). But musically, we've got our sites set on movies. I'm working on scoring a couple indie films right now; one is titled For The Birds by new director Adam Lehoulier. As soon as it's done, that will be playing in festivals all over the place, God willing.
Our latest recordings feature some cinema music touches. I may or may not have stolen a tiny bit from Danny Elfman's Beetle Juice score for a clarinet part in a song. shhhhh. Don't tell him. We are hoping to start touring with a full band and we're also working on an artist showcase with Tiana to cross promote other artists and spread our music to each others artists. Hopefully five years from now, this will all have paid for my future five year old's college education.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Glenn and Chelbie: We miss our moms, dads, brothers and sisters back in Wisconsin. Our friends in Zambri, Hooray For Earth, and Paul & The Patients in NYC (amazing bands, each of them). Check out tianastar.com!
Isaac: Final words…
Glenn and Chelbie: Hmmm, final words? Here are some final words in no particular order; oligarchy, hopscotch, frappe', radish, dudebro.
