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1.) We’re very excited to have some time today with acclaimed folk trio MorningBird; greetings and salutations gang and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the proverbial Q&A mosh-pit, could you each say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?
Hi there! I’m Rob, the guitar mando and harmonica and stomp box player of MorningBird. I’m 48 years old and have been playing in bars for almost 25 years. I’m a mushroom forager and kombucha brewer as well. Oh and also a rock hunter.
Jill Burkes here- I play violin and guitar in MorningBird. I started playing the violin at age 12. Rob and I are a couple and have been playing music together since 2018. My latest hobby is trying to befriend the neighborhood crows.
I’m Josh Palmi on the upright bass. I was 13 when I picked up my first guitar. We’ve been performing together as a trio now for a little over a year.
2.) Major kudos and accolades on the freshly-minted release of your beautiful debut album Echoes in the Meadow! Rob, can you walk us through what inspired one of the best new LP’s of 2024?
The songs come from life experience and our travels across the southwest and also one of our favorite states, Montana. We were touring through the west last October and boondocked our motorhome in a beautiful valley between two mountains, a meadow and a river. The colors were dreamy, the weather was about to turn and after a storm there was a rainbow that stretched from either end of the meadow. I believe in that valley the song thunder was born. Along the 3 weeks we really started to find our sound. We quickly made our way into the studio to capture the vibe.
3.) Jill, the title of this mesmerizing debut LP, Echoes in the Meadow, sounds so evocative of Time and Place. Was that the intention when slinging a moniker on the album and, not so incidentally, who thought up the title?
The album title was completely inspired by time and place – Last fall, We loaded the RV, pointed it west, and did a 3 week run of shows (ND, MT, ID, WY.) During that run, we had a couple nights off and decided to boondock and settle into our surroundings, unplugged. I wanted the album title to reflect nature and bring me back there- to that magic time. And it does! I also liked the play on words- as echoes and meadows don’t necessarily go together.
4.) Josh, Echoes in the Meadow features a great guest turn from talented musicians Jesse and Ryan Dermody of Brothers Burn Mountain. What was it like collaborating with these two super-talented musical alchemists?
They were very easy to work with. Kept it very organic. Kind of subtle simplicity.
5.) Rob, speaking of Ryan Dermody, this talented guru of all-things music also did the producing honors on Echoes in the Meadow. What was it like having Ryan as the producer on this debut album?
We really felt that Ryan and his brother Jesse, in their off grid cabin/studio had the perfect environment for us to do our thing. It was cozy, rustic, chill and felt like the right place to open our hearts and record some music. Ryan was very easy to work with. He really made us feel at ease and everything seemed to come together. We had them sit in on a few tunes and it was just great magic.
6.) Jill, we’re big admirers of the gem of a ditty Thunder which is off of Echoes in the Meadow! What’s the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on this tune?
This is the only song on the album that we all wrote together- and we look forward to doing more writing that way this summer when we’re on the road again… But like we said, during that run last fall, we were off grid and in such an inspiring atmosphere. Literally looking around and pulling words from what we were seeing visually. This song was still a work in progress when we were at the cabin studio- we actually almost didn’t record it. But Ryan captured a take of us while we were working on it- and we loved the raw and real vibe. We decided to add that version as a reprise at the end of the album. We did go into our friend Rich Mattsons studio, Sparta Sound, and recorded Thunder again- this time with more instrumentation and a longer arrangement. We loved both versions- so it went from almost not making the album to being on it two times!
7.) Josh, in your humble opinion what differentiates Echoes in the Meadow from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music scene?
I guess the fact we’re all singer/songwriters, you get a nice variety of songs and an interesting blend of styles.
8.) Rob, in the wake of the release of Echoes in the Meadow, what does the touring/performing dance card look like for MorningBird?
It looks pretty promising and busy! We love to travel and see where the music will take us. There’s always a new adventure that each destination brings us.
9.) Jill, you and Rob and Josh all are noted and respected tunesmiths. When the three of you get together to work on new material, which generally comes first: The music or the lyrics?
We don’t really have a set equation for writing. Each time has been different. I’ve written both ways- lyrics first and melody first. It was faster for me to write when I had a melody in mind first. Writing Thunder together felt effortless. I know we’ll be doing more of that moving forward- writing as a group together.
10.) Josh, at the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-spin to the beautiful debut album from MorningBird, Echoes in the Meadow?
Hopefully they’re humming,singing or skipping along with one of our tunes in their head!
SOCIALS:
Website: https://www.morningbirdsings.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robandjill
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningbird_mn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@morningbird_mn
Apple Music: https://music.Ink.to/n4ZtE9
Link Tree: http://linktr.ee/morningbird_mn
