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10 Questions with ... Striking Matches
June 22, 2015
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1. For your debut album, "Nothing But The Silence," you worked with T Bone Burnett. That must have been a great experience.
We have to pinch ourselves every time we tell someone that one of our all-time biggest heroes, T Bone Burnett, produced our record. Just to be in the same room with him is an honor, let alone working in the studio with him. We met T Bone through our manager John Grady, who had been sending him music for a couple of years. T Bone also worked on the ABC show, "Nashville," so he got familiar with our music through that. When the opportunity for us to make a record came about, T Bone was the first one to come to us to say that he wanted to produce it.
2. Can you remember coming together to form this duo?
Yes, we can remember! It wasn't until after we had started playing writer's rounds around town NOT as a band, just as co-writers, when people would start to come up to us after the round and say -- "Who are you? What's your band name?"-- that we actually considered being in a duo full-time. We both individually set out to be guitar players, so being in a duo definitely wasn't the plan at first!
3. How did you come up with Striking Matches as your name?
Somewhere along the way, we wound up with "Striking Matches" and thought it really evoked our live show. It sounded exciting and volatile.
4. What songs on this collection are you most proud of?
We're really proud of the recording of "Make a Liar Out Of Me." We've always loved songs with big guitar solo moments in them, so this was our chance to have a version of our own.
Another one we're really proud of is "When the Right One Comes Along." It's taken quite a journey from the first place anyone had ever heard it, which was on ABC's "Nashville." It was the first song people knew the words to that we would play at shows. So we're really excited and proud to have a new version of it on this record.
5. In her list of artists to watch out for in 2015, NPR Music's Ann Powers singled out your band, calling you a "perfectly balanced duo." What do you think that means?
That was SO cool of Ann to say! We feel like that means that we complement each other. Everything we do is balanced to a T. There isn't one lead singer or one lead guitar player. We both carry the load equally.
6. Let's talk about this new label, I.R.S Nashville. You are the first band on it.
I.R.S, though it's recently been revived, isn't new. It has had some great bands and always had a relationship as being a really cool label. So it, along with its head John Grady, have been a perfect fit for us in realizing the music that we want to make. We feel both honored and proud.
7. Eight of your songs have been featured on the hit ABC show, "Nashville." It's made you one of the most-synced artists on that program! How did this open doors for your music?
It's been amazing! This has really directly affected us so far as it enabled fans of the show to find our music, it led to us performing on the Grand Ole Opry, and it's expanded our fan base internationally. It's been a really cool experience to watch these songs take on a new life on screen! It'd be great to be on the show! We've made great friends with some of the cast members, so that would definitely be a blast.
8. You have performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage over 35 times! What have those shows been like?
Every time we play the Opry, it is an absolute honor. It feels like the first time every time. There's not really been an Opry performance where we've walked out on stage and haven't been nervous! Both the Grand Ole Opry House and the Ryman are stages that we love. There's no feeling like playing there!
9. You have toured with some very impressive talent, like Train, Vince Gill, Ashley Monroe, Hunter Hays and more. What's been a really memorable tour for you?
The Train tour was unforgettable. We got to play some amazing venues, like Red Rocks Amphitheater, and learned so much from them.
10. What would you say the band has already accomplished and what do you have your eyes set on next?
Our biggest goal up to this point was to make our first record, which we did, and we're incredibly proud of. We would love next to tour the world. We have so many countries, cities and places that we have always wanted to play, and we can't wait to check them off of our bucket list.
Bonus Questions
Is there anything in particular that you'd like people to take away from listening to your music?
As songwriters, we hope they feel a connection to the message. We didn't set out to make a record in any particular genre; we just set out to make music.
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