10 Questions with ... Jocelyn & Chris Arndt

1. How would you say 2018 treated you overall?

[Chris] Every year since we started working with Bridge Road Entertainment, we've grown our career. In 2016, we released our first full-length studio album and brought it up the FMQB radio charts. In 2017, we released a second LP and brought a single inside the Billboard Triple A Top 40. In 2018, we played the mainstage at Mountain Jam music festival alongside Portugal the Man, Jack Johnson, and Alt-J, and we began selling out shows in more and more cities across the country.

2. Now that we are in the New Year, what are the musical goals that you have for your music?

At the risk of sounding like a hedge-fund manager, I think we can sum up our goals pretty simply: growth, growth, and more growth! In 2019, we want more of everything! We want to play more shows to more people, we want more press and publicity opportunities, and we want to bring our radio singles further up the charts than ever before. 2018 was a great year for us, full of awesome stuff and a hell of a lot of fun, but 2019 is going to be our best year yet.

3. Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this duo together?

I don't think either of us ever considered doing music without the other. We've only ever done music together, and we both want to keep it that way. A lot of people think it's crazy that we can be siblings and still stand spending as much time together as we do, but I can't think of anyone on the planet I'd rather hang around than Jocelyn. She's my best friend, making music with her is my favorite thing to do, and the fact that we have the opportunity to turn it into a career is a huge honor.

4. How do you think your hometown has influenced the sound?

We grew up in a tiny town called Fort Plain. It's about an hour west of Albany, and it's so small that even though I-90 goes directly through downtown we don't have an exit. We never really had a ton of direct exposure to original live music, as the closest concert venue was a little over an hour away.

What we did have was more support than you could ever imagine. The biggest local band was a group called "Spike and the Boys," and they really took us under their wing. Whenever our school brought in musical acts for assemblies, the administration would let them know about our music, and they'd often bring us up on stage for a guest performance on a song.

We didn't have the high-speed, densely populated environment you get in a city, but we had a community that fostered our love for music and performing from a super young age.

5. You describe your latest album, The Fun In The Flight as "your love letter to classic rock." Can you explain what you mean?

We're really excited! It's the first album we've ever written while not living together at college (Jocelyn had graduated from Harvard, but I still had one year to go), and that posed some major challenges, but ultimately, I think we ended up with our best music yet. We call it our love letter to classic rock because we're constantly inspired by the artists that came before us, especially those iconic, powerful classic rock artists, and we really wanted to pay homage to our heroes with this record. I think you'll hear it when you take a listen.

6. How do you think your first single, "Outta My Head," prepares listeners for the rest of the album?

It's a good taste of what's to come. We always vary the feel from song to song on our albums, so you should know that it's not going to be an album of 11 "Outta My Head" clones, but it's definitely a great starting place. You can expect a lot of riffs, a lot of energy, and a lot of fun.

7. What do you think makes for an ideal show for the band?

As to what makes a good show for us, honestly, we just love to play. It's always great to have an energetic audience that cares and wants to hear, but if you give us a stage in an empty room we'll still have the time of our lives. We're living our dream!

8. Any shows you have played stand out for you?

It's hard to pick, but I think I can narrow it down to two shows. The first would be our first show in Sacramento, CA at a club called Harlow's. We had just started pushing our final single from our last album, "Go," and it was beginning to pick up some radio traction.

My other favorite show would be when we played the Mountain Jam main stage this past year. That stage has also seen Tom Petty and Robert Plant and the Black Keys and the Allman Brothers and so many other great artists, and getting to play there was the most awesome, epic, humbling experience ever.

9. Where can people see you this year?

All over! We were just at SXSW, we'll be headed out to California a few times, and we'll be in Colorado in August. We're actually just beginning to announce new tour dates and we've got a hell of a schedule planned, so keep an eye out. It's going to be an amazing year!

10. What has surprised you most so far?

For me, the most surprising thing about the ride so far is less that it's Jocelyn I'm doing it with and more that I'm doing it at all. When we were in high school, I never thought a career in music was a possibility. It seemed like such a pipe dream that I had to remind myself sometimes that our band wasn't a "real" job. It's been six years since then, and I'm still half expecting to wake up tomorrow with no clue and a test in Mr. J's biology class.

Interview by Leah Brungardt