INTERVIEW:
me&you
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THE sibling duo of me&you…
are an exciting proposition I was determined to find out more about. They have been telling me about their latest single, Georgia, and how that song was born. I discover why they spent time in a campervan in New Zeeland and what we can expect from their Chasing Trails EP.
Connor and Karlee talk about talk about their influenced and whether they will be touring outside of California; new names we need to get our ears around; whether they’ll come to the U.K. – they end the interview by selecting a couple of corking songs!
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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?
Been well! Hope the same for you!
For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please
Hey, world; we’re Connor and Karlee and our band is called me&you. We’re a brother-and-sister duo from California and have been playing music and writing songs together ever since we can remember.
Georgia is your latest single. What can you reveal about it?
Georgia came about two years ago now. We wrote it while living in a campervan in New Zealand together. It’s a song about people getting the love that they deserve and not settling for anything less…and it sounds great in the car with the windows rolled down in the summer.
Or, at least we think so...
What can you reveal about the Chasing Trails EP? How did it come together? What sort of themes do you explore?
Chasing Trails was a concept born from living on the road. While living in the van in New Zealand; we’d wake up every morning and have no plans. We’d just get up and go and not worry about where we ended up, as long as we were enjoying the process. That became a big metaphor for our lives and for our music - and thus the Chasing Trails EP was born. This E.P. is about following our paths and not getting in the way of our ourselves.
Connor and Karlee. When did ‘me&you’ come together? As brother and sister; does the music come together naturally?
We have always played music together in many capacities: talent shows when we were kids, high-school Pop/Rock bands and our previous band, Connor and Karlee. We were ready for a change and weren't quite sure what that meant yet. One day, we were having this discussion about wanting to be a band that makes people feel like they can relate to our music - and us.
We’re just some kids that love making music and we want other people to feel the way we do when we write a song. We want to bring people together, not apart; especially in today's world. We kept saying “All we’ve got is me and you…”; we used that as a lyric in one of the songs on the record...so, we called the band ‘me&you’.
Who do you count as musical influences? Did you grow up around a variety of sounds?
Oh man; we could bore you to death but, if we gave you a shortlist, it would probably include: Lord Huron, John Mayer; Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot; Glen Campbell, Carly Simon; James Taylor and lots and lots of others. I guess we’re an ‘Indie-Folk’ band but we are heavily influenced by a lot of Pop music as well: bands like The 1975, Coldplay; Justin Timberlake etc...
Is it true you spent late-2016 traveling around New Zealand in a campervan?! Was that an experience that led to songwriting and inspiration?
It is true. We lived in the campervan for one month traveling around New Zealand. We’d basically get up every day and start driving. It led to a lot of unexpected adventures (hel-biking; bungee-jumping, mountain climbing…) and gave us the freedom we needed to just sit down and write. We needed some isolation - and we definitely found that in the van in N.Z.
Where are you heading on tour? Where can we catch you?
We plan to start doing some touring this fall; starting with California and branching out from there.
Have you performed in the U.K. at all? Might we see you here?
We have not, yet…we definitely plan to come to the U.K. to do some touring in the near-future.
What do you hope to achieve in 2018?
In 2018, we are really trying to get our music out there and heard. It’s a weird time in the music industry: full of Spotify playlists, YouTube channels etc. Ultimately, we really just want to have our music heard by people and, hopefully, have it affect them and do something for them the way it did for us.
Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?
Karlee and I were at a songwriting retreat back in April and we had an opportunity to play Georgia acoustically in front of all of our songwriting friends at the retreat. During the bridge of the song, we sing “We all get broken we all get lost/we’re always hoping love will come” over and over and every single person joined in and sang as loud as they could. It was one of those moments of pure expression and emotion that are so hard to get.
The power of that many people in a room singing about something real is pretty untouchable. You start with this little melody on acoustic guitar and hope it means something to someone someday. That night we finally felt like someone got it...
If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?
Wow; that’s a loaded question. If we had to choose, it would probably be someone like Coldplay. They're so iconic and such great songwriters. Plus, they play in stadiums for the most part. So, that would be cool.
Our rider would probably include whiskey and chocolate. We’re very simple people.
Karlee: I would argue for someone like Brandi Carlile. She’s a huge inspiration to me and she plays in beautiful theatres – and, yes, whiskey and chocolate are a must.
What advice would you give to new artists coming through?
Connor: Our advice would be to never stop writing songs: no matter what happens in the music world, it always starts with a song.
Karlee: I would also add that success is subjective. It can be achieved on many different levels: you don’t have to be selling out stadiums to have a career in music. As long as you’re happy and doing what you love, you’re set...there’s no hard and fast formula anymore so don’t compare yourself too harshly to other creators in the business.
IN THIS IMAGE: Gregory Alan Isakov/IMAGE CREDIT: Blue Gabor Caleel
Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?
If we had to name a few: Gregory Alan Isakov, Manzanita (from our hometown); Madison Cunningham is great – as are The Night Game and our friend Augustus James.
IN THIS PHOTO: Madison Cunningham
Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?
We do; we have to make time for it. It breathes fresh air into everything. We try to get up to the mountains as much as possible. We backpack, mountain bike; hike and do anything and everything to get us outdoors. It inspires most of our music and allows us to escape.
Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).
Connor: This song is absolutely beautiful and everyone should hear it: The Paper Kites: Nothing More Than That
Karlee: Oh. I’d have to choose one of my favorites right now: Feelings - Madison Cunningham
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