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THE WOODLANDS
By Rachel Coppenhaver Husband and wife team, The Woodlands, released their debut self-titled album last month and just returned from a multi-week tour to support it. Based out of Portland, OR, Hannah sings and Samuel plays the guitar. Recorded and produced in their apartment, the album is now available after much hard work on CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/woodlandsmusic). They have drawn much praise from fellow artists and even earned a spot on the PDX Pop Now! Compilation Album for 2008, beating out hundreds of other local artists. You can find upcoming tour dates on their MySpace page. |
The Woodlands debut album is the stuff of daydreams and fairy tales. Hannah's soft, breathy vocals sung over Samuel's intricately layered music creates beautiful songs. |
The Woodlands The Woodlands 14 March 2009  |
What inspired the name, The Woodlands?
Hannah: Samuel and I had been talking about band names. We talked about a lot of names that we liked for the most part, but that were just missing something. We wanted a name that represented beauty, mystery, the shifting between dark and light, and wonder. One day it just appeared in my thoughts when I was least expecting it. I said it Samuel and we both instantly knew it was the right name.
Samuel and Hannah, I know that you are married. What came first - the marriage union or the musical union?
Samuel: One thing that strongly attracted me about Hannah when we first met was that she played guitar and wrote songs. We sat on the roof one really late summer night, and I lay on my back while she whispered her creation to the night. I had been working a lot with visual art and I had a musical instinct, but didn't play an instrument other than harmonica. We got married, traveled around a bit and then lived in an apartment where I decided to teach myself guitar.
The Woodlands (although not yet in name) began taking shape as we started playing guitars, harmonica, percussion together that first year of being married. Over the next couple of years, we gradually developed a sound that we liked and continued to write music together. Our marriage has felt like such a natural extension of our lives together, and music has been a thread that has woven through and around and within the whole grand experience of our love.
What's the best and worst part of working with your spouse?
Hannah: BEST-I really enjoy sharing a common passion and a common goal. It is always perplexing and beautiful to me that Samuel can finish so many of my thoughts musically, and I think a lot of that has to do with the way he knows me as a person.
WORST-This is actually a good thing, but our close relationship allows for Samuel to feel the freedom to challenge and push me in my writing or playing. It can occasionally be frustrating because he pushes me re-examine what I have done, including things that I might want to let slide that shouldn't slide.
Samuel: BEST-I am often floored by the way a song can emerge from our souls in unison. Two places fused into one expression. The ways that we can intuitively express what the other is trying to communicate-I love that. Making out during practice is always a bonus, too
WORST-We have to make boundaries as to where thinking and talking about music don't dominate our interaction with each other. It takes some effort to maintain space in our relationship for all of the other amazing things in life apart from music that are waiting to be absorbed or given.
There is a very ethereal quality to your music. Where do you find the inspiration and what is your writing process?
Hannah: Some of the main inspirations for us are the beauty of the human soul, nature and our interaction with it, the mystery of the creation of life, the force of love, the tragedies of injustice, mirth, the relationship between mourning and hope. So many of the songs come from a still silence of reflection on a life lived fully awake.
My favourite song on the album would probably be "King and Queen". Is there a certain one that you each are most proud of or that holds a certain meaning?
Samuel: One of my favorites is also King And Queen. I wrote the lyrics from Hannah's standpoint as a magical-realism approach to the fantastical aspects of love. We were playing guitars together on a blustery evening in Guatemala when the power went out. We had to get out candles to light the room, and it made me think of being in an attic. All of the other images just began streaming through these words about us being displaced together to strange and timeless landscapes and situations. King and queen of whatever odd realm we found ourselves in.
Hannah: Summerland is probably my favorite. I feel like after writing this song, something was solidified in my mind and I began to believe in myself as a songwriter and what we were creating. It was a swirly, euphoric moment, and the song has always reminded me of it ever since.
Having played a wide variety of venues, from house parties to a film festival, is there any one performance that you enjoyed most?
Hannah: My favorite performance was on this spring tour through Oregon and California. Our beautiful friend named Sonci has been the longest and most enthusiastic supporter of our music. She met us to drive to our house show in Santa Cruz, and on the way we all decided that she should sing with us for the night. The host had never hosted a house show before and she unfortunately thought that inviting fewer people was better. So, we all drove to Santa Cruz and there were only a handful of people. We decided to give all of who we were to the few people there, and it turned out to be a lovely evening of learning lessons, enjoying the unexpected, and singing with our friend.
The Woodlands are currently touring in the Northwest. What items can't you live without on tour?
The Woodlands: Whether it is on tour or just traveling, these things are always companions. Fair Trade dark chocolate, camera, mango Kombucha tea, earplugs, stretching mat, guitars, sunnies, chapstick, laptop, peppermint tea, books, Bic classic fine pens (our friend Kirby gets these for Samuel from Australia, and they are as close to family as any writing utensil can get).
Finally, what can fans expect from you in the future?
The Woodlands: OUR DEBUT ALBUM! It is out now at our shows, but should be available online the first couple days of April at cdbaby.com.
So many people write to us about a certain honesty or genuine quality in both our music and in the way that we interact with them as fans. They should expect this to continue. We are two regular people trying to live an irregularly abundant life, and we expect to remain approachable and sincere. They should expect more amazing music from The Woodlands and Of The Isles (Samuel's other project). We have more songs ready to develop for the next album, and we are so excited to share the progress of our music as we go.
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