The Staves’ family values

Here



Twenty-something sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor have been performing together for many years, though their first record was only released in 2010. Now the trio from Watford, England, on the road promoting their first full-length album, Dead & Born & Grown, is happy to be returning to the United States.

“I don’t know if Americans will understand the thrill for British people coming over to the land you’ve grown up hearing so much about, through films and music and television programs — it’s such a big part of our culture,” Emily says. “It’s brilliant, it’s such a pleasure to come over here.”

Though they’ve yet to score a Mumford-sized hit, they’ve sung with Tom Jones and toured with Bon Iver, Josh Ritter and others, including a sold-out night opening for the Civil Wars at our Brown Theater. “One of our best friends has some family who live in Louisville, so she’s always going on about Louisville. I feel like I’ve known about Kentucky more than other states for a good few years before I ever came out to America,” Emily says.

The Brit says she especially loves the accent around here, as well as how warm and friendly the people are. “Whenever I see it on our list of tour dates, I call my friend. ‘Louisville’s brilliant! I’ve got cousins and aunties there!’”

While they are headlining most shows on this tour, their Louisville stop has them playing first in the evening at Waterfront Park. They’ve had experience performing their gentle folk songs at outdoor gigs, which she says can be difficult due to the unavoidable factors that can impact such shows — cars, weather and the like. “But then we’ve played some gigs where people are sitting down on blankets and lying down and able to completely relax in a way you cannot do in a theater or a club, and let the music wash over them. I think for an audience member, that might be a wonderful way to experience the gig.”

When the sisters are singing together in public, are they singing more to the audience or to each other?

“Well, that’s quite an interesting question, actually … I guess it is to the audience. But we always make sure that we can see ourselves. If you can’t see each other, you can get a bit locked into just singing your part,” she says. “As soon as you start focusing on yourself, rather than the thing as a whole, it kind of falls apart … I guess I would say maybe 50/50 singing to each other, but allowing other people into that.”

When they received a call asking if they’d like to sing backup for Tom Jones, “I was like, ‘Ummm, yeah!’ (The label representative) said, ‘Ethan Johns is producing it.’ We said, ‘Right, definitely then.’” Since then, Johns and his father, Glyn Johns, have come together to produce Dead & Born & Grown, the first collaboration for the father and son whose collective résumé runs from Led Zeppelin and The Who to Ryan Adams and Kings of Leon.

Family is the thing for these folkies. Their parents were a big influence. “I guess they taught us … everything, really. How to get along as sisters; they taught us to enjoy music, how to sing, how to hear a harmony — and they did that without appearing that they were teaching us anything.”

The eldest Staveley-Taylor daughter says their parents shared a joy for music as a way to be sociable and a way to express emotions — happy or sad — in a healthy way. They kept a steady diet of Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and Motown flowing in the home and sheltered their girls from the horrors of bad music.

The girls remain grateful. “By listening to it, you are able to empathize with whatever expression is going on through music … even if you’re not the one behind the music making it,” Emily says. “It’s a big release to people, I think, to hear it and have it expressed on their behalf.”

What if they had been a different family? If The Staves were the Jacksons, which one would be Michael, Jermaine and Tito?

“Oh, my god,” she laughs. “OK, I’m gonna go with Jermaine, because I think Jermaine’s awesome. I’ll claim him for myself. I’ll say Milly is Michael Jackson, and Jess can be Tito.”

WFPK WATERFRONT WEDNESDAY WITH THE STAVES, THE LONE BELLOW AND THE REV. PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND
Wednesday, May 29
Waterfront Park (Big Four Lawn)
wfpk.org
Free; 6 p.m.

c. 2013 LEO Weekly

Bourbon Street

Here



Mark Hamilton has played in many Louisville bands. But it took a trip to New Orleans for the guitarist to find the inspiration to start a band of his own.

The Billy Goat Strut Revue was founded in 2011 to play the “antique jazz” of the 1920s and ’30s, with the players’ respective Kentucky flavors added. It’s riverboat music, perfect for boozy journeys down the Ohio and outrunning sheriffs and husbands. Hamilton put the band together one at a time. He’d ask, “What do you think of this idea?” Some musicians liked it; they became members.

Their first gig was with vocalist Brigid Kaelin. When she moved away, she recommended Laura Ellis, who had sung and played accordion with Shine-Ola for a decade.

“I’m like the imposter Brigid,” laughs Ellis. When the original had to leave, the part was recast, as on “Roseanne.” “I’m like the second Becky!”

The band started out backing for burlesque dancers. At first the dancers were supposed to be the main focus of the evening. Eventually, the band became the stars, with the dancers providing added value. “It was like a partnership — we’ll provide live music for burlesque dancers, and in between while they change, we’ll play some other stuff,” Ellis says. “That was really fun, but then you’re talking about seven people in the band, five dancers, everybody wants to get paid, nobody can practice at the same time … whew, it was a lot.”

How did they manage it?

“Well, we really didn’t,” Ellis says, and she and Hamilton laugh. On their fifth gig, the band played a wedding and realized they could hold a crowd’s attention on their own. “I hope we get to play with them again someday,” she adds.

Their debut album, This is Bourbon Jazz, will be released at a show at Uncle Slayton’s on Friday. The songs are all covers, chosen by various members. “We’ve talked about (writing new songs),” Hamilton says. “It would be really cool. We’ll see what happens. Right now it seems fresh to breathe new life into these old tunes.”

Photo by Chris Boone

Go back at facebook.com/billygoatstrutrevue.