INTERVIEW: John & Brittany

See what John & Brittany had to say about their new album Stories To be Told!  Find out why they chose "St. Valentine" as the single, and fall plans!

How would you describe your sound?

We like to call it Nicotine Rock 'n Roll. It's not always pretty but hopefully it satisfies. 

What makes your sound stick out from all the rest in your genre?

We're not exactly sure what our genre is, and maybe that's what makes us a little different. We have elements of rock 'n roll, punk, Spanish music, blues.. I also think that lyrically, because Brittany has such an interesting worldview and is so observant as a writer that we just exist in an unconventional place in the universe. 

You are set to release your album Stories to be Told on October 7th. What can fans expect from it?

It's actually an EP, and we are very excited about it because it's our first release on vinyl (as well as CD and digital) and we just feel that the songs themselves are as well written and executed as anything we've done to date. 

What made you choose "St. Valentine" to be the single?

We considered every one of the five songs on the EP to be the first single, but that one just seemed to be the most quintessential of J&B, not only in how we write but how we are. For better or worse, we live the dynamic of that song, so it just made sense that it would be what we put out there as the first impression of the EP. Plus, I think we get a weird kick out of hearing people saying that particular chorus "You dig it when I suffer!”

What was your favorite thing about making the album?

Very often, it's a pretty contentious situation in the studio, but I think my favorite thing about making the record would be the way we took ideas for expanding our core sound really ran with them. For example, for the song "Delacroix Blues" The two guitars intertwine in a very different way than many of our songs, and we also went with the idea of wanting it to come off sounding like an old, warped, creepy sounding record, so all the instrumentation works together to create that effect, including the use of a tack piano, which makes the track sounds slightly out of tune. 

Any fall tours?

We will be hitting major markets on the East Coast as well as doing a number of house concerts, which is something that we have done as a duo quite a bit. It's one of our favorite ways to play to new people. 

Anything else you would like to add? 

Thank you for having us, we appreciate it!