 Photo: Ben Lau
Consisting of Sarah Fuerst and Phil Barry, Kalamazoo-based duo Thunderbolt & Lightfoot released their sophomore outing, Songs for Mixed Company, in 2017. The ten song collection maintains the earthy, close-harmony vocal approach of their self titled EP, while expanding their palette to include strings, keyboard, electric guitar, accordion and mellotron. Recorded at La Luna Recording and Sound, Songs for Mixed Company is a complex work that moves between moody acoustic fingerpicking and fleshed out full band arrangements, all tied together by the duo’s intimate vocals. Here, the duo answer their Essential 8 and talk songwriting, the story behind their album's title, their dream venue, and more!
What’s the story behind your album’s title? Phil: Songs for Mixed Company was the title that we kept coming back to. We liked the idea of the album being played at cocktail parties. It was also a good reminder that there can’t be any snoozers and all the songs have to work well together. When/where do you do your best writing? Sarah: I find that it’s best to strike while the iron is hot, as they say. If I have a flicker of an idea, it’s best for me to just sit down, usually at my piano or with my uke, and work on it right then. That said, it’s not always possible to do that, so often times I’ll record a quick voice memo of the idea and revisit it when I have some time. Honestly, I also do a lot of lyric writing during my day job- I’m a registered nurse and part of my job is doing phone triage, which tends to have periods of down time. Nothing like being trapped at your desk, waiting for the phone to ring, to inspire you to think about rhyme scheme.
Which song of yours gets the best crowd response?
Phil: Dearly Beloved is a song written by Sarah and her husband Mike about what wedding vows should actually be like. It’s my favorite song on the record and live audiences seem to really get it. It’s heartfelt and humorous at the same time and people always relate well to that. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? Sarah: I don’t want to speak for Phil, but I have a feeling we both tend to do a combination of all the above. I suppose personally, it’s mostly my own experiences and observations that have the most influence in my writing. With "Can’t Be Trusted," what was the “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? Phil: Well, at some point you have to walk away! From a production point a view, we experimented quite a bit with the drums and vocals. Our good friend Jeff Moehle played two different drum patterns that we ended up panning hard left and right in the mix and we also added a tremolo effect to the vocals. Once we did those things it suddenly brought the song into focus. We actually had a lot of those moments throughout the recording. Mike Lynch adding accordion to Goodbye is not the End was another. What’s your dream venue and why? Sarah: As an acoustic duo using a single condenser mic during performances, it can sometimes be a challenge playing typical bar/club venues. It’s hard competing with crowd noise in those situations if not everyone is there to listen. We really love small theaters, where the audience is there strictly for the music; they’re engaged and listening. We’ve had a handful of gigs in various churches which is usually a dreamy situation, typically benefiting from great acoustics and an attentive audience. So I suppose our absolute dream venue would be at a gorgeous old cathedral that serves mixed drinks. Does that exist? Favorite (or first) concert you have ever attended? Sarah: My first “real” concert was Jane’s Addiction/ Rollins Band, many, many moons ago. Phil: Get out! I was totally at that show too. Recent release you cannot stop listening to? Phil: Mother Lion by May Erlewine. May is a good friend of ours here in Michigan, and she made this record with Ann Arbor musician/producer Tyler Duncan. It’s an amazing piece of art, plus all the Vulfpeck guys play on it. Website Insta
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