Artist: Winterlark
Album: Sing To Me About Tomorrow
Released: 2024
Website: https://winterlark.com/
The Santa Cruz based duo Winterlark is a delightful blend of jazz and folk with some pop accessibility sprinkled in for good measure. After multiple listens I struggle to define the music as jazzy folk or folk infused jazz. It is quite unique in the way it blends the two genres so convincingly that it is difficult to detect the seams, even under the microscope that repeated listening tends to expose. It straddles the two genres like a circus tightrope walker that never shows a moment of being off balance.
The duo consists of Kristin Olson playing upright bass, and Sweeney Schragg picking the acoustic guitar. They have had a steady output of original material since 2021, this being the fourth EP in that time period. Sing To Me About Tomorrow is a six song set that clocks in at about 21 minutes.
Starting with Sing To Me About Tomorrow, the table is set for a classy jazz infused set of memorable acoustic music. The vocal harmonies are reminiscent of early folk that would be right at home in any coffee house, while the music is drenched in jazz instincts. The colorful chords and impeccably played stand up bass lines take the listener right to the heart of what jazz fans love about the genre. But the vocals keep one foot in the classic folk world.
Sister is a cut that steps away from the jazz influence and moves more toward a straight singer/songwriter vibe. This charming piece has a Mark Knopfler approach in composition, reminding me of his classic Philadelphia. The lead vocal provided by Kristin Olson sits comfortably right where it belongs. She simply sings the song, never stretching for something that doesn't need to be there, but takes a smooth line through the changes and thought provoking lyrics.
Another standout track is Big News. The lyric mentions a subway in the first line. As an east coaster, it conjures up an image of Woody Allen riding the subways of New York City, as he thinks about all the problems of adult life and how impactful they are on a personal level, but insignificant when the camera pans back exposing the sea of people that ride the tubes everyday throughout NYC. It is truly a song that would be a perfect piece for a Woody Allen movie. The music in his movies are always so "New York" and this one fits the bill on every level.
This EP is my first exposure to this California based duo. After listening several times I have found myself visiting their previous releases on Spotify. I am thrilled to have found this musical gem and I hope that they find the listeners they deserve!
Check out the interview below as well!
Tell us the brief history of your band.
We met at a small jazz jam in a friend's converted aikido dojo the summer of 2018. Someone there sang "Stop in the Name of Love," and we jumped in on background vocals. It was immediately obvious that our voices went together like butter and toast. After recording an LP in spring 2019, we traveled across country by Subaru the following fall, playing in open mics, and rode the Sunset Limited from LA to NOLA for the January 2020 Folk Alliance International conference. We filmed our first YouTube video in our berth. Then the pandemic, a lot of rehearsing and developing our songwriting collaboration, which has resulted in four EPs. We travel I-5, I-80, and US 101 to perform far and wide from our base in Santa Cruz, CA, and we're looking to expand on that.
Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Musical: Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Goffin-King, Lennon-McCartney
Non-musical: Shakespeare, Margaret Sanger, Lucille Ball, Martin Luther King
Is there a particular song that has resonated with you for a long time?
Kristin: Stevie Wonder, “Summer Soft”
Sweeney: Bob Dylan, “Visions of Johanna”
Tell me about a particularly interesting performance in your career.
Sweeney: Singing Carmina Burana with a choral group and the Lviv, Ukraine orchestra in Krakow, Poland.
Kristin: Playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival with my college big band.
What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?
Kristin: When you make a mistake, move on and keep playing.
Sweeney: The metronome is your friend.
What's new in the recording of your music?
On our new EP, we reunited with our swinging drummer Chris Haskett and brought in versatile Neal Curran on mandolin and voice.
How has your music changed over the years?
Never stops changing, despite the pressure to stick with a recognizable formula for financial viability.
What inspires you to write the music you write?
The urge to tell a story. Every piece of music we hear inspires us, one way another, and informs our writing. We look at romance with a gimlet eye, even as we enjoy a good love song, and we are particularly concerned about the state of the environment and the pursuit of social justice.
How does your latest album differ from any of your others in the past?
We've jumped headfirst into the socio-political fray.
How are you continuing to grow musically?
We're always listening to new stuff that comes our way and incorporating it into our writing.
Are there any musicians who inspire you that are not famous? What qualities do you admire about them?
Chris Haskett: precision, energy, expansive percussion knowledge in a wise-cracking, smiling package.
If you could play anywhere or with anyone in the world, where or with whom would it be?
Anywhere that doesn't require we be shills for the liquor industry, with anyone who can follow our changes.
If you could change anything about the music industry today, what would it be?
Transform it into a cottage industry.
What is your biggest obstacle as a musician?
Unpredictability of sound equipment in venues.
Describe your favorite and least favorite part about being a musician.
Favorite part is connecting with an audience who appreciates the effort we've put into creating a song and rehearsing it until we have it down.
Least favorite part is being a juke box.
If you had to choose one... live performance or studio work, which do you prefer and why?
Probably live performance. Nothing more fun than connecting with an audience of interesting people.
What do you think about online music sharing?
Gets the word out, but doesn't pay the bills.
Describe your creative process when you write new music.
We always pay attention to what we say to each other, because that's where song titles come from. Each of us accumulates musical bits—melodies, phrases, progressions—and we bring them to the rehearsal room, where we make the sausage. It's the most rewarding part of being in Winterlark.
Other than being a musician, what was your dream job growing up?
Sweeney: Sausage maker.
Kristin: Botanist. I'm a vegetarian.
Give us some advice for new musicians just starting out in the industry.
Invest in a metronome.
What is your favorite piece of gear and why?
Kristin: My bass, of course. One cannot sail without the boat.
Sweeney: The metronome.
How do you prepare for your performances and recording work?
Vocal warm-ups, and practice, practice, practice.
What does your practice routine consist of?
Individually we work on instrument-specific stuff, like bowing or fingerpicking, and together we sing, sing, sing.
What do you like most about your new album?
We're happy that our patience in forging the lyrics resulted in clarity, some humor, and some poignancy.
What artists do you enjoy listening to nowadays?
Sweeney: There are so many, all the time. Amelia Hogan and her recording group the Flight Crew. I parked my car and listened to the second movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the radio the other day. I could enjoy listening to Rachael Price sing the phone book.
Kristin: Cecile McLorin Salvant, David Francey
What is the best way to stay updated on current news; gigs, releases, etc.
The easiest is to go to winterlark.com It leads everywhere else.
What's next for your band?
We want to travel around the country in our van hitting venues along highways and interstates we haven't driven before. But we'll do some live-streaming from our music room in the meantime.
What are your interests outside of music?
Kristin: Bird identification, dirt, plants, biking, travel, walking.
Sweeney: Fiction. Road trips to places I haven't been before. The future of the planet.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
Sweeney: I enjoy wearing my tuxedo.
Kristin: If, when walking, I find a coin, I slip it into one of my shoes so I can feel the luck rattle back and forth.
Are there any artists outside of your genre that have not had much influence on your music that you enjoy?
Hank Williams, The Specials, Kurt Elling, Kitka. By the way, what is our genre?
Anything Else You Would Like to Include?
People seeking out new music have a special creative curiosity. It is wonderful meeting these folks.
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