Photo Credit: Nora Vanesky
Musicians and songwriters Jody Vanesky and Denise Crouse packed up and moved from Wisconsin to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2013, where they formed Silver Crow Asylum. The husband and wife augmented their harmonica, guitar and vocals with other musicians on drums, bass and ukulele to record their debut album.
The band’s omnivorous approach blending jazz, blues, and early rock and roll paid off. In August, Silver Crow Asylum’s song “Something’s Cookin’” won the 2020 New Mexico Music Award for best blues song of the year. Their song “Look Before You Leap” has been nominated in the Americana category for 2021. Jody Vanesky spoke for the band.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
There are two parts to my songwriting process. The first is the initial stage of getting the ideas for music and lyrics to paper or recorder, then working out the song lyrically and melodically. The second part is actualizing the song, moving it toward something that’s playable with others. Denise Crouse (guitar) and I generally co-write the composition and music, then practice it until we feel like it’s ready to go to the band.
To answer your question, the lockdown has significantly affected the actualization of music, the making of music as an ensemble experience. I can still write songs, but as a harmonica player my work with an ensemble is what brings the music to life.
Image via YouTube
Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
Last year I was more focused on recording and producing music than working on new material. While I feel like I am consistent and deliberate in my search for musical ideas, I’m a sporadic songwriter who tends to write more when I have a responsive and active band. That routine obviously has been scrambled a bit. The upside is that there has been plenty of time for musical introspection.
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I'm an eclectic songwriter. I tend to go wherever the music takes me and I don’t worry too much about staying true to a specific musical genre. But as a harmonica player and a singer, I feel very rooted in blues music. Winning that award felt very satisfying and confirming to me as a singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. It was also satisfying as a music producer and band leader.
The music on the disc was recorded mostly live in the studio. The lead guitarist was out of town on the studio date, so he came back in later. But otherwise “Something’s Cookin’” was a live performance. We ran the song one time to warm up. The second time through, playing live in the studio, is what you hear on the disc. I like that sound you get on recordings, especially with jump blues and jazz, when people are in the room playing the music together.
Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
Yes. Silver Crow Asylum is starting band practices again. The pandemic hit hard just as we were working on the production of the new CD, so the only release has been through digital media. We’ll be scheduling performances soon and promoting the CD through live performances.
You can get more updates by following Silver Crow Asylum on Facebook.
