The Pierces

The Pierces

The Pierces are the closest thing to a music fairy tale story as you’ll get. The sisters were born in Alabama, the perfect setting for laying the foundations of a folk/alt. country female duo. Typically, the girls were raised by their hippie, nomadic parents constantly being whisked away and home schooled, dad playing in all kinds of bands and mum painting was always going to encourage the creativity within Catherine and Allison. What an idyllic way to bring up your children, it sounds very rosy and sugar coated doesn’t it? But early days in their music career does not sound quite as lovely, The Pierces have been together as a duo for a long time, in fact releasing their first record back in 2000. It would seem there has been nothing but hard work and striving for success from Catherine and Allison, taking them 4 albums and over 10 years to receive the accolades that they undoubtedly deserve.

There certainly seems to be a string of artists doing very well with their ‘old time’ sounding voices, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mumford’s and Adele to name just a few, in amongst these are The Pierces who are definitely rocking up to the party fashionably late and cranking up the volume. ‘You & I’, the latest edition from the duo has hit gold in the U.K and rightly so drowned with it’s classic early 70’s folk, country extravaganza. Is this another U.S artist that has now found their home across the pond?

Tapping into the touring and media schedule of these girls isn’t an easy feat at all but younger Pierce, Catherine gave us some time to answer a few questions.

‘You & I’, has gone gold in the UK. That must be amazing?
It is amazing! We've been doing this for a long time now so it feels good for it to finally be working.

There have been some great things said about the record, any favourites?
Someone called it heart stopping and I thought that was a pretty great compliment.

How was the All Saints/Vogue gig? Did you get any freebies?
It was fun. All Saints has beautiful leather pieces and they were kind enough to give us some.

The new album is superb, was it a long time in the making?
Thank you. It took 9 months to record. Guy Berryman produced the album with Rik Simpson so we had to work in Coldplay's spare time. But it gave us time to really get it right.

Does song writing come naturally to you?
We have both been writing songs since our early teens so yes, it does feel really natural. It has become a form of therapy I think!

What are your earliest musical memories?
I remember my Dad playing the Beatles and dancing around the house. He always had music on.

There are tons of influences that ooze from your music, what are the key ones for you?
Oh, there are so many but the strongest ones are probably The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. That's how we learned to harmonize.

Your style and sound seem very natural, is that the case or is it something that you particularly wanted to achieve?
I think that we have strived to find a place where we feel comfortable and at home. Where we are now feels very natural.

Why do you think the Brits are so fond of you?
I don't know! But we love them right back.

What’s happening now? Tour? Single?
All of the above! The new single is "Kissing You Goodbye" and we are touring the UK in October.

What’s the biggest part of your career so far?
It was pretty amazing when Allison had 40,000 people sing me Happy Birthday at Hyde Park.

Do you have a worst/embarrassing moment?
Of course, but I shall not reveal it online!

Are there any current artists you like?
There is lots of new music out there that we like...Lykke Li, Florence & The Machine, Adele, Fleetfoxes, Empire Of The Sun, MGMT....the list goes on!

What does the future hold for The Pierces?
Hopefully more good things. Let me look into my crystal ball and I'll get back to you.

Will Bray

Will Bray is our Interviews Editor and occasional reviewer. He can also be found promoting live music around the south east and London, a committee member of the long standing boutique Leigh Folk Festival and drummer with The Lucky Strikes. His favourites include The Band, Felice Brothers and Nick Cave.

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