Tell Us about:

Your latest single you have released:

Timothy Sprague: “Golden Days” is our latest single. It’s a dreamer with a stinger in its tail. To me, it feels like a balm for the trials of these crazy times, and it was written by Agent Judy. 

Agent Judy: “Golden Days” was released in September! It is our tribute to everyday life in honor of us all. We wish everyone golden days; we salute the heroism of daily endeavors and the courage to continue amidst chaos and upheaval. 

Your favourite lyric in this song:

Sprague: My fave is “We roam and forage / We eat what falls away” It’s humbling to me. For all our tech and imperial dreams, we are all still hunter-gatherers seeking sustenance and solace. 

Agent Judy: “I’m just trying to get a few things done.” How basic are our efforts? It’s relatable; who isn’t just trying to get a few things done? Underlying the question are the many obstacles; the fears, the injustices, chance dilemmas, bad weather, the mystery of confusion. We are heroes for our daily efforts. We still shine. 

Your favourite song that you have created that is an album track:

Sprague: I have to pick 2! “Copper Flowers” for the smoky cabaret vibe it creates with John Keegan’s sax. And alongside it is “Doom Buggy.” We tracked it during Covid isolation, in collaboration with band members of Linnea’s Garden. The process was a struggle in lockdown and the song is all about struggle and redemption.

Agent Judy: Favorites abound, each for different reasons and purposes. My favorite is usually whatever is new, tinged with the excitement of creation. At the moment I’ve been listening to “Golden Days” for that reason, and for its encouragement and compassion, a bit of which we can all use these days. 

Choosing a favorite is tricky, each song casts a different light and shadow. One of my favorite things about Crow Follow is that we’ve been able to achieve a range of styles while preserving a cohesive sound. That said, and given the times we live in, I’ve been feeling the relevance of “Dig It,” with its call for uplifted voices, bravery, and hope. 

Your favourite song to play live:

Sprague: My favorite song to do live is “Cadillac.. It’s also the first song I wrote for this band. It feels like it just plays itself and I can hang loose and enjoy the vibe with the audience and my bandies.

Agent Judy: “Indiana Line” is a blast to play with its relentless momentum and crazed instrumentation. I played the flex-tones throughout and that’s a challenge that lends the whole thing a madcap flair. It’s a blast. But they’re each a favorite in some way, at some time. “Cadillac” plays like a dream. It’s the one we’ve done for the longest; it’s so seasoned it plays itself. As it starts up, I just sink in, relax, and go for the ride.  

The song that was the longest to write and why?

Sprague: I am very fortunate in that once a song knocks on my door, it pretty much jumps out all at once. Agent Judy trained me by saying “Wid Wid!” [Write it down![ I can get a fragment that floats around for a year before the rest bumps into me. The toughest one to arrange after it was written was probably “Iron Bottom Sound.”

Agent Judy: “Copper Flowers” was assembled from fragments of poetry written over several years, as their common theme of loss and the departure of resources from our nation affected me deeply. It came together after I saw enormous piles of rusty scrap metal being piled onto huge barges headed to China at an industrial pier near my home in Massachusetts. Why were we letting it go? Couldn’t we build something instead? 

It took a long time to put together the content and the structure to create the melodic form to carry the sentiment accurately and with both grace and some ferocity. That one came slowly. 

Your most emotional track:

Sprague: For me, “Sylvia Sez.” Agent Judy and I co-wrote it. It was inspired by the work of Justine Covault, a wonderful artist in Boston who worked tirelessly to uplift women in the Boston music scene with her label Red on Red Records and her generous spirit. She has passed on, but her spirit of sharing and helping fellow musicians lives on.

Agent Judy: “Sylvia Sez” has a heart-wrenching undercurrent. It’s a tribute to the experience of empowerment through music, and the common paths we share through life. It is also in honor of the memory of Justine Covault, local musician and fearless leader of Red on Red Records, a label that did a lot to promote women in the local scene and original rock. Beyond Justine‘s memory, the song expands to recognize the common triumphs and tragedies we all face during our lives. Loss, luck, and the common elements of humanity that touch us all are woven into this one. Performing it raises the forces we summon to live on. 

Dream collaboration:

Sprague: I would love to work with Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell as producers. I love the weird cinematic sounds they achieve. Their inventiveness surprises me often! P.S. I’d love to hear Tom Waits’ Steam Calliope on a Crow Follow song!

Agent Judy: I am utterly enchanted by harmonies and layered voices, so I’d love to build a choral group to add complex layers to our music, like multicolored threads in a woven cloth. Who would be in my dream vocal ensemble? Rough voices, clear, voices, high, and low, with lots of textures; Patti Smith, Solange, Bjork, Tom Waits, Billie Eilish, Neko Case, Lady Gaga, Donovan, PJ Harvey, Bob Dylan, Thalia Zedek, Kelly Knapp, Linda Viens, Valerie Forgione, Johnette Napolitano, Emmylou Harris, Laurie Sargent, Joni Mitchell, and so many more.  Some are known to me personally, and some not, but all have transcendent voices that I dream of sharing sound and harmony with. 

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

Sprague: I’m in love with everybody in the room! I am exhilarated to be throwing down with my amazing Bandies. Making music is continual growth so each show is a wonderful learning experience.

Agent Judy: Electric. The heights of happiness. I try to remember to gather my wits, and stay focused. The energy is so uplifting, I feel I have to remind myself to pay attention to the concrete and not get lost in the ethos. I feel a deep responsibility to be the best I can, to be worthy. There’s a moment that comes, just after I’ve made sure my guitar is all plugged in and ready to go, pedals in place, sound confirmed, percussion laid out for quick grabbing – when all that is set, I stand up at the mic. I feel my feet firmly on the floor as the air around us rises. I take a breath, I look out on the folks assembled, I feel an irrepressible grin. I may tell them how beautiful they are. I feel the togetherness we share, and sink into performance mode, the ultimate flow experience. It is euphoric. 

The hardest track to play live:

Sprague: For me, it’s “Iron Bottom Sound.” I get so hypnotized by the lyrics that I forget the changes!

Agent Judy: They all have challenges. “In Between” feels like a play where I have three characters to enact. Their flow has a rhythm. I move between spoken word recitals, to prayers and the clarion call to “come closer” on a megaphone, to the melodic chorus declaring the sensation of being in between. In between what? That’s up to you. To me it’s a feeling of entrapment, being stuck on a channel with a way out, but not an easy one. Keeping the song compartmentalized while also driving the total sum towards completion takes an extra bit of focus and attention.  

Essential items you always take on tour with you?

Sprague: Whenever we load out, I always bring some orange vanilla seltzer to drink onstage. We always have a band fist bump connection before we play wherever we are. 

Agent Judy: Beyond the obvious, like gear and phone; water bottle! I gotta have water! Also my notebooks. Essential. 

Describe your fans in three words:

Sprague: Our fans are 1) KIND 2) SMART 3) EMPATHIC 

Agent Judy: Intriguing, creative, good-hearted. Also much beloved by us 

A song by another artist or band you wish you had written: 

Sprague: Gotta do four! 1) Tom Waits’ “Wrong Side of the Road.” 2) Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” 3) Patti Smith’s “Pissing in a River.” 4) Laura Nyro’s “Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp.”

They are all movies in my head.

Agent Judy: There are many, but I’ll go with “People Have the Power” by Patti Smith. Direct to the point chorus with a pounding heartbeat and catchiness, enclosed by dreamy, eloquent poetic verses. This is a masterpiece for the people.  

What we can look forward to from your band this year: 

Sprague: We are playing The Worthen Attic in Lowell on November 9. We are planning to release another single in January!

In 2026 we are slated to release our second full length album. We are working on expanding our reach outside of Boston to perform more Northeast shows and some festivals. We’d like to play some larger venues and also find more “hole in the wall” underground shows in the nooks and crannies with brand new bands. The best music thrives in the dives! 

Agent Judy: We’ll be recording again soon to complete some stuff we started at The Record Co. with Joel Simches. Hoping to drop the next single in January. We are on track to complete another album by year’s end 2026. Here’s hopin. Things feel a little unpredictable in the world, but we are forging ahead. We have shows lined up into January, and always open to more. 

Also we are looking ahead to 2026 to play more local underground venues and also to break into the festival scene, to play further out of town, get farther out across the country, and do some touring. I’d love to play Europe, especially Spain, maybe London. We have a friend in Perú who might find a way to get us down there. Adventures await!

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