All this month we are talking to Americana and indie-folk band Wayward Vine. The band are from Boston and last month released their brand new album. I wanted to talk to the band to find out all about them and delve into their musical world. In our last conversation, we finish off with a classic quick fire question round.

An album you could listen to repeat for hours?

Greg Lawrence: So many… here are three: Blindfaller by Watchhouse (my CD copy still says Mandolin Orange though); Dirty by Sonic Youth (yup!); Twice Removed by Sloan (one of my favorite bands from my formative Canadian music upbringing).

Rachel: Agreed, there are so many – but here are several that have spoken to me: Fantastic Negrito, The Last Days of Oakland; Alanis Morisette, Jagged Little Pill; Jade Bird, Who Wants to Talk About Love; the soundtrack to RENT, the musical; and Muhammad Seven and the Spring’s  title album. 

Favourite breakfast food

Lawrence: Eggs on toast with avocado… and sometimes a drizzle of balsamic glaze… so good

Rachel: Gluten free mochi pancakes made by my husband!  

Dream location to travel to?

Rachel: The Amalfi Coast. 

Lawrence: I’ve been to Amalfi and I highly recommend it, Val!  For me, I love the Mediterranean but haven’t seen as much of it as I’d like, so next up for me would be Spain, and Barcelona in particular. 

Favourite piece of art?

Lawrence: My daughter Natalie made a beautiful picture using colored pencils (pencil crayons) of the river that runs through her university campus where she went as an undergrad in Canada. She gave it to me for my birthday during her freshman year there. I have it framed and proudly hung on a wall in my guest bathroom. And not one to pick favorites (including my kids), my son Sean, who is on the autism spectrum, came home from his high school about five years with a painting he’d made in art class that day.

It was an abstract painting with a blood red base, but with deep green splatters that add depth to the image. To me, it’s an amazing piece of art and right away I ran out and bought a bold frame (thick black frame with a white inner matte) and it now adorns a side wall in my living room. Every time I look at it, I feel something. 

Rachel: I too share Greg’s sentiment that my favorite art pieces are made by my kids! I really love the drawing of a blue eclectic guitar that my son Quincy made, partially because it represents his passion for music. If you’re talking about professional artists, I really enjoy Dali and surrealist works such as “The Persistence of Memory”  – the one with the melting clocks.

Lawrence: If I too must choose something outside of my family, I have a fondness for “La Liberte Guidant le Peuple” (“Liberty Guiding the People”) by Eugene Delacroix. I remember seeing it at The Louvre and was mesmerized by everything going on in that painting and its historical and cultural significance. 

Music hero?

Lawrence: If I think of the folk singer-songwriters that made me love not only the modern music I listen to now, but also how I try to write in my own songwriting, Gordon Lightfoot comes to mind. He was such a storyteller with his music and had such a melodic sensibility to his writing style and guitar playing. My dad was a big fan of his as well, which I think rubbed off on me to a large degree.

Rachel: Tori Amos, because her style and use of the grand piano was groundbreaking and opened my eyes to the possibilities of not sounding or playing like anyone else. Until I heard her music I didn’t quite know where I fit into the music universe, and she made me realize that you can make your own place and that if you create something beautiful and unique, people will start to notice. Her music is also extremely personal and vulnerable, and I aspire to write songs that touch people in that way. 

A film that is your guilty pleasure

Rachel: I proclaim to hate horror movies but secretly I enjoy older scary movies like The Sixth Sense. 

Lawrence: Any John Hughes film from the ‘80s.

Favourite cartoon character

Rachel: Jem from the ‘80s cartoon Jem and the Holograms.

Lawrence: The singing and dancing frog from the old Looney Toons cartoons.

Three words to describe yourself! 

Rachel: Expressive overthinking empath

Lawrence: Just getting started

Thank you again for all your support in reading and engaging with the website.

If you want to help support the website then you can! You can buy Holly a cup of tea (and a biscuit!)