Pheaturing The Breedings

Hello, welcome to the Phile for a Saturday, and it's the first dat of fall, or as I like to say here... phall. So, when is this cold weather gonna come? I have a lot to get to, and a short time today to do it, so lets get to it.  It's just past the one-year anniversary of occupying Wall Street protests. Remember those? They stomped out greed forever. Mitt Romney was there meeting with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He's looking for a housekeeper for his place in La Jolla. Mitt Romney was on "Live With Kelly and Michael." At one point Mitt was asked what he wears to bed. He said as little as possible. It's the same philosophy that Mitt has in regard to paying taxes. Mitt also admitted on the show that his guilty pleasures are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate milk. Even his guilty pleasures are boring.  Well, like I said, it's fall, and leaves are falling, temperatures are falling, Romney's poll numbers are dropping. It must be autumn.  Tomorrow is the Emmy Awards. That's when they pass out beautiful statuettes to award television excellence. I have no joke there. I did have but I lost it.  Moving on... who has the new iPhone 5? Here's what I know about the new iPhone 5. It's thinner and it's lighter, and that makes it easier to lose in a cab. The iPhone 5 has a new app on it. If you stand on the iPhone 5 it'll tell you how much you weigh.  So, I mentioned Romney just now, a lot of people said he was changing looks since the campaign started. I didn't believe it til I saw this comparison.

So, who saw the space shuttle flying over Central Florida the other day? I think I saw the shuttle... maybe it was something else. See for yourself.

Hey, I have one more thing to say about Romney this entry. Did you see his new campaign ad?

That's rude, right?  Did you kids hear about the Florida man accused of sex act with miniature donkey? Okay, I'll say it. When people go out for a little ass, this is NOT usually what they mean. Seems to me that the law is making a huge assumption calling it animal cruelty; did anyone ask the donkey? And now for some sad news...

John Ingle
May 7, 1928 - Sept 16, 2012
No se habla Ingle.


Okay, so, you know the Mayans predicted the end of the world is gonna happen in a few months, right? Well, I tend to believe it, those Mayans are pretty damn smart... and I the Phile has a Mayan friend to prove it. So, please welcome back to the Phile, our friend...

Me: Hello, Marvin, do you have any advice for us to get us through next week?

Marvin: Nya b’a’n tu’n tcy’ajin aj t-xiy awil cjo’n, ku’n coxke jal cchi elil.

Me: That's great... but once again we don't speak or understand Mayan. Can you translate it for us?

Marvin: It is not good to show laziness on sowing cornfields because the ears of corn will end up twisted.

Me: Well, that's great, we don't have cornfields in Central Florida... but for you Iowa people, you have been told. Marvin the Modern Day Mayan, everybody!

Well, it's that time again to invite our friend Jeff Trelewicz to the Phile for this week's football pics. So, here is...

Me: Hello, Jeff, welcome back. Sorry I didn't have you on the Phile on Wednesday. I had a crazy week. So, let's get to the punch... The Giants won! How did the Steelers do?

Jeff: It's always great to be back on the Phile, regardless of the day. Not only did the Giants win but so did the Steelers, beating the other New York team.

Me: Yeah, they beat the Tebow Jets, So, what's the big NFL news this week?

Jeff: The big news was the second half performance of Eli Manning, after throwing 4 interceptions in the first half. He threw more yards in the fourth quarter than some quarterbacks threw for an entire game! Plus big brother Peyton came down to earth and struggled in his second game for Denver.

Me: What do you think of the substitute refs? Those refs are crazy, right?

Jeff: The replacement refs have made some bad calls. But they are new to the bright lights of the NFL. I don't think think they are doing a bad job though.

Me: Alright, so how did we do last week?

Jeff: I went 2-1 again bringing my total to 4-2 with nine points. Last week you went 1-2. So now you are 3-3 with seven points.

Me: You're beating me? Grrrrr... Let's hit this weeks picks. I say the Rams will best the Bears by 7. Eagles over Cardinals by 4 and The Pats will loose by 3. What do you say, Jeff?

Jeff: My picks are the Colts by 3, Packers by 7 and Saints by ten.

Me: Alright, I hope I catch up. Jeff, have a good week, talk to you soon.

Okay, it's time for the announcement of the 25th artist to be pheatured in the Peverett Phile Art Gallery. It's Jeffro Kilpatrick and this is one of his pieces.

Jeffro will be a guest on the Phile in a few weeks.

Okay, today's pheatured guests are a brother and sister duo whose new album "Laughing at Luck" is available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Willie and Erin Breeding.

Me: Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile. How are you?

Erin: Awesome!

Me: You two are siblings, am I right? I interviewed tons of musicians who are in a band with their siblings, or spouses and that always fascinates me. I love my wife and sisters but we could never be in a band together. Did you guys also perform together?

Erin: Yes, we do a LOT together... and we even still prefer to hang out together when the "work day" is done. Actually, it's pretty easy. We get along really well and when we don't, it doesn't last long. At the end of every show, every band decision, every meeting is still a barstool somewhere with a drink, and we both love that.

Me: So, which of you is older?

Erin: I'm older! 5 years. We've been asked that question so many times lately, I'm starting to let it go to my head.

Me: Erin, did you two get along as kids?

Erin: Actually, yes. Entirely. We rarely fought, except for a few instances where I was growing up faster than Willie wanted and disobeying parent rules. Willie was a little snitch.

Me: I am guessing you have the same tastes in music, am I right?

Erin: Not entirely, no. We're both suckers for a good melody and beautiful production, but our definitions of that really differ sometimes. But we do agree on a lot, listen to music together often and we both love heartbreak songs... in any genre.

Willie: I would say they're pretty different. Erin is more tolerant than me, so it leads to some pretty good arguments about useless things, but there are for sure a couple records we can both enjoy together.

Me: The duo thing is really popular right now, kids. Have long have you two been performing together?

Erin: I sang backup for Willie on his first two albums (beginning in 2006, right?) and we began The Breedings around 2008. So what's that... 5 years?

Willie: I didn't realize it was popular! I hope it stays popular!

Me: So, do you both do the share of songwriting?

Erin: That's almost entirely Willie. My few suggestions, ideas or reactions don't really count as writing.

Me: Willie, you were a solo artist already. Are you gonna continue your solo stuff as well?

Willie: Yes, I definitely will. The way I work, I try not to separate the two. I don't really write with The Breedings in mind, I just write songs. It's really just a matter of what songs end up as Breedings tunes. Naturally, the rest I still hope to record. There's a lot of tunes I would love to record that aren't really great Breedings songs but that I like a lot. So, when the time/ resources come around my way I'll be looking forward to doing that! Erin will probably sing backup.

Me: Where are you two from?

Erin: We were both born in Lexington, KY, but raised in Richmond. Our parents still live there, so we visit all the time.

Me: I went to Kentucky last year, and stayed in Pretonsburg. In fact, I am wearing my Kentucky t-shirt right now. Do you know where that is?

Erin: Yes, but I'm not sure I've ever been. You must have been visiting someone, right? I'm not sure Prestonsburg is generally a destination town.

Me: We went for my wife's family reunion.

Willie: I feel as though I've been there. That's all I got!

Me: So, I take it you're a fan of The Wildcats, am I right?

Willie: Massive Kentucky basketball fan. With every passing day I hate myself more and more for not naming our band, Coach Cals All American: Doron Lamb.

Me: Willie, you moved from Kentucky to Brooklyn. That's quite the opposite. How did you choose Brooklyn, and was it much of a culture shock for you?

Willie: New York City is a damn near lifelong obsession of mine. I love every single thing about it, except that living there and not having a car, touring was a pain in the ass. I moved up there with my best friend, Jesse Frost when I was 21, and there was definitely no culture shock. New York City is a place that you only really move to if you REALLY want to. So I feel like you're pretty ready to embrace whatever comes your way when you get there. It's more of a culture shock to leave than to move there.

Me: Erin, you went off to Boston. Was there a Boston, New York rivalry between you two?

Erin: Ha... no. We both loved visiting each other and running around in the other's citiies. And Willie never really cared about baseball and I never really cared about any other sport, so we stayed away from any rivalries.

Willie: I'm also a fan of the Celtics. Probably my favorite starting five in the NBA, though I miss Perkins. Rondo played at Kentucky, so that got me into them.

Me: You're now based out of Nashville, right? Did you both move there for your musical careers?

Erin: Yes, we did. Willie moved in 2010 and I moved in 2011. We wanted to be closer to our music and as hands on as possible in the release and the publicity.

Me: Do you both have families of your own now?

Erin: I just got married last year (Willie sang in my wedding!). Right now my husband and I define "family dinner" as inviting Willie and Klara over.

Willie: I share a house with my lovely girlfriend, Klara. She's Italian and is learning how to get by here in the South! It could be a reality show. Maybe even a cooking show.

Erin: Yeah, between his Italian girlfriend and my Boston husband, the Southern transition has been very entertaining!

Me: What do your parents think of you two being in a band together?

Erin: They have been amazingly supportive. AMAZINGLY. This is a hard road and it's a huge life change and they have been with us every step of the way. They are also crazy proud and share our music with everyone, which is awesome.

Me: Okay, let's talk about your album "Laughing at Luck" which I downloaded from iTunes. I used to like Sugarland when they first came out, and I think you two are a much better act. Who are your influences?

Erin: Growing up I loved Bette Midler, Billy Joel, and Juice Newton. And I'm a lifetime fan of Patty Griffin and Pearl Jam. I love Faith Hill's voice. And I still have a soft spot for '90s country.

Willie: I have all the same influences as most songwriters like Bob Dylan, John Prine, Townes, The Beatles, etc. As well as the classic old country which is probably my favorite of all music. Also, I'm really in awe of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and all those guys. They had such a professional approach to how they wrote songs and they didn't get caught up in any of the bullshit that lots of other writers get involved in. They simply got up in the morning, went to work, and wrote songs that people may never be able to match again. There's something to be said about that. They just put their heads down and went to work, and at the end of the day, their body of work was just breathtaking. All that said, I'm inspired by everything. More than just an artist that influences me as a whole it's the little things. A phrase, the second half of a bridge in a random song on the radio. An unexpected chord change from a friend or something I see at a show.

Me: I watched the video for the song "Turn", and erin, you are in the whole thing, and I think Willie is in it for a second. Whose ides was that? it's brilliant. No disrespect, Willie. Will you guys be making anymore videos?

Erin: I think we just agreed that the song called for a main focus, which had to be me, as the singer. The perspective of the song is one person's heartbreak. Plus we didn't want any confusion about whether Willie and I were brother/sister or star-crossed lovers. The scene with us sitting at the bar together, though, is about the truest scene you'll see.

Willie: The two things about the making of that video were, A: The song is this really sad, raw heartbreak song. I think we all agreed that I was too beautiful to put in front of the camera, and that we had to put Erin in there to make it look more relatable. B: We didn't want to make a video where we had to TRY to find a way to fit me in that would have nothing to do with the songs. Sometimes that's awesome, but we didn't think so here. So we just wanted to make it concise and about her. I like being the dude that writes the songs, but kind of pops up every now and then in the videos!

Me: I take it you play a lot of shows, will you be coming down to Florida anytime soon?

Erin: We'd love to! We just need to plan a tour that gets us there.

Me: I know you two are obviously The Breedings, but who else is in the band?

Erin: It's really just us, but we've been spending a lot of time putting together our live show and finding musicians who want to bring this music to life as much as we do.

Me: So, how did "Laughing at Luck" get to be the album title?

Erin: That's a 3-year-long story, but the summary is that "laughing at luck" is what we've been doing throughout this entire musical process. Good and bad.

Me: I have to ask you about the album cover. Where was that taken?

Erin: Willie? Wanna take this one?

Willie: That was taken in Brooklyn by Brett Beyer. I believe it's N 11th in Williamsburg.

Erin: Brett also directed our videos for "Turn" and "Come Summer". We love him.

Me: So, what's next for you two?

Erin: Touring and more music!

Me: Willie, I am a big fan of you both. When your next release comes out, can you come back to the Phile?

Willie: It's only natural that we would!

Me: Go ahead and plug your website and anything else and I wish you lots of luck. Come back again.

Willie: Check us out on the internet... EVERYWHERE! And you can purchase our album on iTunes and Bandcamp.

Erin: thebreedingsmusic.com, facebook.com/thebreedings, thebreedings.bandcamp.com.

Me: Thanks, guys.

I did it! I finished another entry on time. Thanks to my guests Jeff Trelewicz and of course Willie and Erin from The Breedings. There's not gonna be an entry of the Phile tomorrow as I will be at the Orlando Comic Expo but on Monday it's Cy Curnin from The Fixx. You know the song "One Thing Leads to Another". Then on Wednesday it's Dean Povinsky from the Canadian band Wildlife. Then on Sunday it's Clo Floret from the French band We Are Enfant Terrible.