The Sweetback Sisters Lyrics

The Sweetback Sisters

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Howdy!

Introducing The Sweetback Sisters!

The rollicking country swing of the Sweetback Sisters is as infectious as it is heartbreaking. Their charismatic charm harkens back to the golden era of both the silver screen cowgirl and the ersatz cowboy stars of local UHF TV kiddie shows. That whimsical exterior is wrapped around a core of deeply felt love for traditional country music styles and a palpable joy in playing and singing together. Like their pseudo-sister role models, the Davis Sisters, the Sweetback Sisters sing country songs in close, surrogate-sister harmony and matching dresses. Their repertoire combines several of the Sisters' passions -- country music from before they were born and new interpretations of those traditions -- to create a fresh take on what it means to be country.The Sweetback line-up features the sugar sweet vocal pairing of Zara Bode and Emily Miller joined by an all-star cast of instrumentalists including: West Virginian triple threat Jesse Milnes; Stefan Amidon on drums; Philly's stringed slayer Ross Bellenoit on electric guitar, and Peter Bitenc on upright bass.Their debut EP Bang! was released in early 2007 and earned them a spot on A Prairie Home Companion's talent contest for twenty-somethings. Their first full-length album Chicken Ain't Chicken was released in 2009 on Signature Sounds Recordings and still creating a stir. Bio 1

The Sweetback Biography

"Chicken Ain't Chicken," The Sweetback Sisters' debut album on Signature Sounds, mixes country classics and a handful of new songs all topped with a healthy dash of winking irreverence and freewheeling enthusiasm. While Zara Bode and Emily Miller stand out front with their matching dresses and seamless harmonies, they are quick to point out that the Sweetback Sisters are a band, made all the richer by the contributions of drummer Stefan Amidon, Ross "Rolling Thunder" Bellenoit on Telecaster and vocals, guitarist and fiddler Jesse Milnes, and newcomer Bridget Kearney on bass (previous bassist Joseph Dejarnette is featured throughout Chicken Ain't Chicken).

Chicken Ain't Chicken is a sincere ode to the classic styles that inspired the Sweetback Sisters, with an ample dose of their own personality and off-kilter sense of humor. The band's sterling musicianship insures that even the most ridiculous moments are tightly executed and musically inventive. "When he's not ripping solos on the Telecaster," Miller explains, "Ross (who toured with Amos Lee opening for Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello in the fall of 2007) is comping in a way that sets the tone for the whole band. Stefan has been playing drums all his life, and beyond his general savoir faire he also has a great sensitivity to lyrics and form." While several of the members have jazz training, an equal number have a solid background in playing folk and traditional music. "We definitely err on the side of modernity at times, but Jesse's foundation in old-time square dance music keeps the band from getting too heady and out of touch," Miller concludes. As for the front women, Bode and Millers harmonies have the power to make a new song such as Kristin Andreassens bittersweet They Say Virginia Is For Lovers seem as timeless as any classic country lament. Conversely, the wit and swagger of the band can take a tried-and-true standard to some interesting new places. Just check the backwoods funk take on Roger Millers paradoxical My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died, which gives Chicken Aint Chicken its title. Milnes own Youre Gone (Again), a brisk tale of ill-fated romance, is a compelling indication that the Sweetback wit can be applied as handily to composition as it can to arrangements and performances. Much of the spark that ignites the Sweetback Sisters flame comes from Bode and Millers distinct (and distinctly different) upbringings. Im very new to traditional country music, Bode observes. But where I do not have the familiarity with those traditions that Emily does, our varying approaches are what make the pairing unique. She brings the roots, and I bring the retro. "When my mom was my age, Miller picks up, she played in an awesome all-girl band in San Francisco called the Any Old Time String Band. She knows hundreds of great songs and taught me most of my favorites. The child of journalists, Miller hails originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but grew up around the world, spending most of her early childhood in Hong Kong, along with stints in Toronto and Chicago. My earliest performing experience came in Hong Kong, she recalls, with the Miller Family Band: Dad on banjo, my brother on guitar, Mom on fiddle, me on fiddlesticks, and everyone singing. We kind of had a corner on the wholesome American singing family market in the area, so we ended up playing a lot of TV programs, shopping malls, and little festivals. We sang many rousing renditions of Take Me Home, Country Roads. They love that song in Hong Kong.Growing up in San Francisco, Bode had nearly the opposite experience. I hate to admit this, she says, embarrassed, but I was one of those kids that said I listen to everythingexcept country! Turned off initially by the slick predictability of modern country music, Bode had more than enough other music in her life. My parents met in a Moroccan band, she explains. My mother was a belly dancer, and my father just wanted to woo her, so he learned how to play the bendir and qarqabas." There were other household musical influences as well. "My mother is Hispanic so there was also lots of salsa and old Cuban music around. My great uncle Paquito Pastor was a great influence, he's an incredible pianist and arranger, played with everyone from Tito Puente to David Bryne." A move to Northampton, Massachusetts, where her father, a professional comic book artist, worked full-time drawing for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to Zara's enrollment in a performing arts school. There she began acting in musicals and plays, which allowed her to sing in a variety of contexts and styles. "But," Bode says, "my heart has always been in big band swing." The two surrogate sisters met in the fall of 2005 on tour with a world music choir in Europe. The repertoire included everything from Bulgarian and South African music, to selections from the republic of Georgia, to a mass by Pierre de la Rue. At some point during this world music blitz, Miller recalls, Zara and I discovered a mutual love for Hank Williams songs, and sang a few together at concert after-parties. I had sung with many people before, Bode continues, but never did it feel like this." Fortunately, when the tour ended they didnt have to say goodbye. "The stars aligned and Emily ended up moving to Brooklyn just a few blocks away from me. Nearly everyday we'd walk to each others houses and sing songs. The Sisters quickly landed a gig and recruited a handful of talented friends to play it with them. The newly-formed bands first EP, entitled Bang! was originally recorded as a demo for booking more gigs in the city, but it opened bigger doors along the way. In April 2007, those tracks earned them a spot on A Prairie Home Companions "People in Their Twenties" talent contest. Following that appearance, the band members drifted on to other pursuits. Yet the pull of the Sweetback Sisters-- the good times, good music, and laid-back vibe that comes with playing with old friends-- kept tugging them back together. With a renewed commitment to perform together more extensively, they began recording Chicken Aint Chicken with Boston-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Merrill, who also recorded an album of duets featuring Emily and her mother, Val Mindel. "The EP was fun," Miller says, "but I think on Chicken Ain't Chicken we managed to move beyond fun to something with a touch of gravitas, but still with some absurdity at the core. "The six of us all have very diverse musical influences, Bode reflects, but theres always been something old-school about the Sweetback Sisters. Although weve definitely taken some modern liberties with the fashion and sounds, we all have a bona-fide respect for that era and style of American music. We do tend to rock from time to time, but you never lose that intimacy Emmy and I started it withthe genuine love of singing with one another. That affection-- for the music and for each other-- is at the heart of Chicken Aint Chicken, and in every note of music the Sweetback Sisters make together. Theres something fundamental about country music that keeps people listening, Miller concludes. It doesnt try to get into complicated emotional territoryits mostly about pretty basic things that people think about every day: loving your mother, hating that guy who cheated on you, eating fried chicken. No one ever gets tired of that, do they? EMILY

Emily Miller

The first song Emily remembers learning was the Louvin Brothers' hit "When I Stop Dreaming," which she sang as a duet with her older brother, Ethan. That should tell you something about her musical upbringing. Old-time country music reigned supreme in the Miller house, no matter where that house was situated (she has called Kansas, Hong Kong, Toronto, Chicago, New York and Nashville home). Emily cut her teeth performing in the Miller Family Band, but has since made an independent name for herself as a perfomer, teacher and scholar of country and old-time music. She also has a B.A. from Brown University (Linguistic Anthropology) and an M.S. from Vanderbilt University (Speech Pathology) currently collecting dust on her mantel.ZARA

Zara Bode

Zara was raised along the the respective coasts by a dancer and a comic artist. Her singing first drew attention at the Pioneer Valley School of Performing Arts where she was a high school starlet singing everything under the sun and leading school plays, melting the hearts of audiences with her soulful voice and easy going stage presence. She has since studied musical theater, and currently works as a hired gun in NYC for vocal background recordings and arangements. In her spare time she cooks mean meals, designed this fine site, and runs a online vintage shop called "Murphy's Lost & Found." In an ideal world she would be doing voice overs for cartoons. ROSS

Ross Bellenoit

Ross Bellenoit was raised in Western Massachusetts with a walkman in one hand and a cassette tape of Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" in the other. Having studied classical guitar for 10 years, conducted a symphony orchestra when he was 12, performed in drag (twice),earned a degree in jazz guitar, opened for Bob Dylan, recorded with John Carter Cash, and toured Germany, Ross has seen it all. All, except the Liberty Bell. Though he's now quite settled in Philadelphia, he's just not interested. We'll try not to hold that against him.JESSE

Jesse Milnes

Jesse Milnes was born on a sheep farm in Webster County, WV, and moved to Elkins, WV when he was nine. Among his main musical influences are his dad, Gerry Milnes, who taught him to fiddle and West Virginia's Yodeling Monk, Bruce Betler who taught him to sing. When he's not touring with the Sweetback Sisters, Jesse runs a fiddle repair shop out of his garage. He is double jointed in his left thumb, and after several beers can place his right foot entirely behind his head. He currently lives in Marlboro, VT.STEFAN

Stefan Amidon

Stefan Amidon grew up singing in his own family band The Amidons, and picked up many instruments along the way. Primarily a drummer, Stefan has played with many folk bands such as Popcorn Behavior, Lissa Schneckenberger, Matt and Shannon Heaton, and The Sevens. More recently he has played drums in jazz bands big and small, timpani in orchestras and clarinet with his older brother, avant/folk artist Sam Amidon. Stefan graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in Jazz Performance. PETER

Peter Bitenc

Peter Bitenc grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was gigging in local clubs not long after taking up the bass at age 15. Peter attended the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Steve Lacy, Cecil McBee, and Jerry Bergonzi and graduated with a degree in Jazz Studies in 2004. Peter moved to New York City in 2005 where is currently active in the Jazz, Rock and Bluegrass scenes. Peter has played on various albums such as Casey Dienel's "Wind Up Canary" and Heather & the Barbarians' "Tell Me Tonight." He is also a member of the Daniel Levin Quartet, Holus Bolus, The Dive Bar Dukes, Heather & the Barbarians, and Oh Liza Jane.