Since releasing their debut album in 2012, The Accidentals (Katie Larson, Savannah Buist, and Michael Dause) have built a grassroots following while touring almost nonstop and playing more than 200 shows a year. In addition to teaching workshops across the country, performing with symphonies and scoring an indie film, the group has become a go-to string team, composing and collaborating with everyone from BTS to Keller Williams. With three previous full-length releases, The Accidentals have garnered critical acclaim from Billboard, HuffPost, Rolling Stone, Under The Radar and NPR Music, who called them “some of the most compelling writers of our time.”
Their new venture, Vessel was in the process of being recorded with celebrated producers John Congleton (St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey) and Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, First Aid Kit) when the pandemic shut things down indefinitely. Rather than press pause, the trio transformed their attic space into a state-of-the-art recording studio with gear from their sponsors to finish the album on their own. Sav and Katie took the reins as co-producers and engineers, switching off not only strings and vocals, but also acoustic and electric guitar, bass, violin, viola, cello, mandolin and the occasional banjo, with Michael laying the foundation on drums.
Vessel is a testament to the group’s ability to not only persevere, but to thrive in moments of uncertainty. “The whole album is about perspective,” they explain. “It’s about the parallax effect of feeling like you’re moving in slow motion while simultaneously things are flying by at an incredible pace.” They continue, “Depending on where you’re standing, your perspective on what’s really happening changes. If you simply widen your viewpoint, things become clearer.”
In our interview, Sav and Katie spoke about how the band came together, where they hope to go, and how they are working towards a more just music industry.
Who are some of your musical influences?
Katie Larson: When we first met, Sav and I bonded over being the weird kids in our orchestra class who wanted to play everything from fiddle tunes to jazz to Led Zeppelin on our violin/cello. Our focus wasn’t genre specific . Early influences were all over the place, from St.Vincent to Andrew Bird, the Yeah,Yeah, Yeah’s, Arcade Fire, and local bands that took us under their wing, The Crane Wives, May Erlewine, etc.
We’ve been a band for 10 years now so the evolution of being predominantly string players to electric guitar, bass, mando, banjo, and the odd instrument thrown in, our influences have changed dramatically. We’re constantly evolving and being influenced by the artists we tour with like Keller Williams, Martin Sexton, and even Moon Hooch.
This year as we built our home studio and recorded our album Vessel during lockdown, we had to become producers as well. Often we’d gather around the computer and pull inspiration from Nickel Creek and Queen harmonies, Phoebe Bridgers or Death Cab production, Rob Moose string arrangements, The National’s drum tones, and Brandi Carlile’s energy in her performances.
Explain the title of your album. Does your album have an overarching theme?
Sav: The songs on the album VESSEL took on the overarching theme of “perspective” really naturally because we were writing about what we were experiencing. A lot of our mental health can be determined by how we see ourselves and the world around us. If we can try to see the big picture and not get bogged down in the details, we might have greater understanding or our perspective might change.
There was a point where we were moving really fast but felt like we were getting nowhere. At least we didn’t feel like we were getting to our goals fast enough. We were comparing our pace to the pace around us without seeing the complexities of each situation.
One day we started talking about Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity – when you’re sitting on a plane, it feels like it’s not moving. When you’re on the ground looking up at a plane, it seems to crawl across the sky. In reality, the plane is flying almost 600mph, at an incredible speed.
It’s all about perspective.
Katie: Depending on where you’re standing, your perspective on what’s really happening changes. If you change your viewpoint, perhaps your perspective, you can see things differently. It’s good to look at things from several perspectives to truly understand anything.
How do you kill the long hours in the van?
Sav: Podcasts, books, music, laughing at weird billboard signs we pass, asking hypothetical questions…and also, answering emails, doing zoom calls with our Patreon Members for our throwback album reviews and book clubs, putting together music video treatments, running a business, etc.
Katie: Social Media, Usually I log onto Tik Tok to try and post something once a day, then I blink and 3 hours have gone by.
How are you using your platform to support marginalized people?
Sav: Let’s face it — our band comes from a very white community in northern Michigan. Unpacking the baggage that comes with that has been a very necessary exercise. One way we’ve been using our platform to support diversity was to turn our fanbase on to BIPOC artists they might not find on their own. When we covered songs by Lianne La Havas or Alabama Shakes or Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, our fanbase would go follow those artists. Whenever we performed or wrote songs with BIPOC, our fanbase would go check out their projects. Intentionally seeking out the voices of BIPOC and listening to what they have to say has been educational for us too. There’s always more work to do to create inclusive spaces for everyone on our stages and at our shows, without it being tokenistic. The idea is to make a permanent space for diversity in the industry, not just temporarily show up when it’s cool to do so.
Have you changed your practices to ensure that your team is diverse?
Katie: We’re lucky to be part of a booking agency called Fleming Artists that specifically works to include more diverse artists, including those of different sexual orientations, religious affiliations, and ethnic backgrounds. We also prioritize festivals like Folk Alliance International that strive for diversity and inclusion in their lineups. Our team right now is primarily made up of women in the industry, including our management, lawyer, booking agent, hired musicians, session players, and accountants. Brandi Carlile said it best at a panel at AmericanaFest in 2019 (she was talking about sexism, but it applies here) – discrimination is systemic; it doesn’t necessarily have a starting place in the industry. It exists throughout it and the best way to tear it apart is to set new standards for everyone to meet.
Where are some places you’ve found joy within the country/Americana world?
Sav: In regards to queerness? I suppose finding and working with other queer artists within the country/Americana world, especially those who have been paving the way to acceptance for years. Artists like Maia Sharp and Mary Gauthier are not only my heroes – they’re fellow collaborators, and I have a ton of respect for them. They’re role models for me. The joy comes in finding a community that not only exists within the country/Americana world, but has existed for a long time there – and there’s a joy in knowing that people seem to be more willing to accept it.
How do you feel your queer identity ties into your performance style or music?
Sav: Haha, well, I don’t really write love songs. If I did, I think it’d tie in a lot more. My queerness is something I kept close to my chest for a long time, mostly as I sought to figure it out. I was afraid that publicly stating anything about it would lock me into a specific definition or image of me that wasn’t open to flexibility and change. As the years have passed, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in my own skin, and I think it affects how I perform. I wear clothes that make me feel good, use a rainbow guitar strap, and am pretty open about it when people ask. It’s made performing feel more honest and authentic.
What is your vision for a more just music industry?
Sav: My vision for a more just music industry is a music industry that doesn’t care if you’re gay or not. Sometimes sexual identity is tied directly to the music you’re writing about, and that’s important, because it gives queer people the ability to identify with it. Sometimes, your sexual identity has nothing to do with the music. Wherever you sit, you should be treated equally in the music industry, in a way that doesn’t capitalize or tokenize your queerness. The industry is opening to include more LGBTQ+ artists, and that inclusivity and willingness is the first step. The goal is for that to become just as normalized.
Vessel will be released on October 1st
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