Originating from Utah, Winter Grain now calls Los Angeles home. With influences from Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, The Milk Carton Kids, and First Aid Kit, Winter Grain is an acoustic folk-pop band who values craft, dynamics and vocal harmonies. Kate and Secily trade off vocals that weave together stories of nostalgia, growth, frustration, love and all the in-betweens.
Grammy Award-winner Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy, The Lumineers) of Bear Creek Studio, Seattle, is the producer of Winter Grain’s third EP.
The duo’s new song, Passenger Seat,” is dedicated “to every kid who has been left behind, and to every mother who did the leaving: there’s always two sides to the story,” the band writes. “This track is paced to sound like you’re in a car, driving away. You tell us if you hear that car turn around.”
“Passenger Seat” is an acoustic country laced lament inspired by the conflicting feelings Kate Anderson of Winter Grain felt from the absence of her mom from ages 9-12. Even though their relationship was eventually mended, she knew that things would never be the same.
In our interview, the pair discuss how they navigate their queer identities and their music — and how Kate navigates helicopters.
What have you missed about touring?
We just finished a very tiny, and yet immensely wonderful, tour in Utah. Between the pandemic, Kate’s Army deployment (she’s the lead singer of Winter Grain and also a helicopter pilot) and my (Secily’s) two major surgeries, there hasn’t been a Winter Grain live-audience gig in almost two years. We knew we missed live shows, but we underestimated how much we missed touring. The Red Rock Arts Festival reminded us this year that we feel most at home when we are on stage with musicians that are both close friends and extraordinary artists. Getting to share our songs and experience the energy exchange we call a “gig” is the fire that fuels our flames. As it stands we are known to record and perform with people with little to no rehearsals. It’s a choice and a direct reflection of the immense trust we have for those we get to play with but also the reality of living in Los Angeles, recording in Seattle, and (up until now) mostly playing in Utah. If our music career is a pie, we’d say the majority of that pie is live performance. We long to do it full time and can’t wait for the perfect chance to helicopter into a show–no joke!
Have you ever been star-struck when playing with a musician?
Yes, though virtually. We have a track from our upcoming EP that features Adam Neely. Adam is a bassist that graduated from Berklee College of Music but is probably more known as a Youtube personality. His videos are most often about music theory. Through his videos we got to know Elliott Klein (guitarist) who ended up being my guitar teacher and our collaborator on all of our tracks for “Hollywood & Hard.” As we pulled the RV into the driveway of Bear Creek Studio last October we got the text confirming that Adam was going to record bass on “Pages.” As the reality set in and I pictured the possibilities for that track in his incomparable hands, I broke down in tears. His content carried me through a very rough patch where my mental health was low and I felt very alone. To have his genius on something we created–well, even answering this still feels very much surreal. We are so grateful Elliott reached out to Adam and they both agreed to record with us. We cannot WAIT to share “Pages” with the world because it just happens to be one of our favorite tracks we have ever recorded. And it’s freaking ADAM NEELY on bass! As you can see, I’m still star-struck haha!
How do you feel your queer identities tie into your performance style or music?
Our lyrics have yet to be explicit in their description of our queer identies. In fact, Kate especially tries to craft lyrics and melodies that don’t cram a particular identity down the audiences’ throat. We think being more ambiguous and artful allows for listeners to explore their own identity through the songs. However, we are a married lesbian duo and never hide that about ourselves. Brandi Carlile will forever be one of Kate’s very favorite artists and her queer identity is very much a part of her music career. In similar ways Kate has used her lyrics often to tactfully describe her identity (“The Wall” and “Don’t Force It” being early examples) in more poetic and less literal ways.
Do you try to make the most of being in a city, or do you prefer to just rest up?
We moved to Los Angeles a few years ago and absolutely love it. From access to stunning venues like Hotel Cafe and House of Blues, to a beach just three miles away, we are so happy we made the move. Our community specifically supports music education which is great for me as that is my full time profession. While being in LA we have been able to host quite a few other musicians for events like NAMM and the associated community-building is always such a great feeling of fellowship. In working with Ryan Hadlock out of his studio in Seattle, it has been really cool to get to actually hang out with our mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen out of his studio in Burbank. We thrive in the connectivity of it all and really enjoy being in a large city of culture, expression, and drive.
What’s the best way a fan can support you?
First off, thank you for reading this article. With so many music choices these days we really appreciate everyone who takes time to get to know us a bit more. And secondly, the best way you can support us is to listen to our tracks on all the platforms you use and share if you feel so inclined. Word of mouth and sharing works wonders. We have yet to find a more glorious form of support than simply being a part of your life and sharing time with you, even just digitally. Both of us have been in many different projects and for those who have known us a while, we thank you so much for the continued support. For the new friends–thank you for hangin’ with us and we hope to see you sooner than later at a gig near you.