Hawthorne Roots began strumming their souls with music four years ago, sticking together ever since. The musical talents of sisters Madeline and Emma Kelly began at home — though their inspiration soared when they moved out west to Montana. The sisters found the rest of their band there: bassist Dustin Crowson, guitarist Lucas Mace and drummer and vocalist Michael DeJaynes.
All questions are answered by Madeline Kelly on behalf of the band.
Why are you an all-sister band?
“There’s no harmony quite like family harmony, and so, we incorporate a lot of harmonies into our band, and that’s something that one of the main parts of our band that’s important. She and I have been singing together our whole lives, and she’s my older sister, so ever since I could start making sounds we’ve been singing together.”
When was the first time you remember singing together?
“I don’t necessarily remember that moment, but when that photo was taken of me, it was like before I can even remember that we were singing together.”
Why did you move from the Northeast to Montana?
“Even though we grew up being musical back home, maybe the west was the inspiration we need to start making a living out of it.”
Do you plan to tour outside the Northwest?
“We’re a group of wanderers. We all want to see new places, we want to play new venues — the sky’s the limit. We’ll play as far and wide as we can.”
Does the band have any unique traditions before a show?
“We make each other laugh. We have this silly band handshake that we made up over the years and its really dumb, it just loosens us up right before we go on. We just remember to have fun, and although we work hard and take this job seriously, we can’t take ourselves too seriously.”
What made you choose Moscow, Idaho, as a place to stop and play?
“As an independent band, what we do to figure out what steps we need to take in all aspects of the music industry as we look to our peers and we look to role models. Some of the bands that we’ve met along on the way have played at Jonn’s Alley.”
You’ve branded your genre as ‘Revved Up Roots Rock,’ why not just stick with roots or rock title? What made you create your own genre?
“We really don’t feel like we fit in one particular genre, and you know, a lot of musicians say that today and I think it’s true today. There’s so much blending of different styles and turning into your own … Hopefully it makes sense to people once they’ve heard the music.”
Why did you choose to be an independent band?
“What we’re trying to do is learn — learn all the aspects of the industry before we sign on to anything with anybody. Really make sure we’re comfortable with who we are, what our sound is.”
What makes playing in a women-led band unique?
“We’re collaborating on working together which in the end that’s what we all want.”
Hawthorne Roots will be playing at John’s Alley 9:30 p.m. Friday. They are promoting their new album “On Second Thought,” which is available on Spotify and iTunes.
Alex Brizee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @alex_brizee