We started out playing together in late 2011. At that time, Susan Ferrari, Richard Green and I, were in another band called Zetland Streets, and we used to rehearse at our place.
After rehearsal Susan and Richard would hang out with us and it was not long before we were playing with my husband Paul Campbell on bass, and it was Paul who had the idea for us to form a band.
We came up with the name The Strands as 3 of us lived on Strand Street and it seemed catchy enough and had other, deeper meanings for us too.
The first song we played together as a band was Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, and that kind of set the tone for us. We never had a conversation about what type of music we would play, we just starting playing together and ended up with the jazzy, bluesy, retro sound that we came to call Artisanal. We have never really fit neatly into a genre, and we are okay with that, although it does make it impossible to tick the box when we submit our music, but it’s good for the soul to just express our selves and not be confined to a certain sound. We get called Jazz/Pop quite a bit and people describe our music as “mesmerizing”.
We all come from very different musical backgrounds. Susan Ferrari, who recently left the band, and has as yet not been replaced, played keys and sang background vocals with The Strands from late 2011 until late 2017. Susan has been playing music all her life. While getting a graduate degree in music composition at Northwestern University, she studied computer music, and at the New England Conservatory, under noted jazz pianist Ran Blake. She wrote most of the songs on our first two E.P.’s “Entanglement” and “Rough Out There”, while I chipped in with only a couple songs.
Our first full length album, “Freshly Cut” which is due out in May 2018, features 4 songs by Susan, 4 by me and 1 that we wrote together. The responsibility now falls on me to write our material and I am okay with that, I got a little complacent with Susan being such a talented and prolific song writer. Now I have to step up to the plate and I am actually looking forward to the challenge.
Richard Green, our friend and neighbor on Strand Street, is a seasoned music veteran who has played the L.A. nightclub and recording scene for many years. Green studied music at Cal State University with renowned saxophone and flute player, Buddy Collett, and has toured nationally and recorded with The Whispers. In 2007 Richard was inducted into the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame and is a force of energy onstage.
Paul Campbell who founded The Strands studied bass primarily with band member, Richard Green.
As for me, I didn’t realize I could sing until i was 44 years old. Of course, I had been singing all my life, just under my breath when people were around, and as loud as I cared to when alone. I can remember a few times when I did forget myself and sing aloud and someone would compliment me, and I would just shrug and say, no, I can’t sing.
All my life I had loved music. Been immersed in it. Secretly sang, openly danced and loved to talk about it and collect it. I had never been with out it. Then in 2004 at my husband’s 40th birthday party, i let my guard down and I sang out loud in front of people for the first time since i was a child. I sang “Who’s That Lady” by The Isley Brothers, and I gave it everything I had. I had been singing it in the shower/tub/car for decades.
It was an amazing feeling, because I knew it was good. Right then and there I told myself that if I could really sing there would be no stopping me. I was going to take it as far as i could possibly take it.
Now as Lead Singer of The Strands I have found my musical home. It’s a great gift to play with people you love. We are looking forward to finding our new keyboard player, it’s an adventure for sure!
LINKS
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/thestrandsofficial
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/TheStrands1
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thestrandsofficial
