By Christina Radish
Multi-platinum recording artist Michelle Branch, and longtime friend and fellow singer, Jessica Harp, are currently making a name for themselves as the Maverick Records singing duo The Wreckers. Currently out on the road, in support of their recently released Stand Still, Look Pretty, Branch and Harp, fresh off a 16-hour tour bus ride to New York, spoke exclusively to MediaBlvd Magazine about writing songs together, working with your best friend and the band’s future.
MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you end up choosing the name The Wreckers?
Michelle Branch> Ironically, my husband named us The Home Wreckers, at first. Jess was on tour with me, just kind of hanging out, and she was singing back up on stage with me, every now and then. We were on the bus with my band, trying to come up with a band name for us, and The Home Wreckers was the most G-rated thing they came up with, so it just kind of stuck. Our moms are very proud of us. “Oh, girls, why are you guys called The Home Wreckers? That’s awful.” But, the name stuck, and so it’s short for The Home Wreckers.
MB> Michelle, was it scary for you to go from being a solo singer to being a duo?
Michelle> With Jess and I, it’s pretty rare, but we really, really get along. I feel like, if anything, it just made us stronger. I think both of us have certain strengths and certain weaknesses that the other one can help with, and it’s made us really strong together.
MB> Have either of you ever had such a quick mutual friendship with anyone before?
Jessica Harp> I haven’t, outside of my family.
Michelle> I think you always have, especially being female, certain friends that you go through having different phases with. But, as far as the instant connection and just the ability to be with each other 24/7, day in, day out, it’s been pretty phenomenal that both of us haven’t killed each other yet. I definitely don’t have any other friends like Jessica.
MB> Has it been nice to have a friend on the road with you, and not just a working partner?
Michelle> Yeah, it has been. On the bus into New York today, we both were just hanging out, watching movies, and no one’s brushed their teeth yet. It takes friends to be able to sit around and watch ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ together.
MB> In what ways do you think you guys compliment each other, vocally?
Jessica> Well, the coolest thing, I think, that we’ve always felt about us is that we sort of have a sibling quality, when we sing together. Who knows why, because we’re not related, but I think that was the first time we knew that there was a reason that we met and became friends. It was always very easy for us to just sit down and sing together, and blend well. We sort of have the same phrasing and like to sing the same things.
MB> It’s very rare for two people to get along well enough to work together for any length of time. What’s the process like, when you guys write songs together? How do you work things out, if you have any disagreements, musically?
Michelle> It takes that [other] person to have that outside perspective. We’re able to trust the person and say, “You know what? You’re right.” Most of all, we just kind of bounce ideas off each other.
Jessica> The process is that there’s never a process.
Michelle> The only consistent thing about it is that it’s never consistent.
MB> Do you guys consider yourselves country singers now, and was that a direction that you ever expected to go in, musically?
Jessica> I just consider myself a musician, in general. I think something that we don’t like about our business is that everybody’s forced into small little boxes. We feel like good music is good music, and that every artist should be able to explore any sort of genre, or other music, that they want to. That being said, I grew up wanting to make country music and be a part of the country music community. That was always an aspiration for me.
Michelle> Yeah, Jess is definitely the country girl. And, that’s where I drew a lot of my inspiration from, when we were writing together. But, I was exposed to country music, growing up. Maybe not as much modern country, but older country, like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams and stuff like that. I think, as a songwriter, I’ve always really felt most at home with country music and being a storyteller.
MB> Since you both initially had to struggle to make a name for yourself in the music business, has all of this current success that you’re receiving with The Wreckers been gratifying?
Jessica> I think we’re still just taking it day by day. We’re not counting our chickens before they hatch. We’re not saying, “Oh, gosh, this is going so well.”
Michelle> We’re just crossing our fingers. We’re just sitting back and watching. You can never take any of that stuff too seriously ‘cause one minute, people like you, and the next minute, they don’t. You can never make everyone happy, and so, you just have to make sure you’re happy.
Jessica> I think, probably, because we both struggled so hard to get here, we’ll never feel completely comfortable and at ease. In the back of your mind, there’s always the off chance that it all could end tomorrow.
MB> Have you both always written your own songs?
Jessica> Always, but we’re both fans of other songwriters. We have two songs on our record that aren’t ours.
Michelle> One of them is a Patty Griffin song, and we’re both huge Patty Griffin fans. We were just honored that we even were able to cut one of her songs. There are a lot of people out there that we admire, and who make us feel really unworthy as writers. There’s those times when you get a record and you put on a song and you go, “I’ve been trying to say that, but it always sounds stupid. Why couldn’t I just write this song?” What’s comforting is that it’s a learning process and, hopefully, you just keep getting better at it.
MB> Jessica, when you received the initial phone call from Michelle, asking you to go out on the road with her, how did you have the courage to just take off on the tour bus and do that?
Jessica> The first time that she asked me to go with her out on the road, I was in a position with my career where I wasn’t happy and getting really frustrated with what was going on. So, for me to get to just go out and hang out with my friend and hear good music every day, it was a really nice break from all the stresses that were going on in my life. It allowed me to get back in the head space of, “Okay, this is why I’m doing this. I love music and I love making music.” That really helped me to look at what I had going on in a whole new light, and rejuvenated me to continue on.
MB> Do you both hope to continue with The Wreckers, or do you think you’ll be returning to your solo careers, at some point? Have you given any thought, as to what you want to do, down the road?
Michelle> We haven’t really given any thought to it.
Jessica> Again, we’re taking this day by day.
Michelle> We’re going to try to do this as long as possible, but that depends on people who buy records and listen to music. It’s not really up to us. We would love to be making The Wreckers records, but if people don’t want us to, we’re going to have to go to plan B. But, for now, we’re going to be The Wreckers, as long as possible. I’m not planning on making a solo record any time soon. And, I know Jess hasn’t even really thought about it.
MB> Michelle, how has having had a baby changed your perspective on life and how you view your career? And, what is it like to be on the road, and also have a family?
Michelle> Well, now I really just want to work my butt off, so my daughter, Owen, can have a great life. But, it also has taught me to not freak out about little things. I still freak out, on occasion, but it’s been mellowing me out a lot. Jess can vouch for that.
Jessica> Absolutely.
Michelle> Little things that used to really, really irritate me and that I could get worked up over, will annoy me for a minute, and then Owen comes crawling in the room with a smile on her face and we sing “Old McDonald,” and I forget about it.
MB> What are the best and worst things about being out on the road?
Jessica> I think the worst thing, for me, is that I’m separated from all my friends and family back home. I never get to see them. Our only form of communication is the telephone, which gets pretty old. But, on the other side of that, Michelle and Teddy (Michelle’s husband) and Owen are family to me, so at the same time, I do get to be with family every day.
Michelle> I have all my friends and family with me. I think the most taxing thing on me is the staying in hotels and not having your own bed and, especially with the baby, not having a kitchen to wash bottles and make food. That gets pretty old. But, you figure it out, and the comforting thing is knowing that other people do it, every day. Until she goes to school, I think we’re good. And then, when she starts wanting to stay at school and not go travel, we’re going to have a problem.
