Ask any music fan and they will tell you not only how an artist or song has touched their lives, but about the community that a shared love for music brings about. That same community exists among the musicians who produce these wonderful pieces of artistry. Up-and-coming country duo Few Miles South can attest to that; growing up on opposite coasts and around different genres of music, their paths crossed and they formed a bond over their love of creating and performing songs.
We caught up with FMS’ Tori Lund and Blake English to talk about their musical journey together, their songwriting and the new album Californ I Aint.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
Blake: We’re a band that prides ourselves on creating country music that is authentic and a bit more traditional than what is on the radio today. I’m originally from South Georgia. There I grew up playing music. I moved away when I was 17, eventually ending up in Los Angeles working in the music industry when I met Tori.
Tori: I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I went to school for music – classical singing and opera. After many years training I realized that style wasn’t for me. I was teaching piano and voice when I met Blake and eventually we decided to start a country band. We had written a lot of music and realized that we should be the ones recording and performing it.
CN: Which musicians, country or not, have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
Blake: I grew up listening to a lot of my dad’s music like Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, George Jones, and Roy Orbison, but I also played in bands and we covered 80’s glam like Ratt and Mötley Crüe among others!
Tori: So many. Linda Ronstadt, Anne Wilson, Alison Krauss to name a few and I used to listen to a lot of opera singers, Dawn Upshaw, Natalie Dessay, Kathleen Battle; their mastery is inspiring.
CN: Originating from opposite coasts, Tori, you’re from LA while Blake you grew up in Georgia. How did you guys meet?
Blake: We met at a church in Brentwood, California where we were both playing music. Fast forward about three years and we ended up in Georgia writing and playing country music.
Tori: We both wanted to get out of Los Angeles and simplify our lives. Moving to a tiny town has allowed us to focus on music full time, no distractions.
CN: When did you know that you both wanted to pursue a project together?
Blake: After writing our first song together, Lazy Daisy, I knew we had something good brewing!
Tori: Yeah, that was our first song together and my first song ever. It’s jazzy. I’d never written a song until I met Blake, so we had no idea what would turn out. I think it took us about six months, mostly because I was so insecure and judgmental of any ideas I had. But I completely fell in love with writing and creating something out of nothing. We kept at it and sort of naturally shifted gears to country music.
CN: How did you decide on the band name Few Miles South?
Blake: Tori came up with that, but Few Miles South is something I grew up saying…You know? It’s a southernism. Haha!
Tori: Yeah, it’s just something I’d heard Blake say a million times, mostly when giving directions, haha. We’re both from southern parts of our home states, so it’s a nod to his roots and the genre.
CN: Tori, your vocals are incredible! Albeit not all that surprising as you are classically trained in opera!! When did you discover you can sing operatically and what made you switch to styles to country?
Tori: I’ve always loved to sing, but I certainly needed a lot of guidance and practice to figure it out technically. Unfortunately, with all that training I lost a lot of my emotional connection to music and it just became a head game of mechanical instructions I was trying to adhere to. I stopped singing for a while because it wasn’t any fun. I think grad school sucked the life out of it for me. Slowly I got back into it…singing at church and through a rock cover band that one of my friends connected me with – we’d play at one of the guy’s yacht club a couple times a month. That really helped me remember why I loved to sing with no pressure. Soon after, I met Blake and he thought my voice was suited for country so we gave it a try.
CN: Your new album Californ I Aint was just released on March 1. Love the play on pronunciation of California (and the Beach Boys’ Californ-i-a in “Surfin USA” immediately comes to mind). What’s the meaning behind the title of the album?
Blake: Basically, it’s just about being glad that we got the hell out of Los Angeles, haha!
Tori: That pretty much sums it up. There’s a huge difference in lifestyle where we live now compared to L.A. and we much prefer it. The album cover of the baby gator is a photo we took on the dirt road just a few hundred feet from our house. Certainly don’t see those guys out in CA.
CN: Each of the 11 tracks were written by you both. Can you take us through your writing processes – both individually and when you collaborate?
Blake: Usually it starts with an acoustic guitar and one of us with a melody or guitar riff. Tori writes the majority of the lyrics and I the music, but we each do both and bounce ideas off one another.
Tori: I keep a journal on me so when it comes time to make a song it’s a matter or organizing and piecing together ideas. Sometimes it starts with a lyric, other times it’s a melody or chord progression. We both fill in the blanks when the other is stumped. Sometimes we knock out a song in a couple hours, other times it takes a few weeks to come together.
CN: The lead single from the album is “Purple Skies.” Please share with us the background to this song.
Tori: We played a gig in Arizona back in the very early stages of our band. In fact, it was the first out-of-town gig we booked. We rented a van, drove everyone out there and as soon as we walked into the venue we had a weird feeling. The people all had very unusual names and there was just a strangeness in the air. Right before we played we realized we were playing for a doomsday cult. Well, everyone except for Blake realized, haha, he just thought they were super nice folks — had to break it to him that they were probably recruiting. Anyway, that was odd and deserved to be remembered so we wrote a song about it. It’s told from the perspective of the seeker, who wants answers to life’s big questions, as well as the cult leader who preys on them. Really it’s about beliefs and how that defines our reality.
CN: Blake, you have a background in music production and engineering and you actually produced, engineered and mixed Californ I Aint. How different is it to produce your own material versus someone else’s? Are you more critical of the end product when it’s your own? (Which is amazing all-around btw).
Blake: Aw man..thank you..What I find the most difficult in producing your own material is being able to let go, to be finished with the album. I mean, by having your own studio you have the time and luxury to obsess on every little detail and try to perfect everything! And it makes me crazy! But…It is cool to be able to take your time on a project. Though, sometimes I do miss having an objective ear in the room, another perspective, you know?
CN: Do you have a dream collaboration in mind?
Blake: Shoot..everybody wants to work with Dave Cobb, why not? Haha! Or how about Sturgill Simpson??
Tori: I’ve only written with Blake so I’d have to give that some thought, as that took me a while to get comfortable with. I really enjoy Brandi Carlile though.
CN: If you could describe yourselves in one word, what would it be and why?
Blake: Hungry. We are devoting all our time, energy and savings to making music because when you have a dream you owe it to yourself to do all you can to realize it. We’ve made a lot of strides, especially this year, but it’s the most challenging thing we’ve done.
CN: What was the first concert you ever attended?
Blake: Poison and Ratt in Dothan, AL.
Tori: My parents took us to the Hollywood Bowl a lot as kids, so I’m sure there are some pretty cool concerts I don’t remember, but I do remember my mom taking me and a friend to Wango Tango, haha! Don’t remember who all was on the line up, but I do remember Hanson!
CN: You guys are out on tour right now to promote the album. How’s that going?
Blake: The first month and half has been a lot of fun. So far my favorite places to play are in Texas and Wyoming, but in every state we’ve played we’ve gotten great responses and have met some cool people.
Tori: I’d say we’re pretty much always on tour because there isn’t much where we live, but this has been the longest stretch so far. It has its challenges – trying to make ends meet on a limited budget – but it’s been pretty cool seeing places we normally wouldn’t, meeting folks all over the map, being able to bring along our dogs and of course share our songs.
CN: Where can fans catch you on the road?
Blake: Throughout April we’ll play regionally throughout Florida, Alabama and Georgia. It’ll be good to be home for a little while. We’ll head back to the west coast at the end of April for Stagecoach Festival in California. We’re really excited about that!
Tori: Stagecoach is a huge opportunity for us. We’ll be playing on Nikki Lane’s Horseshoe Stage on April 27th, 1:30pm! You can check out all our other upcoming tour dates on our website.
CN: What’s next on the horizon in 2019?
Blake: We’re ready to release more music! We have at least another album cocked and loaded. We just need to tidy up a few things and put it out there. I know Tori’s anxious to write more songs and we’re both always excited to go play venues that we haven’t played before!
Tori: More music, more writing, more time on the road.
Californ I Aint is available for purchase and streaming here.
For more information Few Miles South, visit their website at FewMilesSouth.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.