In their childhood home in Albany, New York, Jocelyn and Chris Arndt would spend hours listening to their parents’ music collection in a book and CD-filled room they called “the library”; In elementary school, they learned to play instruments, and performed at local gatherings, fairs, and markets. “We’d been playing covers for a while, which was cool, but we both decided that the next step was to write our own music,” recalls Jocelyn. So, the siblings started writing. In middle school. No big deal.
“Oh man, I was the classic emotional teenage girl,” says Jocelyn as she reflects on pre-pubescent songwriting inspiration. “Everything was drama—turning middle school drama into a serious song. It worked about half the time.” she laughs.
They’ve come a long way since then; the pair released their debut full-length, Edges, earlier this year, a 12-song blues rocker that features appearances from Gov’t Mule’s Danny Louis, G. Love, as well as Jocelyn’s powerhouse voice. “There are those artists who, seconds after they open their mouths, you know who they are by the distinctive sound that’s uniquely theirs, I always wanted to sing like that,” says Jocelyn. “Janis Joplin, Pat Benatar, those big voices were a huge inspiration for me.”
In the midst of writing, recording, and touring, Jocelyn and Chris attend Harvard University; “Music is our main thing, so we miss class every now and again,” says Chris. “It definitely gets really busy, but our professors are very understanding,” Jocelyn adds.
On August 14th, the pair will perform at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley for Lightning 100’s acclaimed live Nashville Sunday Night broadcast show series, providing opening support for East of 8th fave, Shannon LaBrie. “It’s like rock n’ roll never really left the South. People are excited to go hear live music, any day of the week. You guys have amazing independent radio stations that play great rock music,” Jocelyn continues. “For someone who didn’t grow up here, it’s a fantastic thing to experience.”
Purchase Edges: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/edges/id1088336752
Purchase Nashville show tickets here.
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