On their single “Born To Love,” Ali said, “We were down in Nashville last fall on a writing trip. I was on the phone one night with my husband back home in Canada and we had a minor disagreement. We worked it all out and when we hung up the phone I had the song title in my head and picked up a guitar. I kept circling around the idea of what it feels like to be so in love with somebody that you can’t live without them, but you also know how to push their buttons because you know each other so well. There’s an edgy-ness there. I thought a lot of people would be able to relate to that. I had the main riff of the song in a few short minutes and ran across the hall to play it for Zoe where she was getting ready for bed. She loved the idea and we decided to bring it into our writing session with Brian White and Phil Barton the next day. We ended up writing the song together in one short hour, which never happens! The song just fell out of the sky.”
The duo is nominated for theCanadian Country Music Association Award for “Roots Artist of the Year.” “We are constantly busy writing, touring, playing, planning, and it’s so nice to lift your head away from your work once in a while and feel like what you’re doing is impacting people. We spend so much time working away in the figurative ‘woodshed’ during the year, so when the news came in that we were nominated we were quite shocked. We love the fact that we are in the Roots category with so many dear friends and fellow artists whom we respect and admire. We couldn’t ask to share this nomination with a better selection of musicians and humans,” they said.
Ali is up for the Canadian Country Music Association Award for “Fiddle Player of the Year.” “That is unreal,” she said. “This is my fourth time being nominated and it is honestly the most wonderful feeling. I still feel like I have so much to learn about my instrument, but being recognized by my peers in the industry is definitely a nice little pat on the back.”
Their music video for “Born To Love” was a great deal of fun to film. “Our director Amit Dabrai and his whole crew, as well as our production team Heyd & Seek were such a dream to work with. We shot the whole thing during one very long day in a studio in Toronto. We adored the fact that it incorporated three different energetic scenes complete with dancers, a marching band and motorcycles. We wanted the music video for this song to be very fun, and memorable, and we hope fans are digging it,” they said.
They listed Canadian country duo High Valley as their dream male collaboration choices. “We think it would be really fun to collaborate with not one, but two guys – High Valley. Two duos – two guys, two girls. What’s not to like? We had the chance to play the Gospel Brunch with Brad and Curtis a few weeks ago at Boots & Hearts where we did a bit of a bluegrass jam. It would be fun to get into the studio with those guys and record something for real,” they said.
Their future plans include more touring, more writing and more recording. “We are heading out to Halifax for the 2015 Canadian Country Music Awards in a few weeks. We also have much more coming up in 2016 including some international shows and a new album that we are so excited to share with our fans,” they said.
When asked what motivates them each day, they said, “We have been friends for ten years and never would have thought when we first met singing in church that we would be where we are today with a record deal, two albums underneath our belts, and fans across the country. It’s crazy. We love hanging out and making music together. Faith is also a huge part of each of our lives, and our family and friends keep us encouraged and motivated to continue to work hard. The music industry is a tough business, but when you have your best friend by your side, it makes it a whole lot easier to keep pursuing those big dreams.”
For their fans, they concluded, “The whole reason we are able to do what we do is because of people like you joining us on our journey! We are so grateful for the chance to make music for a living and love staying in touch with our fans at shows and on social media. We love our fans so much.”
