I met the Secret Sisters right after they had been through a rough patch in the music industry, including being dropped from their label, dealing with a lawsuit, declaring bankruptcy, and considering leaving music altogether. It was meant to be— I believe my purpose in life is to help artists continue to make beautiful art that moves people. I am so glad I got to be a part of their journey at this phase. I had been a fan for a while and a dear friend connected me with the sisters, I felt strongly that they should NOT quit. We hit it off immediately, talking for hours. In fact, I rescheduled my trip home for Thanksgiving that year to make sure that I was able to meet with them one last time to try to seal the deal. It worked!
One of the first things I did when I started managing the Secret Sisters was to get on a call with Brandi Carlile. She believed in the band and wanted to help them make a new record. We quickly planned out and booked dates for the band to fly out to Seattle and make a record at Bear Creek Studio near Brandi’s home. I obviously jumped at the chance to visit my old stomping grounds (Amazon Music 2010-2012 baby!) and watch the magic happen in the studio with Laura, Lydia, Brandi, Phil, Tim, and Jerry.
It was really special watching them work out parts, test out ideas, and make this record. I have so many specific memories from this time: ordering late night sushi and talking about how much we love Elton John, Brandi at the piano with Laura and Lydia behind her coming up with beautiful harmonies, and the weird, eclectic vibe of this studio tucked away in the trees. The studio has rooms attached, so we slept there and it felt kind of like music summer camp. Here are some of my photos from that time in the studio. I just sat in the back on my little laptop sending emails and pinching myself that I was getting to be a part of something so fantastic.
Lydia’s husband is a fantastic filmmaker (1504) and he really captured some of the magic of that time in the below video.
But the making of the record was just the start. I took the record to my friends at New West (one of whom I had worked with at my first job ever out of college at UMG over a decade earlier), and they loved it as much as I did. I also took the band to my favorite lawyer in town and my favorite agent in town, and all of a sudden we had a full team of people I loved working with that were pumped for the record. Looking back, the whole year or so after this record was made were some of the most fun in my career thus far. You know that feeling when everything is just WORKING? It was that. And it was glorious.
I am halfway through this post and I realize I haven’t even talked about the songs on this album yet. They are the kind of songs that hit you hard in the heart. There was one about having a good father that made me tear up every single time. There was a song about stepping into your power as a woman. There were songs that told nostalgic stories about times past. There was a song (the one that ended up being a hit from the record) that was about heartbreak but finding a way to let it go, and the way they told the intro to the song made me laugh every time. If you haven’t heard the album, please go listen to it right now!
All our hard work on this record also led to a ton of cool opportunities. The Secret Sisters toured with Brandi, which included a stop at Red Rocks. Hearing the three of them sing Amazing Grace with perfect harmonies to a wall of 10K people singing it back in the wilderness, I still get chills. We went to Denmark for a music festival. They toured the UK and I flew over for a special London performance at Union Chapel. They played CBS this morning and I flew to NYC and back in one day to see the taping.
And the most fun of all: this record was nominated for a GRAMMY! I remember sitting with my employees and interns and brainstorming ways to push for a Grammy nomination. We sent thousands and thousands of emails. We DMed fans for months. We worked with the label to make graphics with all of their amazing press quotes and impressive stats. I will never forget the morning I was walking in to Belmont to teach my 8am class and I got an early morning call from Lydia. I answered the phone to just hear squealing on the other end, and it took me a second to realize no one had died, this record had been nominated for Folk Album of the Year!
