Soft instrumental melodies, entrancing vocal harmonies, and messages of peace, hope and love; that’s what one can expect from husband-wife duo Granville Daze’s new album “Some Daze.” John and Victoria Crowne began performing together less than two years ago.
“Six years ago, I got a ukelele as a birthday gift,” John said. “I started playing that and in short order I could start making music. Once in a while, we’d sing a song together, but it was mostly just me, picking along, having fun . . .”
“I’d sing along while I did the dishes,” Victoria interjected.
“When the pandemic started, I just stopped playing other people’s music and started writing my own. One day, it was July 2021, I see that there’s a concert of ‘music that got me through the pandemic,’ and I’m like, Vicky, do you want to go do that? It was down in Rochester at the Federated Church.
“So, we went down and did one song, ‘Let there be Love,’” John continued, “And as soon as we were done, everyone backstage was like, ‘Where did you guys come from?’ It was such a warm welcome, it was so awesome. Then we got invited to do one of the concerts on the [Hancock] green. . .”
“The Pete Seeger Memorial Concert,” Victoria added, “which was huge because his family are huge Pete Seeger fans, so that was just an honor.”
‘SO MUCH FUN’
“We did more concerts on the green,” John said, “then we started doing open mic nights and it’s been so much fun.”
He did not have a writing background, though he did write a few songs when he was younger.
“He wrote me a love song,” Victoria said.
“It’s not like I sit down to write a song and say, ‘I have to write a song today.’ It has to happen on its own,” John said. “I play the chord progression first, then the melody comes out of that, then the words fall into place.”
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Granville Daze plays all original music. They draw inspiration from classic rock and folk musicians, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, John Prine and Pete Seeger, among others.
“News headlines have absolutely influenced what I’ve been writing about,” John said. “The protest-y kind of stuff is inspired by my mother. Peace, love happiness, harmony with the earth, that’s really what we try to achieve in our daily lives and what we sing about.”
John was taking lessons online with an expat who lives in Columbia, though he said he’s too busy these days. “There’s this thing for me, operating in the ignorant zone, instead of fitting into conventions. My instructor was always saying, ‘It’s really interesting, your use of chords, normally you wouldn’t see those chords together or that progression.’”
“He’s a wordsmith,” Victoria said. “I don’t know how he does it. I’m so proud to be beside him because we are having fun but we are affecting people one song at a time.”
CLOSING ACT
The duo was the closing act at last year’s annual Cabin Fever Follies at the Valley Players (which is coming up March 31 and April 1, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.).
“When [Doug Bergstein] introduced us the second night, he said, ‘I think we’ve found our closing act going forward.’ I thought he was joking. We’re just so excited and so honored to do that,” Victoria said. “We’re just here for the ride and all these amazing people are guiding us.”
“We just meet the most wonderful people,” John said. “That’s been the best part. It’s not just the two of us — André, the sound engineer, at West Street Digital [in St. Albans, where their album was recorded] — he starts adding more layers. The way he builds music up, it’s just incredible.”
“The connection that we have with the audience is totally what jazzes us, to see the foot-tapping, the head-nodding, the laughing, or, as John calls it, ‘Our superpower is to make people cry.’ We’re having fun together,” Victoria said.
“It’s magical,” John added. “The two of us sing together and the way our vocals bounce off each other, it’s just fun. We have a huge advantage in that we get to practice anytime. It can happen spontaneously.”
“The microphones never leave the living room,” Victoria said. They’ve played their music for their adult kids. “They’re our biggest fans, besides my mother-in-law,” who is 93. “It’s so cool to have them be right there cheering for us. And they give their honest opinion, too. It’s a whole family affair.”
Victoria works as a dental hygienist at Valley Dental Associates in Waitsfield and John is a self-employed carpenter.
Granville Daze will play at Lawson’s Tuesday Tunes on April 18 and at the Waitsfield Farmers Market on May 13. They’ll also be playing a few dates this summer at the Rochester Farmers Market as well as the Enfield Market in New Hampshire.
“We’ve had so much fun,” Victoria said. “It’s an absolute blast,” John added.
“Some Daze” is their first album and is available on all musical platforms.
