Arabella is a street in uptown New Orleans.
Now it is also the title of the debut album from Laurie and John Stirratt. For the Stirratts, twin siblings who were raised outside New Orleans, became musicians in their teens and later hit their stride in Chicago, Arabella is their first effort together since the late 80's.
The 11 songs on Arabella transport feelings of lonesomeness, desire and regret through a blur of country, folk and rock. They don’t rush to unfold but instead open up gradually, unveiling layer upon layer of emotions, clusters of memories and a resolution to drive straight ahead. Like the crimson folk songs of Nick Drake, the gentle country rock of Ronnie Lane or the bruising pop of Alex Chilton, the torn beauty of these songs is straightforward but also works on mythic terms. Thanks to a large cast of musicians, including the Stirratt’s friends in Wilco and Autumn Defense, the landscapes of the songs stretch far and wide without losing a sliver of their intimacy.
***
Laurie and John were born five minutes apart in November 1967 and grew up in Mandeville, a town beside New Orleans. Music played a role in their family — their father Avery played Dixieland banjo and unused instruments that sat around the house were dusted off and given to the children who were put to work at the family jam sessions at their grandmother’s house every Thanksgiving. They were also growing up during a musical renaissance in New Orleans, where funk was originating and R&B was being re-written using a new vocabulary created by an upcoming generation of musicians.
“I think if anything, growing up in such a rich environment made you think that every region of the country had the same thing,” says John. “And it’s a shock when you see it isn’t that way. The radio was so cool growing up, playing hits the days like Zeppelin and Wings, but also the Meters.”
Laurie agrees. “Growing up hearing a lot of country, hearing a lot of Dixieland and Cajun stuff, I think it definitely influenced our music. New Orleans has a definite hold on us. It's hard to shake. it's like a fairy land. When you're there, it evokes feeling I don't feel when I'm anywhere else."
John played in bands during high school while Laurie developed her ear by learning songs from records. In the years to follow, they went their separate ways — John relocated to Oxford, Miss. to play in the Hilltops. In 1988, when their bass player quit, he gave Laurie a call and asked her to join them. “I hadn’t played bass before, so that was a crash course,” she remembers.
The band lasted for two years until the larger world beckoned. John joined Uncle Tupelo, later morphing into Wilco, a band he continues to play in as bassist and multi-instrumentalist. Laurie helped form Blue Mountain, one of the leading bands of the roots country resurgence of the ‘90s, celebrated for their incendiary live shows.
Over several years, several albums and many more tours, Laurie and John would cross paths occasionally, wishing they could work together one day. Their chance came when Blue Mountain broke up in 2001 and Laurie soon after moved to Chicago where John had moved to be near Wilco headquarters. The move solidified their relationship and their desire to finally make Arabella happen.
Chicago proved to be just the right place. “Chicago has lots of similarities to the South given it’s provincial qualities, where people are doing what they’re doing and wanting to be here doing it,” John says.
A musical ground zero where wildly disparate genres flourish and musicians, labels, clubs and fans intersect to create a progressive community, Chicago was were John and Laurie were able to get their feet wet playing shows together as well as challenge themselves further.
“It was a time to start over,” Laurie says. “The changes have been really good. I love the city a lot. It’s supportive and not as cutthroat like how some scenes can get.”
Arabella was recorded during winter 2003-2004 in Chicago and Nashville. Pat Sansone, John’s partner in Autumn Defense, helped in the studio as well as many others including Greg Wiz (Joseph Arthur), Brad Jones (Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw), Will Kimbrough (Amy Rigby, Todd Snider) and Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche. (Wilco).
***
Arabella is the product of a lifetime of experiences but it also was a discovery for both Laurie and John. “I learned that she has strong ideas and she’s very patient at the same time,” John says. “I also realized I like her songs a lot more than mine.”
“He’s really intuitive,” Laurie says of her brother. “I was impressed by how good John has become as a musician and arranger, but also how developed his studio skills are.
Adds John: “I think that there was definitely more of one mind at work than with other collaborations. Not like twin powers — we’re not identical. But there was a general gratefulness that we were doing this and including a lot of our friends. We wouldn’t have made it if we didn’t have the tunes.”
Those tunes could not have been written any other time than now. In their mid-thirties, the Stirratts both had significant tenures in bands that became bigger than was ever expected. They’ve lived long stretches of their lives on the road between cities, never really having a real home to return to. And in 1991, their mother died of cancer. Their shared responses to loss, regret and rejuvenation filter into Arabella, but find different paths inside.
“At this age, you don’t have the same blind confidence you have when you’re in your twenties. There’s more self-doubt, you’ve experienced more,” Laurie says. “So a few years ago I was thinking about getting out of it and kind of had to reevaluate things. But I knew I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. Really, I made this record to conquer fear and do it anyway.
***
Now it is also the title of the debut album from Laurie and John Stirratt. For the Stirratts, twin siblings who were raised outside New Orleans, became musicians in their teens and later hit their stride in Chicago, Arabella is their first effort together since the late 80's.
The 11 songs on Arabella transport feelings of lonesomeness, desire and regret through a blur of country, folk and rock. They don’t rush to unfold but instead open up gradually, unveiling layer upon layer of emotions, clusters of memories and a resolution to drive straight ahead. Like the crimson folk songs of Nick Drake, the gentle country rock of Ronnie Lane or the bruising pop of Alex Chilton, the torn beauty of these songs is straightforward but also works on mythic terms. Thanks to a large cast of musicians, including the Stirratt’s friends in Wilco and Autumn Defense, the landscapes of the songs stretch far and wide without losing a sliver of their intimacy.
***
Laurie and John were born five minutes apart in November 1967 and grew up in Mandeville, a town beside New Orleans. Music played a role in their family — their father Avery played Dixieland banjo and unused instruments that sat around the house were dusted off and given to the children who were put to work at the family jam sessions at their grandmother’s house every Thanksgiving. They were also growing up during a musical renaissance in New Orleans, where funk was originating and R&B was being re-written using a new vocabulary created by an upcoming generation of musicians.
“I think if anything, growing up in such a rich environment made you think that every region of the country had the same thing,” says John. “And it’s a shock when you see it isn’t that way. The radio was so cool growing up, playing hits the days like Zeppelin and Wings, but also the Meters.”
Laurie agrees. “Growing up hearing a lot of country, hearing a lot of Dixieland and Cajun stuff, I think it definitely influenced our music. New Orleans has a definite hold on us. It's hard to shake. it's like a fairy land. When you're there, it evokes feeling I don't feel when I'm anywhere else."
John played in bands during high school while Laurie developed her ear by learning songs from records. In the years to follow, they went their separate ways — John relocated to Oxford, Miss. to play in the Hilltops. In 1988, when their bass player quit, he gave Laurie a call and asked her to join them. “I hadn’t played bass before, so that was a crash course,” she remembers.
The band lasted for two years until the larger world beckoned. John joined Uncle Tupelo, later morphing into Wilco, a band he continues to play in as bassist and multi-instrumentalist. Laurie helped form Blue Mountain, one of the leading bands of the roots country resurgence of the ‘90s, celebrated for their incendiary live shows.
Over several years, several albums and many more tours, Laurie and John would cross paths occasionally, wishing they could work together one day. Their chance came when Blue Mountain broke up in 2001 and Laurie soon after moved to Chicago where John had moved to be near Wilco headquarters. The move solidified their relationship and their desire to finally make Arabella happen.
Chicago proved to be just the right place. “Chicago has lots of similarities to the South given it’s provincial qualities, where people are doing what they’re doing and wanting to be here doing it,” John says.
A musical ground zero where wildly disparate genres flourish and musicians, labels, clubs and fans intersect to create a progressive community, Chicago was were John and Laurie were able to get their feet wet playing shows together as well as challenge themselves further.
“It was a time to start over,” Laurie says. “The changes have been really good. I love the city a lot. It’s supportive and not as cutthroat like how some scenes can get.”
Arabella was recorded during winter 2003-2004 in Chicago and Nashville. Pat Sansone, John’s partner in Autumn Defense, helped in the studio as well as many others including Greg Wiz (Joseph Arthur), Brad Jones (Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw), Will Kimbrough (Amy Rigby, Todd Snider) and Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche. (Wilco).
***
Arabella is the product of a lifetime of experiences but it also was a discovery for both Laurie and John. “I learned that she has strong ideas and she’s very patient at the same time,” John says. “I also realized I like her songs a lot more than mine.”
“He’s really intuitive,” Laurie says of her brother. “I was impressed by how good John has become as a musician and arranger, but also how developed his studio skills are.
Adds John: “I think that there was definitely more of one mind at work than with other collaborations. Not like twin powers — we’re not identical. But there was a general gratefulness that we were doing this and including a lot of our friends. We wouldn’t have made it if we didn’t have the tunes.”
Those tunes could not have been written any other time than now. In their mid-thirties, the Stirratts both had significant tenures in bands that became bigger than was ever expected. They’ve lived long stretches of their lives on the road between cities, never really having a real home to return to. And in 1991, their mother died of cancer. Their shared responses to loss, regret and rejuvenation filter into Arabella, but find different paths inside.
“At this age, you don’t have the same blind confidence you have when you’re in your twenties. There’s more self-doubt, you’ve experienced more,” Laurie says. “So a few years ago I was thinking about getting out of it and kind of had to reevaluate things. But I knew I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. Really, I made this record to conquer fear and do it anyway.
***
