Female music group to celebrate first EP release at Iron Horse Date: 11/25/2014 NORTHAMPTON – The five musicians that make up The Woman’s Songwriter Collective pause as they try to explain their sound and their start, a difficult task.
Wishbone Zoe of Westfield, Carolyn Walker of Leverett, Christa Joy of Easthampton, Lexi Weege of Turners Falls and Lisa Marie Ellingsen of Northampton cover everything from folk to blues, yet come together and blur the distinctions between genres.
“We liken ourselves the Traveling Wilburys,” Joy said, as they all break out in laughter. “We should probably be ashamed that we do that.”
Though they found humor in being compared to the super-group of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison, the idea is the same: individual artists coming together to create an entirely unique sound.
The Woman’s Songwriter Collective has played throughout the Pioneer Valley and they will be returning to the Iron Horse in Northampton for the third time on Dec. 4. This time, however, they will be releasing their first EP.
“The other times, we were just like, ‘Hey, we’re The Woman’s Songwriter Collective. Come hear us.’ This time, we actually have something that you can buy,” Walker said.
The group received a Club Passim Iguana Music Fund grant to record the EP, which will be used to spread the word and book future shows, but also for the enjoyment of their fans.
“There’s not a lot out there that reflects what we actually sound like as a group,” Joy said. “It’s a way for us to represent our sounds. It’s so unique compared to what we’re doing individually. There are a lot of levels that are really neat about it. The main one for us is that we have a tool now to share who we are in a way that people can understand.”
The women all got their start in different ways. Weege sang songs like “Second Hand Rose” from “Funny Girl” at the age of eight in jazz cabarets. Ellingsen heard a boy at school playing Guns N’ Roses and was hooked on the guitar. Zoe listened to whatever her dad was immersed in, like the White Stripes. Joy sang in choirs, and Walker picked up the violin at age seven.
Despite this, one of the founding members of the Woman’s Songwriter Collective, Katie Sachs, had a vision. Sachs has since left the group to pursue music in Austin, Texas, but is still in touch with the group.
One by one, they came on board, even though Weege joked she was hesitant to come to her first meeting because she “didn’t know what she signed up for.”
“You sat in that chair and you didn’t say boo the whole time, and Lexi’s a vibrant personality,” Ellingsen said.
“I was feeling you out. I think I felt out right,” Weege said.
Though they had been familiar with one another, attending each other’s individual shows in passing, they had not known each other before joining forces. Since 2013, that has clearly changed.
“I didn’t know any of these people before and I feel like they’re my closest friends,” Walker said.
While all five members continue to play their own shows and record their own music, they said that playing together is a different kind of excitement. Each one brings their own songs to the group, and everyone takes turns being the leader of the group, making it a new experience for each individual.
“There are other times when you’re alone and you’re playing an hour show and you’re like, ‘I have to play by myself this whole hour? I’m so bored with myself,’” Walker said. “But for the Woman’s Collective when we all play together, we’re like, ‘Two-hour show? That’s no problem.’”
In fact, Ellingsen said that she looks forward to playing her individual sets less now.
“My problem is that I don’t like to play as much by myself anymore because I like playing with them better,” Ellingsen said.
When it is five friends playing music that they love together, there is no wondering why Ellingsen and the rest prefer to come together.
“It doesn’t feel like work. It doesn’t feel like that,” Joy said. “Even though it’s a creative project, it feels like it’s self-motivated.”
The EP release is on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Iron Horse in Northampton. Tickets for the Woman’s Song Collective’s show are $12 in advanced and $14 at the door. They can be purchased online at www.iheg.com or through the group’s website, www.womansongwritercollective.com.
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