The Starlings profile picture

The Starlings

Marveling the While available! Touring nationally!

About Me

New album "Marveling the While" now available at select locations - more to come! You can find "MTW" at Sonic Boom Records , in Ballard's Sonic Boom store, CDBaby , and Smart Choice Music UK Updates will be posted as they come in. Drop us a line here or contact AT starlingsmusic DOT com if you would like to order one directly from us."MTW" jumped up the charts again! No. 25 this week on the Roots Music Report Charts (our 17th week!). Thanks to all the DJ's across the country playing our album.We're out on the road right now, for 6 months, our line-up will fluctuate with different legs of the journey. We'll be posting blogs here and also here . Thanks to Michael Deeds for the article in The Idaho Statesman! Great way to kick off the tour."It's rootsy music with a simple beauty. It's a Seattle band with a small-town aura...Mills' timeless, gorgeous voice is the driving force behind the Starlings' twangy serenity. Her husband, singer-guitarist Tom Parker, is no slouch, either. When the two harmonize as a banjo gets plucked in the background, it's a truly wonderful blend." -Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman"The Starlings vocal harmonies, acoustic goodness and sweet blend of folk and country set the stage for the band's storied original songwriting and the compelling presence of vocalist Joy Mills." - KEXP.org, 90.3 Seattle"Organic country…both delicate and edgy… For the lo-fi country enthusiast, the Starlings’ natural charm and raw potential, like the Starlings themselves, are a winning combination. Highly recommended.” - Maverick Magazine“The Starlings hark back to an earlier, simpler time, when folks gathered on front porches with mandolins and harmonicas, singing away the day in dusty twilight. That simple beauty pervades the band’s stellar debut album, “Songbook,” and that easygoing camaraderie personifies the Starlings’ live performances, which find them equally at home playing barnburners and ballads and have made them favorites among Seattle’s twang community.” - Portland Tribune"The Starlings, a band buoyed by shimmering vocalist Joy Mills." - Seattle P.I.The Starlings have captured the ears of fans both in the Northwest and beyond. The 2008 release of their sophomore album, "Marveling the While," which debuted at no. 8 on the Euro-Americana chart for April, follows their successful 2006 release of debut album "Songbook." Based out of Seattle, they've received accolades from notable sources as Maverick Magazine and Americana UK; spent several weeks on John Richards'(KEXP) "Top Ten Northwest Bands"; and shared prominent performances with the likes of Todd Snider, The Avett Brothers, Eilen Jewell, The Everybodyfields, Shannon McNally, Michelle Malone and many others."Marveling the While" picks up where "Songbook" leaves off – bringing us further down an aural path of lush production, soulful and sparkly vocals, and featuring guests appearances from Mike Grigoni (Willy Mason, Peter Rowan, Chris Stuart and Backcountry), Lauryn Shapter, and Chad Hinman (producer). With a title inspired by the literary works of John Steinbeck, "Marveling the While" explores themes of time and duality, with the powerful opening track, "Love and War", the bitter sweetness of life in "Silver Thread," a tribute to a gypsy mother in "Geraldine," and the spooky, panoramic montage of "Honey Creek." The Starlings raise the bar in this production, reaching a new pinnacle with their use of metaphor, harmonies, and dynamics."Songbook" covers a wide terrain of folk and Americana landscapes including the homage paid to elders in the opening track, "Hand to Mouth," and the wanderer's story in "Alaskan Fire." Other stand-outs include the minor-key foot-stompers "Bones to Ashes" and "Rosie" as well as the elegantly-orchestrated "Sinner's Glory," and the old-time-flavored sweetness of "Acorn."Led by the magnetic harmonies and songwriting of Joy Mills and Tom Parker, the lyrics and vocals are all at once wistful and fierce, haunting and soothing. Their approach is contemporary and inventive, inspired by the classics of country, folk and Appalachia. Guitar, banjo, harmonica and mandolin give front porch flavors to the songs, while Aimee Zoe Tubbs and Jack Quick provide the solid and stylish foundation on drums and bass, respectively, as well as backing vocals. Elemental themes create The Starlings' solid repertoire – from a pin-dropping ballad to a foot-stomping barnburner, their images linger – empty boxcars, twilight on the prairie, divining rods, river beds, the long drive home, and an underlying wonder at the mystery of it all.Both "MTW" and "Songbook" are available from CDBaby, Miles of Music and Sonic Boom store in Seattle.
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/7/2005
Band Website: starlingsmusic.com
Band Members: Joy Mills - Tom Parker - Aimee Zoe Tubbs - Jack Quick - Chad Hinman
Influences: Patty Griffin -Greg Brown -Leonard Cohen -Emmylou Harris -Neko Case -Gillian Welch & David Rawlings -Willie Nelson -Tom Waits -Lucinda Williams -Martha Wainwright -murder ballads, boom-chuck, tree sap, Beethoven's 7th Symphony
Sounds Like:
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Not a gravedigger

July has been whooshing by...it's been a really great month. The Toad residency in Cambridge every Tuesday is a good introduction to the Boston music scene, meeting all sorts of folks. We do the late ...
Posted by The Starlings on Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:02:00 PST

Spindly legs

We were at the New Haven River, down the trail from Russ & Maryann's house in South Bristol, Vermont. Hunter, the 14-yr old Springer Spaniel, waded nearby, watching us, keeping guard. Russ had gon...
Posted by The Starlings on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:03:00 PST

White Ale

Two blogs in one week! Wow, it's been, like, a month since I did that. I must be drinking! True, true. I haven't really had a drink in daaaaaaays. So, my 1.5 Apple-gosh White Ales are just swimminging...
Posted by The Starlings on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:41:00 PST

Some enchanted earwig

Intense lightning and thunder last night here in in Lanesville/Gloucester town. Tom and I dashed out to the bus around 3am, me waving a plastic lantern like a bell, Tom gingerly tiptoe-running in bare...
Posted by The Starlings on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:36:00 PST

Synopsis of a 1.5 whirlwind

So the computer's down, gone for good. We'll have to figure out what to get next. I have most everything backed-up on my external hard drive, so nothing critical is lost. Still, ugh. I'm sitting in th...
Posted by The Starlings on Thu, 29 May 2008 01:28:00 PST

Computer!!! Don’t fail me now...

My computer won't start these days, it's blipping little blue lights and then gone. Soooooo, my really long blog that I haven't finished or posted is trapped inside it. It may be my power cord, I hope...
Posted by The Starlings on Wed, 28 May 2008 11:25:00 PST

What blog?

It's been a nice break from the computer and writing. I've spent so much time during the booking process since we decided to hatch this thing last fall, it's a relief to put it all aside for awhile. T...
Posted by The Starlings on Mon, 19 May 2008 09:08:00 PST

Roots Music Report Charts - no. 39!

"MTW" is number 39 on the Roots Music Report Charts (our 8th week!). Thanks to all the DJ's across the country playing our album!  More reviews are rolling in, thanks to everyone for review...
Posted by The Starlings on Tue, 13 May 2008 10:35:00 PST

Mushrooms and New reviews...

We're enjoying a bee-yoo-tiful day in the Iowa countryside. Our Des Moines show last night was intimate and nice, and Aimee gets the chance to catch up with her family and new niece in Des Moines (as ...
Posted by The Starlings on Mon, 12 May 2008 01:50:00 PST

Out in the countryside...

Hi folks - just a brief one this time...been having a grand ol' time in Nebraska and western Iowa, sharing shows with Omaha songwriter Matt Cox. York, Omaha (Nebraska) and Shenandoah (Iowa), all very ...
Posted by The Starlings on Sat, 10 May 2008 01:01:00 PST