Heather Turner and Katie Wefer Release New CD
Heather Turner and Katie Wefer, along with their band Tupelo Honey, have released a new seven song CD that is an absolute joy to listen to. The harmonies are beautiful, the voices are appealing, and the instrumentation is unique and soothing.
Heather and Katie graduated from Highlands High School in 200 and were close friends as students at the University of Kentucky. They have developed their own sound as musicians in just a few short years.
Each of the seven songs on the album is an original and the sound is rich and tight with Heather and Katie on acoustic guitars, Kristen Shaw on violin, Stephen Anderson on bass, and Daniel Peterson on drums.
"We started recording in January and finished up in March," said Heather. "I wrote two of the songs, Katie wrote two of the songs and three were written by both of us together. "Our songs are what they are," said Heather. "We write what we feel and what comes out of us. Usually we write the music first and then add the lyrics. It may be a bit unpolished and unstructured but it reaches out and has a positive influence on people."
The songs are a mix of folk and rock with an occasional Latin influence and a touch of soul. "I'd say we combine folk and rock," said Heather. "It's really casual folk and rock with a little country and the blues."
Heather's biggest musical inspiration is Patty Griffin and Katie is most inspired by the music of Sheryl Crow.
Listening to the seven songs, it's easy to pick uo in the influence of the Indigo Girls on their music. One can also detect the influence of the Dixie Chics and a little Natalie Merchant on the CD.
The seventh song on the album may be the most unique because it is sung entirely in Spanish.
Tupelo Honey was produced and engineered by Ted McConnell at his studio in Cincinnati. McConnell also plays classical guitar, bass, and percussion on the album. "Ted has great equipment and we recorded in his basement," said Heather. "We even used the same type of microphone used by Nora Jones."
Tupelo Honey got it's start a few years ago when Heather and Katie played with Andrew Ross of Ft. Thomas. Andrew moved on and Heather and Katie decided to keep the band together by adding three new musicians. They got their name from the name of a cafe they love in Asheville, North Carolina.
Heather and Katie will have a CD release party in the ballroom of the Southgate House in Newport on Saturday May 12.
"We've been playing a lot of live music and working our full-time day jobs," said Heather. "Now we're preparing for our concert at the Southgate House."
Katie worksa as a preschool teacher and Heather has a job with the Social Security Administration.
"We'd love to make music a career but I'm not sure that we're anywhere close to leaving our full time jobs." said Heather. "Traveling is one of my passions, but I'm a self-taught guitarist and my skills are probably average at best. And the music business is tough. There's nothing easy about it."
Tupelo Honey's new CD can be purchased at cdbaby.com and also at Shake it Records in Northside.
-Bill Thomas of Inside Fort Thomas
