While most siblings find it difficult to perhaps even sit around a dining table with one another (I’m not speaking from experience, I swear), Drew, Kasie and Chloe Gasparini have, instead, come together to unite their individual passions for music and turn it into a career. As they prepare to release their self-titled EP later this month and a pretty packed schedule right through to the end of the year, they kindly agreed to this interview to chat songwriting, social media and dream show line-ups.
PW: Please introduce yourselves.
Saint Adeline
:
Hi! This is Drew, Kasie, and Chloe Gasparini. We are siblings, and we are Saint Adeline!
PW: How would you describe yourselves and your music in a few words?
SA:
Vocal harmony-driven folk-pop. In truth, our music spans multiple genres, so it’s hard to label, but we know our mom sure likes it!
PW: How and when did you first discover your love of music? Was there an album you bought or concert you attended that inspired you and made you think ‘yeah, I want to do that’?
SA: We all fell in love with music when we were young because there was always music around. Our mom is a music teacher, and there was music in the house, in the car, and everywhere in between. Paul Simon’s Graceland was a massive part of our childhood, and it still influences us today — it’s one of our favorite covers in our repertoire.
PW: Which bands or artists influenced you growing up, and have those influences changed over the years?
SA:
Because there is a decade between the three of us — Drew is 30, Kasie is 26, and Chloe is 20 — the list of bands and artists that influence us is very broad: from The Beatles to Major Lazer, folk to soul, and anything else we can get our ears on. But we can all agree that our first music influence was the O.G. of Kid Music Stadium tours: RAFFI. “Baby Beluga” for life, man.
PW: Is there a band or artist you might say you’re similar to?
SA:
When we were putting the album together, we realized that in many ways each song had a different influence. For instance, you can hear a lot of The Civil Wars’ influence on our song “Mother” and a lot of The Beatles’ influence on our song “Status Quo”. We constantly get compared to bands like Nickel Creek, The Wailin’ Jennys, The Staves, and Delta Rae, who happen to be our good friends from childhood! And that is fine with us because that is such great company to be included in!
PW: How easy or hard is it for the three of you as siblings to spend so much time together as a band? Do you ever argue, and how do you resolve any tension?
SA:
For the most part, it’s pretty easy going. We were raised in a really loving household, and we are all very close, so spending a lot of time together is something that we really enjoy. We are all artists with different personalities, so of course tensions can rise from to time, but we are always focused on the same goal: the music.
PW: Who or what most inspires your songwriting?
SA: Most of our songs are inspired by personal experiences and relationships. Like most songwriters, our exes feature heavily in our music. But two of our very first songs were inspired by our dad and by our 1-year-old nephew Gabe.
PW: In your opinion, which is the greatest song ever written and why?
SA: Ooh, this is a doozy. It feels like an impossible question for us to answer individually, no less agree upon! We’ll cast a vote for “September” by Earth Wind and Fire because it’s always a jam. When have you heard that song and not wanted to boogie?!
PW: Tell me about your new single, “Jumpstart”. Is there a story behind it?
SA: “Jumpstart” is about coming out of a toxic relationship and realizing that life shouldn’t be a competition, especially with the people that you love. Yes, it is based on personal experience.
PW: The song is taken from your upcoming self-titled EP. Without giving too much away, what can you tell me about it?
SA: We are so excited! It is a six-song EP, produced by our unofficial 4th band member and dear friend Justin Goldner. We recorded it at multiple studios in Brooklyn, with musicians from all over the East coast — it was a true collaboration. Without giving too much away, we can say that we had an insanely good time making it, and we hope everyone else feels the same way listening to it!
PW: Could you pick a favorite track on the collection?
SA: It’s hard to pick a favorite, we bounce around all the time. Right now, our favorite one to play live is our new single “Jumpstart”, which actually happens to be one of the first songs we wrote as a band.
PW: What are your upcoming tour/performance plans?
SA:
We have shows in New York and California taking us through the New Year! You can find tour and gigging info on our website at www.SaintAdelineBand.com!
PW: If you could share a stage with four other bands or artists who can be living or dead, who would they be, and where would you play?
SA: Oh man! Definitely The Beatles at Candlestick Park in San Francisco because that is our home city, and they are a huge influence to us. Dave Matthews at Red Rocks Amphitheater because that would just be a blast. Our man Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden would be freaking insane. And, finally, getting to share the stage with our old friends, Delta Rae, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco would be one hell of a time!
PW: What are your thoughts on social media, and to what extent has it helped you establish yourselves as a band? Would you agree it’s a necessary tool for those in the entertainment industry?
SA:
Thank God for social media! We feel like, for any artist, social media is a best friend. It is a great way to share new music and spread the word about new bands such as ourselves.
PW: What else does the rest of the year have in store for you?
SA: Following our EP release on September 19th at Joe’s Pub in New York, we will be playing shows on both coasts and writing more music with plans to record a full length album soon.
PW: Finally then, what’s your ultimate ambition as a band, and, with that in mind, whose career would you most like to emulate and why?
SA: As a band, we hope that our music reaches people and inspires them. We would love the longevity of a career like the Dave Matthews Band — a band that has continued to write and tour for over two decades.
Listen to “Jumpstart” below, and, for more information on Saint Adeline, give their page a like on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
