Guitarist Steve “Smitty” Smithie is from New York, while bassist Janie Cowan is from Alaska—but their duo, Sister John Angela, has a sound that is definitely a product of living in the desert.
Elements of old-school blues and improvisation meld with the eerie and colorful soundscapes that are often synonymous with creatives from the Joshua Tree area. Every song by the duo is a sonic trip of freeform jams, with striking and passionate guitar at the base; Smithie said the group has been described as “desert jazz,” and that feels right. Check out tracks like “Wishbone” for a creepy-castle-exploration jam, or “1,000 Camels” for a haunting, Western vibe—or catch the duo yourself at the Giant Rock Meeting Room in Yucca Valley every Friday at 8 p.m.
During a recent phone interview, the duo described how they came together.
“Smitty and I both moved up to high desert independently around the same time,” Cowan said. “I was living in my van and touring around, and he was coming from New York. We met, and we learned that we have the same birthday. Smitty had a residency before I met him, and I heard him play once, and I was like, ‘Oh, that guy’s got a cool sound; I could probably have a lot of fun.’ … Smitty has these compositions that are super-crooked and quirky and unpredictable, and I like to use effects pedals and improvise a lot over anything that’s kind of weird. We’ve sort of just developed this way of working together.”
They have been able to hone in on their unique mix of structure and experimentation by avoiding rehearsals for live shows, and trusting their intuition when recording.
“I just bring the tunes, and we record them,” Smithie said. “We don’t do too many takes, either. After it’s over, we either say it’s a keeper, or it’s not.”
Added Cowan: “I’ve always had this philosophy, especially with recordings, that the first or second takes are the ones that really have a potent energy that’s authentic, and then after that, sometimes once you know it too well, you start to use your brain too much, and it loses the magic for me. That’s why I’ve been persistent about not drilling too many takes or rehearsing.”
Trust is an important factor in any relationship—especially in a musical relationship.
“I’ve been playing bass for a pretty wide diversity of all sorts of people for a couple of decades now, and it doesn’t work if (trust) is not there,” Cowan said. “I have really felt that with Smitty. I remember when we first started playing together, he might say, ‘Hey, you’re gonna throw me off; don’t do anything too weird,’ but we got over that pretty quick.”
When it comes time to record, good vibes are a must.
“I’ve got a little studio at this compound where I live,” Cowan said. “There are a couple of donkeys. Sometimes Smitty will bring lunch, and then we hang out, and that puts me in a pretty good mood, and then we just try out a few things and see what’s feeling good that day.”
Added Smithie: “I don’t come up to record unless I have tunes. I’m not really writing much on the spot.”
Cowan replied: “Yeah, but you’ve got all sorts of stuff in your pocket from back in the day. You never know what’s going to pop up. We also bring out stuff we’ve been playing for a long time, and then new ideas we’ll jam on.”
The musicians were recently awarded the Outstanding Instrumental Artist/Group honor at the Joshuas, an awards show presented by the Joshua Tree Voice.
“It was pretty, pretty overwhelming, actually,” Smithie said. “We appreciate it, for sure. We’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, and it’s all been great.”
Added Cowan: “What was really cool about that award was the event itself—just this big gathering of community and appreciating the diversity that is here. It’s a pretty insane thing to try to pull off an event that large and get so many people working together. There’s just a lot of real palpable love and support and appreciation for everybody.”
Cowan and Smithie both expressed a love of the desert, and an appreciation for the musically diverse yet extremely supportive community.
“I moved out here because of the community,” Smithie said. “I came out here off and on over the years, and at Pappy and Harriet’s open mic sessions, I met a lot of people there. I was looking to move and looking for a place where there was a big music community—and I did it, and this is it. No regrets, for sure.”
Said Cowan: “I grew up in Alaska, and I was always forcing myself to live in the cities, because I thought I had to be in a city to play music. I stumbled out into the desert and just fell in love with it on day one, and decided I’d just figure it out. I just feel overwhelmingly blessed to have found a community in such a gorgeous rural place.”
Sister John Angela performs at 8 p.m., every Friday, at the Giant Rock Meeting Room, 1131 Old Woman Springs Road, in Yucca Valley. For more information, call 442-272-1472, or visit giantrockmeetingroom.com. Admission is free. For more on Sister John Angela, visit sisterjohnangela.bandcamp.com.
Matt, Janie and I want to thank you for great job on describing what we do perfectly. Well done friend. Love to meet up sometime . Happy holidays to you. 🙌