MUSIC: The Sparrow and The Sky (Stephanie Birr and Carson Maule)
It’s a cold December night in Madison when Geswerk photographer Graydon Schwartz and I settle in for with our interview with soulful acoustic duo The Sparrow in the Sky at the Anna Lee on E. Gorham. Across from where I’m sitting, Sparrow’s frontman, Carson Maule, is effortlessly plucking a beautiful melody on his acoustic. To his right, with the warmest of smiles on her face, is the other half of Sparrow, Stephanie Birr. Between the two of them and the hot coffee Steph has graciously given me, it’s anything but cold in here. Let’s get started!
Where did the name The Sparrow in the Sky come from?
Steph: We really liked the idea of two things that are individuals but have a relationship to one another. But we don’t tell who is who. We like that. Because with any relationship the roles can change.
How did you guys meet?
Carson: We actually met at a video store.
S: He handed his application in to me. We learned later that our boss said that he shouldn’t have been hired.
Why’s that?
Carson points to himself jokingly.
C: Well look at me.
The whole crew bursts out into laughter.
How did you guys get involved musically?
S: Carson has been playing for a long time. I’m pretty new at this.
Really?
C: Yeah, it was like pulling teeth to get her to go out on stage with me. The only time I had heard her singing was in the car or in the shower…I was outside the door of course.
S: That’s for when my dad reads this.
The two have a witty charm that is irresistible.
Is there a process when you’re making music?
C: Songwriting to me is being able to communicate raw emotion. People express emotion through various ways. In music you can hear love. You can feel it. It can be in just the way that somebody holds a note.
Carson hits a note on his acoustic and bends it.
C: If it’s done with the right sound and tone, you feel something pulling on you. It’s that organic, out of nothing, kind of phoenix rising thing that I always try to go for. That’s what great song writers do. They take that sort of organicness and fit it into some kind of a song structure. Good music takes on a life of its own, and that’s when it becomes timeless.
You mentioned communication earlier. What types of things are being communicated between the two of you when you’re playing?
S: It’s pretty intense for me. That thing that he talks about people having…he has it. Carson can totally put you in this mood, and this place, and this story, and sometimes I can’t sing with him because it’s so emotional. I know that sounds crazy.
How does your personal relationship affect your music?
C: There’s a raw connection. When you start to be able to finish each other’s sentences, that can carry over into music. Which is really important with the way that I play.
Why’s that?
C: I never play a song the same way twice.
S: It’s true.
C: We know that we are different people. We can bring different things to the table. Which is good because that adds spice to everything.
Steph: We really liked the idea of two things that are individuals but have a relationship to one another. But we don’t tell who is who. We like that. Because with any relationship the roles can change.
How did you guys meet?
Carson: We actually met at a video store.
S: He handed his application in to me. We learned later that our boss said that he shouldn’t have been hired.
Why’s that?
Carson points to himself jokingly.
C: Well look at me.
The whole crew bursts out into laughter.
How did you guys get involved musically?
S: Carson has been playing for a long time. I’m pretty new at this.
Really?
C: Yeah, it was like pulling teeth to get her to go out on stage with me. The only time I had heard her singing was in the car or in the shower…I was outside the door of course.
S: That’s for when my dad reads this.
The two have a witty charm that is irresistible.
Is there a process when you’re making music?
C: Songwriting to me is being able to communicate raw emotion. People express emotion through various ways. In music you can hear love. You can feel it. It can be in just the way that somebody holds a note.
Carson hits a note on his acoustic and bends it.
C: If it’s done with the right sound and tone, you feel something pulling on you. It’s that organic, out of nothing, kind of phoenix rising thing that I always try to go for. That’s what great song writers do. They take that sort of organicness and fit it into some kind of a song structure. Good music takes on a life of its own, and that’s when it becomes timeless.
You mentioned communication earlier. What types of things are being communicated between the two of you when you’re playing?
S: It’s pretty intense for me. That thing that he talks about people having…he has it. Carson can totally put you in this mood, and this place, and this story, and sometimes I can’t sing with him because it’s so emotional. I know that sounds crazy.
How does your personal relationship affect your music?
C: There’s a raw connection. When you start to be able to finish each other’s sentences, that can carry over into music. Which is really important with the way that I play.
Why’s that?
C: I never play a song the same way twice.
S: It’s true.
C: We know that we are different people. We can bring different things to the table. Which is good because that adds spice to everything.
What do you guys want to do with your music?
C: The whole goal of music for me is convey that emotion. I have never been good at expressing my emotions. I’ve always been the jokester. Y’know somebody that makes everybody laugh. I use that to make friends, get through life, but to also hide insecurities and to get away from talking about those things. The only way that I have found that I can effectively communicate that is through music. It’s therapy for me. It’s not easy to describe. I think a poet would be able to do it…or maybe a better songwriter.
Carson laughs. There’s the jokester that he was talking about.
Describe your music to me outside of hearing it.
Steph just about jumps out of her chair.
S: It would be traveling! I’ve heard this from a number of different people. People say, “I want to get in a car, and I want to travel!” His songs do that! One minute you’re in Montana in these plains, the next minute you’re down south in Louisiana in this smokey blues bar. It’s not one place. It’s multiple places. I would take you on a train, a plane, or a boat and be like—this is Carson’s music.
How about you Carson?
C: I imagine flying over clouds and all you can see is the sun and the clouds below, but every now and again there is a break in the clouds. And it’s just a boiling volcano underneath the them. It’s a combination of that calm, peaceful hope with the realism of chaos. That’s what I’m trying to get across.
Steph looks at Carson knowingly and nods.
S: There’s a part in all of us that wants to run, and there’s a part that wants to be responsible.
C: We all have hopes and things that we strive for. You have to understand that there is duty too. It’s the duty that you have to not only your fellow man, but to your earth, to your surroundings, to your possessions. All of that can be lost if you spend all of your time dreaming. It’s combining the fact that without those dreams and without that hope…what would be the point? Without the duty and without the responsibility…what would be the foundation?
Carson starts plucking and “communicating” while he’s talking to me. There’s something so natural about it.
C: There’s an opportunity when you’re born in this life to go out and achieve your dreams. In accepting the gift of being giving the chance to follow your dreams, there’s a responsibility that you have toward those around you. Whether it’s paying your dues or just being there for other people, there’s a responsibility that we all have.
Does Sparrow in the Sky have a place in that?
C: Absolutely.
S: I think so.
C: If all you do is pursue your dreams you’re going to end up in a gutter somewhere. And if all you do is focus on your responsibilities, you’re going to end up being a husk of someone without any content. What Sparrow in the Sky does is combine that old workman ‘40’s sound—I’ve been everywhere man kinda stuff—where you’re being torn up with the responsibility and toil of life, but also the dreamer. The “Imagine” of John Lennon. It’s the combining of those two things that really shows what we believe.
C: The whole goal of music for me is convey that emotion. I have never been good at expressing my emotions. I’ve always been the jokester. Y’know somebody that makes everybody laugh. I use that to make friends, get through life, but to also hide insecurities and to get away from talking about those things. The only way that I have found that I can effectively communicate that is through music. It’s therapy for me. It’s not easy to describe. I think a poet would be able to do it…or maybe a better songwriter.
Carson laughs. There’s the jokester that he was talking about.
Describe your music to me outside of hearing it.
Steph just about jumps out of her chair.
S: It would be traveling! I’ve heard this from a number of different people. People say, “I want to get in a car, and I want to travel!” His songs do that! One minute you’re in Montana in these plains, the next minute you’re down south in Louisiana in this smokey blues bar. It’s not one place. It’s multiple places. I would take you on a train, a plane, or a boat and be like—this is Carson’s music.
How about you Carson?
C: I imagine flying over clouds and all you can see is the sun and the clouds below, but every now and again there is a break in the clouds. And it’s just a boiling volcano underneath the them. It’s a combination of that calm, peaceful hope with the realism of chaos. That’s what I’m trying to get across.
Steph looks at Carson knowingly and nods.
S: There’s a part in all of us that wants to run, and there’s a part that wants to be responsible.
C: We all have hopes and things that we strive for. You have to understand that there is duty too. It’s the duty that you have to not only your fellow man, but to your earth, to your surroundings, to your possessions. All of that can be lost if you spend all of your time dreaming. It’s combining the fact that without those dreams and without that hope…what would be the point? Without the duty and without the responsibility…what would be the foundation?
Carson starts plucking and “communicating” while he’s talking to me. There’s something so natural about it.
C: There’s an opportunity when you’re born in this life to go out and achieve your dreams. In accepting the gift of being giving the chance to follow your dreams, there’s a responsibility that you have toward those around you. Whether it’s paying your dues or just being there for other people, there’s a responsibility that we all have.
Does Sparrow in the Sky have a place in that?
C: Absolutely.
S: I think so.
C: If all you do is pursue your dreams you’re going to end up in a gutter somewhere. And if all you do is focus on your responsibilities, you’re going to end up being a husk of someone without any content. What Sparrow in the Sky does is combine that old workman ‘40’s sound—I’ve been everywhere man kinda stuff—where you’re being torn up with the responsibility and toil of life, but also the dreamer. The “Imagine” of John Lennon. It’s the combining of those two things that really shows what we believe.
Sparrow plays a song for me after the interview. As I sit there, tapping my foot with the melody that Carson plays and melting under Steph’s sweet harmonies, I notice a small globe up on the shelf behind them. Travelling. As I take in the wholeness and warmth of the sound flowing around me, I watch Steph look lovingly into Carson’s eyes while she sings. This is when I realize that what I’m witnessing is more than communication—it’s a communion between her, Carson, myself, Graydon, and everything else in this room. I know that wherever we may travel on that globe in the next few minutes we will do it together. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
