A Married Duo Chases The Dream, Toddlers In Tow

Big Harp guitarist and lead singer Chris Senseney pulls his minivan into a gas station off Interstate 80 near the small town of Walnut, Iowa. His wife, and the band's bassist, Stefanie Drootin-Senseney jostles through children's books and toys scattered on the floor. Their kids do what kids do on long car trips: sing.

This is a quick pit stop between shows in Minneapolis and Omaha, Neb. As Chris fills up the family wagon that doubles as a tour bus, he remarks this wasn't how he pictured his music career.

"I didn't start touring, playing music until I was like 25, and Hank was born when I was 26, so I only had a year of doing it the other way," he says. "It was really fun, but this way it feels a lot healthier. We wake up early in the morning don't stay out too late."

Stefanie and Chris are from pretty different backgrounds. She grew up in the sprawling Los Angeles valley playing bass in punk bands, and went on to play backup for the likes of She & Him and Bright Eyes. Chris learned guitar and piano from his father in the tiny cow town of Valentine, tucked in the sand hills of central Nebraska, and fell in with couple of Omaha indie bands.

The couple met in 2007. In a whirlwind of three years, they had their son, Hank, got married and had their daughter, Twila. By the end of it, music had taken a backseat.

"At that point, it'd been two years since we'd hardly done any music," Chris says. "I think it just seemed like, 'We have to do this now if we're going to do anything at all."

Stefanie concurs: 'We thought, Time's a tickin'.'"

So they got down to recording Big Harp's debut album, White Hat. To date, the album has only sold a little more than 1,200 copies. Stefanie says properly promoting a record becomes difficult with a family.

"We can't really do what we used to do," she says. "We can't do super-low-budget tours where we just drive out, because we can't stay on people's floors with the kids."

White Hat was released by Saddle Creek Records, a heavy-hitter indie label that is home to bands including Cursive, The Faint and Bright Eyes — groups that turned the heads of many music critics in the early 2000s. Owner Robb Nansel says Big Harp's low numbers don't concern him.

"We are a business, so we have to make money to continue to exist," Nansel says, "but our primary driver is just promoting art that we feel is important and supporting those friendships."

Nansel says Saddle Creek can afford to put out records by bands like Big Harp because a lot of the label's back catalog still sells well; it's just a matter of planning for each record.

"Gone are the days of pressing 10,000 CDs and spending a ton of money on print ads," Nansel says. "You go into it with more realistic expectations and lower budgets, and you just try to do more with less."

This month the label will release Big Harp's sophomore album, Chain Letters. The band's members began tracking it in a proper studio in Omaha, but wound up rerecording a lot of it in their Los Angeles garage. The new record is a bit of a test for the two musicians: If it doesn't launch them to bigger sales, it may be difficult for Saddle Creek to stick with them.

That urgency may have influenced the sound of Chain Letters — it's a much heavier album. Or maybe the band is just getting out the aggression that comes from touring with toddlers.

Copyright 2013 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Like the classical music industry, pop and rock have also seen tremendous turmoil over the past decade. The number of major labels is down to three and a lot of musicians who were signed to labels are now working as independents, booking their own tours, coming up with money to record, tweeting with fans, promoting their albums online.

The problems for a band like Big Harp, which still has a label deal, are compounded by the fact that the two musicians at the center of the group are married and tour with their toddlers. Iowa Public Radio's Clay Masters caught up with them on the road.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRIVING CAR)

CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE: Big Harp guitarist and lead singer Chris Senseny pulls his minivan into a gas station off Interstate 80 near the small town of Walnut, Iowa. His wife and the band's bassist, Stefanie Drootin-Senseny, jostles through children's books and toys scattered on the floor. Their kids do what kids do on long car trips.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHILDREN SINGING)

MASTERS: This is a quick pit stop between shows in Minneapolis and Omaha. As Chris fills up the family Truckster that doubles as a tour bus, he says this wasn't how he pictured his music career.

CHRIS SENSENY: Because I didn't really start touring, playing music, until I was probably 25, and Hank was born when I was 26, so I only had, like, a year of kind of doing it the other way. It was really fun, but this way feels a lot healthier. I mean, we wake up early in the morning, don't stay out that late.

MASTERS: Stefanie and Chris are from pretty different backgrounds. She grew up in the sprawling Los Angeles valley playing bass in punk bands and went on to play backup for the likes of Bright Eyes and The Good Life.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MASTERS: Her husband Chris learned guitar and piano from his father in the tiny cow-town of Valentine tucked in the sand hills of central Nebraska. He went on to play in a couple of indie bands in Omaha. They met in 2007 and, in a whirlwind of three years, they had their son Hank, got married and had their daughter Twila. And music took a back seat.

SENSENY: At that point, it'd been two years. Two years that we'd hardly done any music and I think it just seemed like we have to do this now if we're going to do it.

STEFANIE DROOTIN-SENSENY: We thought, time's a ticking.

MASTERS: So they got down to recording Big Harp's debut album, "White Hat."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHITE HAT")

SENSENY: (Singing) White hat's going to get old sometimes and everybody really wants to know. All the black hats are out having their fun. What have you really got to show?

MASTERS: To date, the album's only sold less than 2,000 copies. Properly promoting the record becomes difficult with a family.

DROOTIN-SENSENY: We can't really do what we used to do, like we can't do super low budget tours where we just drive out because we can't stay on people's floors with the kids, you know, so it's kind of hard. We would tour all the time if we could, but...

MASTERS: The album was released by Saddle Creek Records, an indie label heavy hitter that's home to bands like Cursive, The Faint and Bright Eyes, groups that, in the early 2000s, turned the heads of many music critics who dubbed Omaha the new Seattle.

Owner Robb Nansel says Big Harp's low numbers don't concern him.

ROBB NANSEL: We are a business and so we have to make money to continue to exist, but our primary driver is really just promoting art that we feel is important and supporting those friendships.

MASTERS: Nansel says Saddle Creek can afford to put out records from bands like Big Harp because a lot of the label's back catalog still sells well and it's just a matter of planning for each record.

NANSEL: Gone are the days of pressing 10,000 CDs and spending a ton of money on print advertisements, you know, so you go into it with more realistic expectations and lower budgets and you just try to do more with less.

MASTERS: This month, the label puts out Big Harp's sophomore album, "Chain Letters."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHAIN LETTERS")

SENSENY: (Singing) Every (unintelligible), every (unintelligible) on its tracks, every old drunk stumbling backwards, searching for the wall. And every palm tree doubled over in the wind, every man on the street looking sallow and thin, every broke rag race horse crewing on the gates of his stall.

MASTERS: They started recording the album in a proper studio in Omaha, but wound up rerecording a lot of it in their Los Angeles garage. They wanted to get it right because this new record is a bit of a test. If it doesn't launch them to bigger sales, it might be difficult for Saddle Creek to stick with them and with the kids starting kindergarten in a few years, that makes it even more difficult to hit the road. That urgency may have influenced the sound of "Chain Letters." It's a much heavier album.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SENSENY: (Singing) Oh, (Unintelligible). I'm warm. I'm going crazy. I'll do whatever you expect. And I cry, down and cry and throw my hands up. I cry, down and cry, throw my hands up...

MASTERS: Or maybe they're just getting out the aggression that comes from touring with toddlers.

DROOTIN-SENSENY: The music is slightly more complicated, maybe, and a little bit more aggressive, but not over the top. I don't think.

MASTERS: For NPR News, I'm Clay Masters.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SENSENY: (Singing) Gather around me all you (unintelligible) and he is tripped up because I got the good news. (Unintelligible) is up. I seen the shape of what's to come.

MARTIN: And this is WEEKEND EDITION. I'm Rachel Martin. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.