Exclusive Look At Indie Rock Duo Owen-Glass

M4B: Loving the energy of your band! How’d you guys come up with the name “Owen-Glass”? That’s pretty unique!

KELLY: Hey, thanks a lot. It is a weird name, no doubt. That’s part of our personality though. We like to leave little rabbit trails for fans to go down, so we might just leave that mystery unsolved and tell people that Google will turn up some interesting results.

COLE: Kelly came up with it during a time when we were relentlessly throwing names at each other waiting for something to stick. It’s an effective name on several levels.

M4B: So a rock-duo is kind of rare these days. What made you decide to just focus on the “power of two” instead of put a whole band together?

COLE: I wouldn’t say it’s focused on the power of two, because a whole band was put together for this project, and everyone has made a contribution that is an integral part of this record. I think it’s more of the fact that Kelly and I have been close and known each other since we were kids. We really enjoy creating art and sharing ideas with each other and I think with everyone’s lives outside of this project Kelly and I are the ones who are most able to do that together.

KELLY: Right. I guess, at the end of the day, it’s always been me and Cole making music together, so it only made sense to approach this as a collaborative duo. I can’t imagine doing a project like this without Cole. But that’s not to diminish the contributions of Eric, Anthony, Craig, David or Dees by any means. We have a great team all-around.

M4B: What’s the meaning behind the “white rabbit”? Is it a ‘Matrix’ reference? What’s the story there?

KELLY: Loosely, yeah, I guess it is—

COLE: I think you can apply the idea of the O-G Rabbit in the same way The Matrix used it, or the one that leads Alice to wonderland. It isn’t necessarily that but there is a parallel there.

KELLY: Yeah, totally.

M4B: How do you translate your records in a live show? Do you have a crew of musicians that tour with you? How does that process work?

KELLY: Well, we’re not touring right now. We all have careers outside of music, so we’re more focused on studio production. We’re also pretty spread out, so the logistics are a major challenge. There’s been some talk about doing more live shows, but we’re not there yet.

COLE: Yeah, so far there are no solid plans for a live show. It may happen and if it does I don’t think we know exactly what form that will take.

M4B: The vibe of your song “Here It Comes” reminds me of the 90’s throwback from Marcy Playground with a little jazz mixed in. We’re really digging it! What are some of your influences and inspiration for your unique sound?

KELLY: Right on. Our sound is really organic, and I think it just comes from the various musical backgrounds we brought together in-studio. Like, I’m more of a Jack Johnson, James Mercer, or even Conor Oberst style singer-songwriter, Cole is a versatile but extremely proficient blues guitarist, Eric is a classically-trained violinist, Dees studied jazz and can play anything, David is steeped in country and all sorts of genres, Anthony played in jazz band. Craig is very Beatles. I mean, everyone is versatile, but our process left everything open, so everyone’s individual style came through nicely. So what you’re hearing is more an unplanned amalgamation than an intentional quest for a unique sound. That’s how the best music happens, I think.

COLE: For me from a guitar perspective my all time favorites in no particular order are David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Derek Trucks, and Trey Anastasio, amongst many others. Recently I’ve been listening to Sturgill Simpson, Caroline Rose, Andrew Bird, and Blaze Foley. As far as the unique sound I would agree with Kelly. I think it comes from a group of musicians that came together with varying backgrounds and musical inspirations.