The Mustangs were an all-girl band with plenty of talent and excellent harmonies back when the Palomino served as the epicenter of the post-cowpunk California country scene.
The outstanding 12-song collection โSea of Heartbreakโ expertly combines excellent songwriting and moving covers. The album, which was co-produced by KZZ Founder Kirk Pasich and Colin Devlin, is influenced by Southern California rock band Poco and legendary country singer Lucinda Williams. It leads listeners on a reflective musical journey where they reflect on themes of loss and the love that blossoms from adversity and perseverance. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry:ย Weโre a reunited band that originally was named The Mustangs. We got our start here in the Los Angeles area at the famed Palomino club that launched country music and country rock in LA. As the original band, we played around LA at all the happening clubs at the time โ Club Lingerie, Madame Wongโs West, etc. โ and then toured Europe 3x before eventually taking a break. We got back together in 2017 with three original Mustangs โฆ lead singer & songwriter Suzanna Spring, bass player and vocalist Holly Montgomery, and myself, Sherry Barnett on lead guitar. We were fortunate to be able to bring two other great players into the fold, Aubrey Richmond on fiddle & vocals, plus Suzanne Morissette Cruz on drums, vocals and percussion. Aubrey is also a touring musician and has been seen with artists from Shooter Jennings to Peter Asher. Suzanne is a widely respected jazz drummer based in the OC, who holds a degree in music and can hold her own in any genre.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry: I started out as a classical guitar major. Everyone in this band has had formal training at one time or another. I think most of the band โฆ Aubrey, Suzanna and I were classically trained when we were growing up โ and Suzanne and Holly are graduates of music schools and mastered their instruments along the way. The music we all ended up playing though is much less studied and more spontaneous than how we were schooled, Iโd say.ย ย
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โMUSTANGS OF THE WEST?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry: ย My influences came out of everything from The Beatles and the British invasion to folk rock and then the country rock that came out of Southern California: The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Linda Ronstadt for example. I was drawn to music that had great harmonies and melodies โ songs that were well crafted and had something different to say. Our band name came from our original group of course, but making it clear that it was a new band and was based on the west coast, led us to Mustangs of The West.
Suzanna: I grew up listening to the music of Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline and Buck Owens, since my mother grew up in Oklahoma and sang and played guitar. She taught my sister and me to harmonize with her. I later fell in love with the music of Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and some of the Texas writers like Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Townes Van Zandt. But I also loved The Rolling Stones, Eagles & Fleetwood Mac! When I heard Steve Earleโs โCopperhead Roadโ album, thatโs what made me move to Nashville to write songs.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry: The key elements of Mustangs of The Westโs music that create our sound are the strength of the songs, the multi part harmonies, the fiddle/electric guitar interplay, and the solid rhythm section that drives the band.
Suzanna: People sometimes compare us to the Eagles, because of our 3- and 4- part harmonies; the band has a great vocal blend. I think our songs also have strong, emotional lyrics, and melodies that stay with listeners.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: As Sherry said earlier, all of us had training in classical music. I played French Horn, and later began to play guitar to not terrorize my neighbors. I always wrote poetry, and from the time I was six I had a radio by my bed and listened constantly toย popular music. So much of it was melody-drivenโbeautiful, memorable melodies and hooky choruses. I soaked in so much of that. I think my early songs sounded like folk ballads, and as I listened more to rock and country/rock artists and played in bands, that influenced my writing. I still often write sad songs, but they have a groove. I worked as a staff songwriter for music publishers in Nashville, and found that the most honest and personal songs are the ones that can become universal. As a band, I think one of the great strengths of Mustangs Of The West is that not everyone comes from a country music background, and that informs our arrangements.
6. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry: I think that our band creates its own narrative by being a full-on, original all female band in the 2020โs. As five very independent women focused on making music in a still male-dominated country music genre historically leaning toward female stereotypes, who we are and the music we make is a statement in itself. We straddle the genres of country/country rock and Americana, with pop sensibilities as well. Hopefully, we are representing women in music well, and inspiring young female musicians. Itโs still unusual to see a band comprised of female musicians, especially in country music.
Suzanna: I think music is such a great uniter of people, and in this time of extreme political divisionโstoked by both major political partiesโ the world is very much in need of songs that remind us all of the emotions and needs we share, rather than the differences that divide us. Stay tunedโฆ
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: Especially after the years of COVID shutdown, the playing of music for a live audience feels like such a gift. Our label, Blue รlan Records/KZZ Music, has given us the wonderful opportunity to record more music, and now this year, we were featured artists at SXSW in Austin and just played some AmericanaFest shows in Nashville; weโll be out playing again and adding more touring dates. I think we wouldnโt complain if one of our songs was featured in a film! And of course weโd like to keep finding bigger and bigger audiences. Itโs fulfilling to create something and then see that itโs meaningful to many other people, too.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: I love this question, because the various ways that people approach the creative process have always fascinated me. I began as a solo writer, and my ideas usually come to me as lyrics and music together. I often start to hear a melody in my head, when Iโm strumming guitar or playing piano, but sometimes just when Iโm driving or doing nothing. The melody is attached to some lyrics, and if I think the melody is strong; if it stays with me, then Iโll work on the story of the song and finish the lyrics. Some songs, like my songs โSeven Summers,โ โSome Blue Sky,โ and โDancing on the Moon,โ just came out all at once one evening, fully formed. Iโve heard other writers talk about that phenomenon, and itโs always a miraculous mystery when it happens. When I was living in Nashville, I found that music publishers set up writing appointments for their writers, and I learned how to collaborate. Songs like โTimeโ from our first album, began with the chorus lyrics and melody. I brought that to my co-writer, Steve Nelson, and he added some lines to the chorus, and we wrote the verses together. I was just sitting at home in Nashville and the chorus for โT-Shirt from Californiaโ came to me, melody and lyrics. I had thought of the lyric as โI got a shirt from Californiaโ, and when I brought the chorus to a writing session with Wes Hightower, my co-writer on that song, he said โIt has to be a T-Shirtโ and he was right. And he and I named that song โSheโs Got Your Heart.โ When I played it for Sherry, she said, โNo! The title should be โT-Shirt from California!โ So we changed the title. And that song got us our record deal.
9. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: I know that each of us has suffered personal loss; weโve lost people close to us. That is the human condition, and is for most people one of the most difficult things to endure. And at different times in our lives weโve had to choose to do something other than music, even when our hearts were set on music. When we reunited and had the remarkable good fortune to receive a record deal and make our first new record as Mustangs Of The West, and had tour dates lined up, it was so hard to then watch everything close down because of the pandemic. All of our work, and the chance to play our songs live, simply disappearedโ and for us it was doubly painful because we had just been offered this chance, only to watch it evaporate. When the world finally opened up again, however, our label headย Kirk Pasich called us and said, โWant to make another record?โ And here we are.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Sherry: I think I can speak for the band in saying that weโre all very proud of the music weโve recorded for KZZ Music/Blue Elan Records since re-forming the band. We seized the opportunity when we were asked in 2018 to record a half dozen tracks โlive in the studioโ for a chance at being signed to a record deal. We were signed on the spot that day โ a significant achievement โ which has now been followed by various single releases and two full length albums, โTimeโ and โSea of Heartbreakโ This year, Mustangs of The West have played SXSW, AmericanaFest in Nashville and will be having our latest record release at the historic Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.
Suzanna: I am so proud of each member of this band for individual accomplishments, and the coming back together to make music. Sherry is also an acclaimed music photographer. Sheโs had work featured in NYT and Rolling Stone,ย and recently released her first book of concert photography, โEye of the Music.โ
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: I think as a female band we draw curiosity. So far the music has been well-received and we are grateful for that. We did have one person who kept posting random, ever weirder memes on one of our pages, and eventually had to block him. But thatโs rare!
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: We like both. The studio is a place to explore lots of ideas and sounds and tempos, and then to be able to listen back and change arrangements in the moment. Once weโve decided what works best, we make the record, usually tracking together, then adding overdubs. And playing for a live audience shows us whether the music we like so much is relatable to other people, and that in turn shapes our ideas for how we play the songs, and gives us ideas for the next time we record.
13. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
MUSTANGS OF THE WEST:
Suzanna: We write autobiographically most of the time, so the songs are personal. But I have had people tell me that a particular song meant so much to them because of their own experience; they didnโt necessarily have to know the details of my experience to feel the emotions of the song. And that means a lot to me. Then as a band we know that weโve given someone a song that comforted them and made them not feel so alone with their emotions. Thatโs what music should do; unite us in our experience of this harsh, funny and beautiful life.
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