River Voices is a seven-piece band that features members from all around the Monterey Bay area. They've been together in their current configuration for about two years now.
Singer-songwriter Jaqui Hope says the band's name was inspired by "that phenomenon when you've got your feet in the water of a river, and all the little trickling aspects of the stream kind of come together for one sound. But it's made up of many different voices.”
The band recently released an EP titled Heart on Her Sleeve, which features an eclectic mix of rock, folk, Americana and even old-style country like the Loretta Lynn-sounding tune “Plan B." They'll be performing at Wave Street Studios in Monterey on Friday, March 14th.
Click the audio player at the top of this story to listen to the interview or see the highlights below.
On the lyrics to the band's song, "Plan B"
"I think dating when you're a little bit older and you come across friends that were married or whatever and they're like, 'hey, I'm not married anymore—you want to—you know?' and you realize it's just out of convenience, " says singer-songwriter Jaqui Hope. "You just happened to be the next person in line, you know, on the way to the grocery store or something, and, like–Nope!"
On the band's brand new song "Wrap Me in Your Love"
"We actually have been very creative in these past several months," says Hope. "And so, since we put out an EP (Heart on Her Sleeve), we've written quite a few new songs, and ("Wrap Me in Your Love") is a song I think we wrote in November. It's been a very fruitful time."
On the title of their latest EP, Heart on Her Sleeve
"Our bass player, Rory Glass, commented about my songwriting in particular, that I kind of just let it all out there," Hope says. "(He said) I was completely honest and vulnerable, and he traced a little heart on my sleeve and it stuck."
On why they've been so prolific in their songwriting lately
"We're around each other a lot," Linda Arceo says, "so it's creative--we bounce (ideas) off each other, so it's actually a good thing. So (Jaqui) writes a song and I'm like, 'uhh--I gotta catch up! I gotta write a song!'"
River Voices' latest EP, Heart on Her Sleeve, is out now. They'll be performing at Wave Street Studios in Monterey on Friday, March 14th at 7pm.