Bobbylene! is folk-pop duo and real-life couple, Bobby Katz and Marlene McCarthy. The two met while studying music at NYU and have been writing and making music together ever since. Their debut EP, “Where Love Can Find Me and You” was released on June 20th, 2018.
Can you describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence?
We try to write catchy melodies that fit over traditional pop harmonies (with some jazz/blues flare) arranged for acoustic, folk instruments and two voices.
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
We have both been studying and playing music our entire lives! Bobby started playing guitar around the age of five and then took on saxophone and various other instruments throughout the course of his life. His earliest musical memory is obsessively watching concert videos of guitarist and singer, Raffi, and putting on concerts for his family playing Raffi’s songs. Aside from Bobbylene!, Bobby dedicates his time to being a professional jazz saxophonist. Marlene is a classical pianist and began playing at the age of eleven. Her earliest music-related memory is her dad playing Christmas carols on the family’s electric piano when she was maybe 5 or 6. She loved singing along and listening to his piano playing!
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
While we each have our own, unique musical influences of various genres who have inspired us throughout the course of our development, one major influence we both share as songwriters and musicians is John Mayer. We would probably have to pick one of his more recent albums, “Paradise Valley” or “Born and Raised” to cover as we love the vibe of these records in addition to John’s amazing songwriting.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
Yes, we do! We still consider ourselves to be newbies at songwriting but have really been enjoying the process of writing music in this style and working with some talented songwriters who have helped us with the writing process. Shout out to our friends Noel Cohen and Becca Krueger who co-wrote our EP with us! Our songwriting process usually starts with either a title/theme or melody/harmonic progression and grows from that. In the past, we have each wrote unique melodies for the same section that we don’t want to part with, so we end up utilizing both melodies for different sections within the song!
Does anything in particular inspire you to write? What get's your creative juices flowing?
A lot of times ideas strike us when we least expect them to, whether it be on the train, having conversations with each other, or doodling on our instruments! One of our songs, “Linger ‘Til Dawn” was even inspired by the name of a cocktail on the menu at a jazz club in NYC!
What has been a highlight for you in the past year? (Either personally or for your music career.)
I think one of the biggest highlights for us has been dedicating our time to this project and writing, producing, and releasing our debut EP, “Where Love Can Find Me and You”. While we each find ourselves busy in our day-to-day lives as a jazz saxophonist and classical pianist, having the ability to write and record music in this style is something we have always wanted to do and has really brought us closer together, musically and personally.
What 's next? Can you give us a hint for what’s to come remainder of 2018 into 2019?
The next step for us will be releasing our second EP and starting to play live shows! While this past year has been dedicated to songwriting, recording, and finding our sound, we feel we are finally ready to start sharing our music with a live audience! Regarding our second EP, we are nearing the end of the songwriting process and are getting ready to head back into the studio!
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
For the time being, recording (since we have yet to play any live shows!) Recording our first EP was a great experience for us where we learned how to work well with each other, exercise our creativity and shape our music while recording it, and find a sound that we are proud of!
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
Some of our mutual influences include John Mayer, Kacey Musgraves, Carole King, James Taylor, Coldplay, Foy Vance, The Weepies, Hush Kids, and Jason Isbell. We also have to credit one of our favorite TV shows, “Nashville” which inspired us to begin making music together in the first place. After hearing some of the original music from the show and being moved by the authenticity and beauty of them, we were inspired to begin covering some of the songs and singing together.
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
Outside of music, we both love to spend time with friends, eat, and go for runs or hikes. (We once wrote an entire song on a hike!)
If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?
Thank you for listening to our music!!!
Bobbylene's Links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bobbylenemusic/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bobbylenemusic/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bobbylenemusic
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/bobbylenemusic
Spotify: http://sptfy.com/G2k
EP: https://fanlink.to/bobbylene?fbclid=IwAR0oK-ExQ3oX-V8TuDSWXi_LllmOrUkkaUUjCjqCu9RB-XBQHm-POiQt7-c
EP Purchase: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/bobbylene2