Tonight at Market Street. This is going to be fun and good.

An interview and a link to their newest cd after the click...

Now, as a special treat here is an email interview that Scott and Mallory were kind enough to help me with. We like to get to know our artists on a personal basis so we can follow their careers. I'm thinking Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler will be back at Market Street until we can no longer afford them.

Steve: When I started telling folks about The Rough and Tumble they asked me what kind of music you played and I tried to describe it as a very different semi acoustic duo with the usual instruments plus a grumpy old reed organ. Of course that's based on my association with reed organs, not yours. It fits beautifully into your songs but what drew you to that instrument?

Mallory: Truthfully, Scott tricked me. When we started writing together and considering becoming a duo, I relentlessly insisted on my inability to play an instrument, let alone be one stage with one. Scott explained that I would not be playing, but just making sound effects. The result was Scott going out into the wide world and finding the least intimidating looking instrument he could find. He showed up at my front door with 75 fewer dollars and one clunky, out-of-tune chord organ from the 1960's that may-or-may-not be falling apart at every show. It was just my style-- I fell in love and have been lugging it, along with my other instruments of varying degrees of legitimacy, since.

Steve: And about that cliche question of "what kind of music do you play?"...I've been telling our folks to just go listen because The Rough and Tumble doesn't neatly fit any genre except the un-description of Americana and that's a cop out. Can you help me nail it down better or are we stuck with "Go listen"?

R&T: Boy, do we have a video for you that says it all. Or, maybe says nothing at all: (link...)

Steve: You guys have a lot of visual art on your web site and your performances in addition to the musical art of your songs. Do either of you have a background along those lines?

R&T: Mallory has a minor in Art and Photography, and was the illustrator for the website. She also likes the paint things yellow. Scott insists one placing googley eyes on everything. Essentially, Scott doesn't know his Picasso from his pistachio.

Steve: Your songs seem to be deeply personal. That's not unusual since most thoughtful and creative people are heavily introspective, but The Rough and Tumble carry us along with your lives in your songs. An example: you have a video and a great song of being evicted. Do you ever feel just a bit exposed?

R&T: Yes. We are consistently monitoring each song after we write it and ask ourselves, "Are we going to out this secret?" Even if it's not easily detectable for those who know us well, it's scary to have a perceptive interviewer pick up on those small lyrical cues. On the other hand, some of our most personal songs are the ones that audience members tend to resonate with most. We've never not performed a song because it was too personal. It's our responsibility to be honest as songwriters, and we take that responsibility seriously, even at the risk of feeling a little embarrassed. Some of these stories aren't our own, either-- we haven't lived everything in our songs. We guard those people's privacy more than our own. Although it's sometimes entertaining for us when listeners make connections to us that don't belong.

Steve: Which one of you is Tumble?

R&T: What kind of girl wants to be known as Rough?! Besides, look at the beard...

Steve: Anything you can think of that you wish someone would ask you or do you think we're prying too much already?

R&T: How did you get so good looking? People never ask us that. We're open books If you think of anything else, we are happy to reply. Don't worry about prying. We will be doing a full inspection of your refrigerator in exchange.

Want more? Go Here and listen (and possibly shell out a couple of bucks and own some The Rough and Tumble. Or come out tonight and get them to sign a fresh CD for you personally.