Catch up with Green Line Records’ very own Gentle Temper!

[three_fourth]How would you describe your songwriting process? Do you usually start with lyrics, or a vocal harmony, etc?

We’re kind of at the mercy of ourselves when we write. It has taken us 3 hours of sitting on the front porch of our old house in Allston, tossing ideas back and forth, just to come up with one line. On the other hand, our single “Sugar” took us less than 2 hours to write from start to finish. “Sugar” is one of two songs that actually started out as poems that I brought to Ryan. I started playing a simple bass line, Ryan came up with a guitar melody, and it unfolded very quickly from there. So our process really varies from song to song.

What are your favorite bands? Who would you cite as inspiration?

Local Natives, Bahamas, From Indian Lakes, Andy Shauf, Fleet Foxes, Rayland Baxter to name a few. The flawless vocal harmonies of Local Natives and the Bahamas’ backup vocalists, the way Joey Vanucci of From Indian Lakes seems to lay his emotions bare with each album he puts out, Andy Shauf’s and Fleet Foxes’ intriguing use of instrumentation, and Rayland Baxter’s raw, catchy realism are all immensely inspiring to us.

Where can those inspirations be found in your music?

Our inspiration comes out in different ways, from what we choose to write about and how we choose to write it, to the production of our recordings and what direction we decide to go in with our live sound.

Would you say that “Sugar” differs from your other songs? If so, how does it differ?

Yes; “Sugar” was originally a poem that kind of blossomed into a song that wades on the softer side of our sound without completely declawing the cat.

So “Sugar” is your first single. What was it like recording it?

It was a pretty sweet experience. We had the intention going in that “Sugar” would be a one-take acoustic track, and it came out better than we’d imagined thanks to Joseph Newmann. He did a really awesome job capturing our vision for this track.

How do you dig into difficult emotions like heartbreak, knowing you’re sharing it with others?

Writing is a pretty therapeutic form of expression for both of us. Emotional honesty has more than a few levels to it, and sometimes putting those feelings into words and molding it until it’s a finished song makes it possible for us to share it with others. We’re grateful that we get to do so. That being said, there are some songs we’ve written that we’re not ready to share with the public for the same reasons.

How do you want listeners to experience your music? What do you want them to take away from it?

We aim to put our all into our live shows and we have a lot of fun doing so. Engaging with people in a live setting is a completely different animal from listening to a record in your car or your house. We’ve grown almost entirely on live performances over the last year and we really thrive on that energy.

We’d love for them to take a CD… No, but in all seriousness, one of the most beautiful things about music is that it’s a very personal, intimate experience. We can write a song about how we feel about a specific moment in time in our lives, and someone can listen to that same song and relate to it in a completely different way from an entirely unique perspective. It’s magical.

What feels different about performing songs live versus recording them?

Right now there are only two of us, so when we play live we’re a little more limited in what we can do (though we do try to make as much noise as we can with what we’ve got, playing 7 instruments in total between the two of us). When we’re in the studio we have more room to play around, and often have to dial it back so it still sounds like us.

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GLR Exclusive: Q&A with Gentle Temper

Gentle Temper Releases First Acoustic Single “Sugar”

 releases their first ever acoustic single, “Sugar,” through Green Line Records. Described as ‘ocean folk with a blues tide,’ the band has garnered attention for their storytelling lyrics and spirited harmonies.

The duo, made up of Marion Earley and Ryan Meier, have been active in the Boston music scene since their debut at Great Scott in August 2016. The two met while attending Berklee and began writing and playing together in their final year there.

Relative newcomers to the scene, Gentle Temper has already been featured in Gloucester’s “Local Music Seen” and has opened for nationally touring acts LOLO, Bombadil, and 2014 NPR Favorite New Artist The Family Crest. This past September, they also won Katrina’s Singer-Songwriter Challenge.

Songs like “Cut My Brakes” and “Cold Shoulder” intertwine stirring lyrics with soft melodies, enveloping the listener in a blanket of emotional storytelling and acoustic guitar. Their songs deal with universal issues like feeling out of control and find one’s place, but their details bring forth the distinct bite of authenticity that only comes with revealing one’s heart-wrenching experiences for the world to hear.

The two recently performed at a Habitat For Humanity fundraiser and the annual Chikombuso Foundation for Widows & Orphans at the Jonathan Edwards Vineyard. They’ve also used their social media platforms to raise awareness for causes such as Bandcamp’s fundraiser for the Transgender Law Center and ACLU and organizations supporting the victims of the Charlottesville attacks.