Nashville-based powerhouse duo Towne was born from fate. When Jon Decious and Steevie Steeves met one another at a dude ranch in Wyoming, they quickly learned that they actually lived across the street from one another back home in Tennessee and fell in love with one another’s music. Formerly a couple, the duo decided to end their romantic relationship to make the band their main focus, resulting in the emotional and raw debut EP, Games We Play. With the music video for “The One I Love” from the EP out now, Towne are already starting 2017 off strong!
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about Towne for any readers who might not be familiar?
First of all, we’d like to say thanks for taking the time to chat with us— we really appreciate it. As for a “little bit about us”… We’re two songwriters that became best friends, then became a couple, then broke-up and stayed best friends, long story short. Oh, and we live in Nashville, TN.
Before forming Towne, you two crossed paths in an unexpected way at Skip Ewing’s Horse and Writer Seminar in Wyoming. When was it that you realized that you should probably start writing music together?
Yeah! We met out at a dude ranch in Wyoming only to find out we lived across the street from each other back home. I think we both made our minds up, after falling in love with each other’s songs at the seminar, that writing once we got home was something we definitely wanted to do.
You both have quite the musical background, as well. How do you feel your past experiences in other bands and projects have prepared you for the music that you’re creating now?
You’d be hard-pressed to find two people in a band together with such polar opposite musical backgrounds, for sure. Steevie lives for straight-up pop/musical theatre and I’m from the school of classic country/punk rock. However, we both go crazy for rock n roll.
I feel like our sound and the songs we write are what happens when those two worlds collide and meet in the middle. It’s not big-city pop or backwoods country…it’s smack-dab in the middle, hence “TOWNE”.
What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned while in projects in the past that you’ve taken with you into Towne?
I think the biggest thing we both learned, and carry with us through every show, is how to perform in front of an audience and play off of each other naturally. Honestly, the on-stage banter between us is probably my favorite part of each show because I never know what either of us is going to say—it’s always 100% authentic.
You guys ended 2016 with the release of the music video for your single, “The One I Love.” Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind this track?
“The One I Love” has become an extra special song for us since the day we wrote it. It started out as a story about a poem from an ex-boyfriend of Steevie’s that she had kept in her wallet for years. Since the song was released, we’ve heard story after story about what the song means to so many different people and how it has touched them in one way or another…it’s the most unexpected yet incredible feeling.
What was the highlight of your 2016?
The highlight of 2016 for each of us was getting to quit our day jobs to focus on music, for sure. Oh, and buying our tour van, Betty White.
Do you have any major goals for the new year? Maybe some more new music soon?
Yes! We’re working on new music and will be in the studio in early February! Beyond that, we just want to put a lot of miles on Betty White and meet and play for as many folks as humanly possible.
What’s next for Towne?
Next on our list of to-do’s is to finish writing and recording our new album…beyond that, who knows? We like to take it as it comes.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you, again, for having us! Check out www.TowneMusic.com and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Insta, etc, at @townemusic.
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