British singer/songwriter Tricia Duffy was recruited as a lead singer into a covers band in 2015. It was there she met Al Bird, who was recruited to play lead guitar. The pair would form a covers duo performing in pubs and small festivals, building a reputation for creating interesting covers. In 2016, the duo changed their name to Duffy & Bird and began to co-write original material. In November 2017, the Anglo-Welsh acoustic duo released their debut album, Album 5 Lines.
As a child growing up in Portsmouth, England, entertainment was a big part of Tricia’s life. She was an actor appearing in local performances, a singer, and an award-winning poet. At 19, Tricia left home for New York and went to work on the entertainment staff of cruise ships. She traveled the world and worked with some very talented musicians. But after 4 years she decided it was time to put down roots and get a proper job in entertainment. Tricia returned to the UK and moved to London where took on a job in television. She started as a PA for a sports news show on ESPN and worked her way up the ranks. Today, she has a part-time job as a consultant for various television companies.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Tricia about Duffy & Bird’s debut album, cruise ships, her poetry, and more.
Congratulations to you and Al Bird on your debut album, Album 5 Lines. What is the concept or theme of the album? How did you come up with it?
Hi, thank you very much. I’d love to claim that there was some overall theme or concept for what we did. But the truth is that, like a lot of artists starting out, we were kind of making it up as we went along in the beginning. However, when we were close to selecting the final 11 songs for the album, we were really clear that we wanted a very strong mix of styles. Entitled Child has a Ska rhythm, Slipping Away is very much a country song, I Would Love You has sort of a gothic ballad/polka vibe, Paranoid Thoughts takes its inspiration from 70s rock. As we’re just two voices and a guitar we were keen to make sure that there was enough variety.
All but 2 songs on Album 5 Lines were recorded at The Fish Factory in London. You recorded the other 2 in Nashville without Al. How did that come about? How was the experience?
I went to Nashville in June last year to participate in a writing workshop with Verlon Thompson and about 20 other amazing songwriters. It was an absolutely incredible trip and while I was there it just seemed daft not to have the full music experience! A very old friend of mine, Greg Bieck runs Drive By studios and suggested that I would have a lot of fun if we did some recording. He lined up Carl Miner who is an incredible session guitarist and Greg Barnhill to come in and do backing vocals and we rattled through the recording of 4 songs start to finish in a day and a half! It was so fast – but it was my first time recording ever! So it was great to be in such experienced and friendly hands. It really set me up for getting the best out of the next batch of recording Al and I did together at The Fish Factory.
You and Al Bird had written nearly 50 songs in 2017 (11 making it to your debut album). Explain your productivity process for writing so prolifically.
Our process is a virtue of both our ability and our practical situation. I take the lead on the lyrics and melodies, Al develops the melodies and writes the hooks and arrangements.
I really enjoy the meditative process of writing on my own. All songwriters know that feeling of the songwriting itself when you get the right environment. That’s quite addictive.
It’s the equivalent of the marathon runner’s endorphin hit I think! So I write lyrics most days or jot down thoughts, I’ll write them on the train, in the kitchen, in the middle of the night when an idea comes to me – I can’t stop. Adding the melodies once I have a poem or even just 4 – 5 lines I’m happy with is the most natural part for me. Then the real fun and work start when Mr. Bird gets hold of it! The practical part of all this is that we live in different towns with families and day jobs (yes!) – so we work alone, sending each other files – we have a dropbox account full of probably 70+ songs or parts of right now. Actually, that reminds me we really need to cull some of the rubbish in there! So when we get together we are very focused and productive. Although of course, we have a lot of fun too.
Why did you decide to self-produce your debut album?
To be honest, I had been approached by a couple of producers and music industry “experts” who had tried to sell me their services, giving me all kinds of wisdom about what I should be doing to be commercial. That’s not what we are about at all. We’re both in our 40s and have started this original music thing relatively late in life.
We’re not doing this for fortune and fame, we’re doing it because we love writing and performing our own music.
So the last thing we wanted was someone coming in and encouraging us to write in the standard radio format of verse, chorus, and bridge, for example, when it wasn’t the song we had in mind. We are both fully signed up members of the AAB format protection society! I am sure we could have found the right person, but we felt protective of what we were creating – rightly or wrongly! Looking back on it, Al deserves the producer credit. He had very clear ideas about how things should sound and worked really closely with our superb engineer Kevan Gallagher to get it right with no compromise to our artistic integrity.
Explain your production process.
Other than the two Nashville songs we did the remaining 9 in 2 days at the Fish Factory. We don’t mess about, do we?! Kevan and Al spent hours getting the guitar mics exactly right and we literally went one song at a time: laying down guitar parts, adding lead vocals and then any backing vocals when required. Occasionally we went back and doubled up some of the guitars to give a bit of depth – I think all the songs bar about 2 have several guitar parts on them. It’s one of the ways we’ve been able to make a duo sound interesting in the recording process. Obviously, this gives Al a lot of challenges when we play live! But he’s a very gifted guitarist with ridiculous hands – so he rises to the challenge. Once we’d recorded all the tracks, Kevan took them away and worked his magic. Kev is also very talented guitarist, writer, and producer as well as a sound engineer – so actually he did influence us a bit, making good suggestions, trying things out with us until we had the record we wanted.
How did you get recruited as a lead singer into the covers band Band on The Rum? Describe your experience with the band.
Well, I’d been friends with the bass player Al Harris for a few years, he knew I could sing and was getting a band together for a charity gig – it was supposed to be a one-off. About 3 weeks before the gig he asked if I would consider doing some backing vocals for them. I thought it sounded like fun … so why not! I’d never sung rock before in my life – the day I turned up at the rehearsal room and tried out a few songs and did some BVs I was literally shaking with nerves … Pretty much all the singing I’d done in the past was accompanied by piano or an orchestra … and here were all these guitars and drums! But – what I loved that day was how my voice sounded singing those songs – I have quite a lot of clarity in my voice which cuts through when the others are being noisy! After that one-off gig, the boys asked me if I’d do one more gig, this time as the lead singer. Al wasn’t in the band at this stage and our then guitarist left the country soon after to go and live in the Middle East! So we did the gig – had a great time but that was that… until Al Harris heard about this bloke who lived in the next village to him who apparently was a bit handy on the guitar. I remember the first time we met like it was yesterday, Al Bird came into the studio and started playing – the rest of us just looked at each other smiling. He was amazing.
Why did you and Al decide to form a covers duo? How did you come up with your duo’s original name 2B1C? Were you still in Band on The Rum?
2B1C was born out of Band on the Rum when we were booked to perform at a small fete in Farnham and the organizers wanted several bands on during the day. They asked Al and I if we could do a short set just voice and guitar in the afternoon. We got together for one rehearsal, polished up 8 or so songs and just did it. A few things really came together that day – we were very well received, the combination of my voice and the acoustic guitar was really quite interesting to us. So we knew we’d want to do it again. I am actually a bit embarrassed to tell you how the name came about – it stands for 2 birds 1 capo. It was Al Harris’s suggestion and we couldn’t think of anything better at short notice! Duffy & Bird suits us much better I think…
Oh and, we’re both still in Band on the Rum! We are addicted to rocking out – we only do 5-6 gigs year with BOTR but when we do we really go for it! It keeps us on our toes as rock music is very precise so it’s a great work out for us both and always a lot of fun.
Andy Francombe
Explain how you and Al created interesting “head turning versions” of 40 cover songs on your setlist.
We still get out and do the odd covers gig from time to time or a mix of original and covers. We like to take great songs and do something different with them – sometimes that happens quite naturally because a lot of what we cover isn’t usually heard on just acoustic guitar and voice. Al’s arranging skills are really good so he will noodle around for hours to come up with great guitar parts. Most of my singing in my early life was standards so I have some confidence in messing around with the phrasing.
Because there are just two of us, and we’ve got to know each other pretty well over the past few years, we can play with a song and read each other
and, most importantly, get each other out of trouble if we go too far. It’s a good partnership that way.
You traveled to New York from the UK at 19 to work on cruise ships. What interested you in working on an entertainment team aboard a cruise ship? Why did you pick New York?
I had a very strong desire to go to the United States in my teens. I grew up on a diet of Dallas, Dynasty, and Moonlighting – everything I saw on television on those shows I wanted to see for myself. I also thought I was going to be an actor or singer when I grew up so it made complete sense to me to spend some time travelling around the edges of states and earning a living performing in some capacity before trying to get into drama school. I didn’t really pick New York – it picked me. That was where I managed to get my first job at sea so off I went. That was some culture shock landing at JFK the first time age 19. I had only ever travelled to France for camping holidays and the odd school trip prior to then.
In what manner did you work with the musicians on the cruise ship? How did they influence your later career?
I worked with some absolutely incredible musicians on the cruise ships. Randy Wanless was the musical director I performed with the most – he would spend so much time with me helping me with my arrangements and performance. I was so young and very inexperienced as a solo singer – he was very patient with me. He taught me things I still use today.
He told me when you start to sing a song, any song, just take a moment and ask yourself who’s singing, where are they, how are they feeling. Then start.
I really think that helps you get truth into your performance – whether it’s ACDC’s Highway to Hell or Dylan’s Simple Twist of Fate. It’s also helped my writing. A lot of my songs are written from a character’s perspective – it’s like acting! During my last contract at sea I met another musical director Greg Bieck – and yes – he’s the same guy who recorded and mixed those songs for me in Nashville! He’s an incredible musician and composer – he was only 17 when he was leading all the bands on the cruise ships in Alaska – child genius. He used to have a little sideline, writing arrangements for singers for $50 a pop. I still use arrangements he wrote for me 25 years ago! That’s value right there!
Why did you leave the cruise ship job and return to the UK after 4 years of traveling the world?
I was at the ripe old age of 23 when I stopped sailing. I had two drivers for change, I wanted to travel in a different way staying overnight in places – you never really get the know places on the ships because you only dock in ports for a few hours at a time, and I was ready to put some roots down. I flew to Australia and Asia for a year and bummed about for a bit, then when I was 24 I came to London, got a job and a flat and a couple of fish… seemed like the most logical next step. Later on, I married Lawrence and we have two boys who are now 9 and 12.
Tell us about your television job in London. What made you decide to take it after leaving the cruise ship?
I’d kind of talked myself out of becoming an actor or singer full time by this stage. I knew it would be really hard to go from earning good money on the ships to being broke all the time trying to find roles. So I convinced myself that a proper job in an entertainment field of some kind would be the next best thing. To be honest, I have loved my telly career – I started out as a PA on a sports news show for ESPN and I was good at it – I had a very good work ethic from my time on the ships – the one thing about life at sea – it is very hard work! So
I worked my way up the ranks and have had an amazing career working for lots of organisations including Sky and BBC.
I still work part-time for various TV companies now as a consultant. Al and I are both very lucky that we have day jobs we love as much as our music job! And it helps pay the bills…
What musical did you have a role in? Did it influence you in any way?
I played Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan, the musical written by Stiles and Drew. It’s a small part but has the main ballad in the piece so it was a perfect part for me. A musical is a real team sport, it is hard work, the schedule is relentless and you really need to look after yourself. I learnt a lot doing it, but I’m happy to stick to contemporary music!
As a child, you were an actor, singer, and poet, appearing in local performances and winning poetry prizes. Explain how you decided on a becoming a singer and not an actor or poet.
Singing is something I just do. All the time. My parents tell stories of me singing as a very small child, along to the radio. Constantly. I was always singing. I have never ever stopped. In my teens, singing was such a given, that it didn’t feel like something I would do as a job because it was just part of life. I thought I’d be an actor. Poetry was definitely a skill I had as a child, but my education wasn’t the best, and it wasn’t ever something I was encouraged to do. I just did it because I could. I have exercise books full of poems I wrote as a child that really surprise me when I look back on them. If I was a less optimistic person, I guess I could be resentful about the lack of nurturing that child was given especially at school? But what’s the point in that … I got off my backside and made my own opportunities.
What type of prizes did you win with your poetry when you were a child? Do you continue to write poetry? Why or why not?
I performed in festivals in the local area that showcased young talent for their acting and poetry. I would usually enter several categories and do pretty well in all of them, but I won the poetry prize a few times in a row. The year I didn’t win, I can remember being utterly devastated. I think of all my songs as poems. That’s how they start. So
I’m definitely still writing poetry. It’s just now we set it to music.
When you write lyrics, do you draw on your experience writing poetry as an influence? Why or why not?
Definitely, the rhythm of a song and a poem are critical ingredients. I often think a song is going to develop if I’ve got 5 lines … the first 2 or 4 are important … but if a 5th is coming to me then it has legs.
How do you think women in indie music can be supported?
There are a lot of assumptions and stereotypes that need to broken down in all arts industries, not just music.
It’s our duty to support and create opportunities for women in all aspects of music, not just performing, but running venues, record companies and all aspects of the business of music.
The stats show that at the bottom rungs of the industry women are actually quite well represented, I read that 60% of music internships are held by women. But as soon as you look higher up the ranks it tails off at an incredible rate until mainly men hold the decision making posts at the very top of the tree. How on earth can women be fairly and accurately represented by an industry that is run entirely by men? There needs to be a systemic change. In the meantime,
while we wait for the industry to wake up and catch up, we have a duty to support and encourage each other and make space for a far greater range of musicians.
We’ve got to create opportunities for access to music that doesn’t require women to leave their families for months on end or flirt with the label head to get a break.
What advice do you have for women thinking about or currently pursuing a career in music?
I guess given our story I have two bits of advice. First, do it for the right reasons, focus on the inputs, not the outputs. We all spend so much of our lives focusing on how to get the result we want but music is something you can’t control at all. You can’t make people like it. So Al and I have a philosophy of focusing on all the parts of the process and making sure that we enjoy and learn from them all. Then when it’s done and we’ve got a song or a record – if people like it – that’s just an added bonus. Second, it’s never too late! If you set your mind to it, you can achieve incredible things. The last year has been the best year of my life for sure.
Creating something, writing a song, it’s such a simple yet empowering thing to do.
I sometimes think I am the luckiest person alive.
What are Duffy & Bird’s tour plans for 2018?
We’re not doing a traditional tour as such, but we’re playing a few one-off gigs and we’re really hoping to get on a few stages at some festivals.
What projects do you have planned for 2018?
We’re writing again and hoping to release a new EP in Autumn. We’ve got 3 songs so far! So its work in progress…
Thank you, Tricia, for the opportunity to interview you!
Thank you so much for talking to me and for everything you do to support women in music.
Pick up a copy of Album 5 Lines on Bandcamp.
Follow Tricia on Social Media:
Twitter: @triciaduffy
Instagram: triciaduffysingersongwriter
Follow Duffy & Bird on Social Media:
Twitter: @DuffyandBird
Facebook: DuffyandBird
To get the latest news, gigs, and more go to www.duffyandbird.uk
Check out Duffy & Bird’s YouTubeChannel