Seven Irish children are born into the Bolger family, all of whom are musical. One brother, a little wild, sings and wants to start a band, and little brother Tommy is a pretty good drummer for a 15-year-old. But it was Judd and Maggie, born Justin Charles and Margaret Elinor Bolger, who took their music to the next level — together — recording albums, touring, and moving to Nashville.
Judd, 27, tried to describe the genre of their band: singer/songwriter, pop/folk, brother/sister...
“Basically just a lot of slashes,” he concluded. The brother/sister duo moved to Nashville in October to record their third album, after releasing two others and a four-song EP. They toured a couple years ago through New York, Los Angeles, all over, to promote their last album, “Subjects,” but chose east Nashville for their new digs after living most of their lives in Frederick.
“We can get a lot of stuff done here musically,” Judd said about Nashville. “It’s small, it’s cheap, and there’s a lot of resources.” Maggie, 23, said with musicians and artists all over the city, “a lot of things happen just from being here.
” Plus, their producer, Neilson Hubbard, lives five minutes away, and they can record right in the bedroom of their little apartment. “He just lies down on the bed,” Maggie said jokingly of her brother. “Puts the mic up to his guitar.
” They say their new album, which they anticipate to release after touring, is a little more fun than “Subjects.” They use a lot more percussion, experiment with vocal loops, and their melodies are more “sing-songy.” They are thinking of calling it “Metaphysick,” the 1500s spelling of the word “metaphysic.
” “It’s kind of hinting at spiritual sickness,” Judd explained. “But we might name it something totally different.” “Subjects,” released in 2005, was produced in Los Angeles with Joey Waronker, who produced for a few big name artists (Beck, REM).
“We had the major label experience,” Judd said, “but we don’t want to do it again. The recording didn’t really capture us.” “It was a good two years,” Maggie said.
“We got to tool around and meet a lot of people.” Before that, they’d recorded an album on their own in Baltimore, with the help of friends. Both write lyrics and said usually listeners are unable to tell who writes what, possibly because of the siblings’ similar literature tastes.
Judd got into poetry last year, with T.S. Eliot in the forefront.
“I read him all the time now,” he said. He thinks people don’t appreciate poetry as much anymore. “We’re used to all this media that’s pretty loud, in your face — all this technology, iPods.
.. It was hard for me to sit down and read just words and get into the motion that’s behind the poem and what it’s trying to say.
” He said he likes the simplicity of poetry, though he considers Eliot to be a complete genius. “We don’t have a TV or anything,” Maggie added. “As an artist, you need quiet time and alone time so you can come up with something.
Everything is so loud these days, you have to consciously make an effort.” Siblings, bandmates, and roommates in tight quarters, but they said they’ve always gotten along; if anything, they’ve gotten closer. “Any band is hard to be in,” Maggie said.
“It’s easier when you have a deeper bond than just the music.” “Maggie wanted to sing Leann Rimes..
. ‘How do I live without you’?” “No,” Maggie said, laughing.
“It was ‘On the Side of Angels.’ I was really into Leann Rimes at that point. My tastes have matured .
.. Now I live about 15 minutes away from Leann Rimes!
It’s like I’ve come full circle.” They took first place in the show, with Judd backing her up on piano. He still plays piano, keyboard, organ, or “anything with black and white keys,” and guitar, while Maggie plays bass.
“I didn’t finish college,” Maggie said. “I left early to do music. Most parents wouldn’t understand that.
” She’s happy with her career, as is Judd, even if she has to occasionally babysit to pay the bills, or Judd has to take a couple of odd jobs here or there, like delivering flowers. He liked that one. “Everyone’s always happy to see you!
” Now that happens onstage, too. “We have fans,” he said. “They come out of their caves at times .
.. and send us messages of love.
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