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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2004)
auaust 6. 2004 > J l l S t O U t 37 MUSIC .......... ▼......... n a Northwest music scene that is best known for producing seminal punk, grunge and rock bands, folk musicians work all the harder to get their just due. Portland queers Teri Payton and Sara Sanders make up the folk duo Terra. Earning a name for themselves touring throughout the Western United States, the women are working to add folk music to Portland’s standout roster. T he pair met 10 years ago as students at the former Ricks College in Idaho. “Teri was play ing guitar, and I started singing harmony,” Sanders recalls. “Someone dared us to enter the talent show, so we did.” During their first show ever, the piano caught fire on stage behind them. “No one heard us play,” notes Sanders, “but we think we would have won.” After moving separately to the Northwest, a regular gig in Albany brought Payton from Tacoma, Wash., to Salem, where Sanders lived. They concentrated on developing new material, and in 1998 Terra (a combination of their first names) released its eponymous first recording. They moved to Portland in 1999, intending to play in the local scene. But, like many musi cians, the demands of day jobs kept them from their artistic pursuit. Terra didn’t play in Port land for almost two years. Then a couple of years ago, they started booking gigs in coffeehouses, bookstores and pubs. “Every time we play, there is somebody who is really excited to see us,” Payton smiles. “There are a ton of musicians everywhere, but if you play for people and they get a chance to hear you, they’ll want you back.” They decided to make the C D they had wanted for so long. T he impressive No Destination delivers the energy and creativity of years spent waiting to record an album of its depth and richness. I out Teppa fipma Portland duo create solid harmony on stage and off by E ric P lemons From the sexy, jazzy “Heartstrings” through the quietly confessional “You Have Done Me W ell," from the heart-wrenching “Treading Water” to the toe-tapping, finger-snapping “Two for the Road,” this is one of those albums you want with you on a long drive. The rich orches tration owes to a large and talented cast of musicians. Teri Payton (left) and Sara “There are great peo is a classic road trip disc ple here who’ve been generous with their time and talents and have expressed great kindness to us in our projects,” Sanders says. Each song is unique in its feel and instru mentation, but they all carry the signatures of Terra’s poignant songwriting and smooth har monies. “Sometimes people ask if we’re sisters because we blend so well,” Sanders smiles. “There is a blend that can only come from related vocal chords, but we’ve managed to accomplish it without being related.” out out o t i, tim e. PUBLIC HOUSE Q neat ß e& i! Though Payton’s instrument of choice is the acoustic Martin guitar given to her by a fan whose only requirement was that she continue to make music, she also plays harmonica, bass, djembe drums, piano and mandolin on No Destination. “I’m really proud of the C D ,” Payton says. “T he songs didn’t have to be as elaborate as they turned out, but they’d been in my head for so long that 1 had to get them out in their fullness. I had the opportunity to grow these songs, and I couldn’t say no.” out C efitm tel • New NW Location! • Same Great Laurelwood taste! LAURELW0 0 D Sanders’ first full-length release, No Destination, out Payton is the principal songwriter in the duo, but no song is complete without Sanders’ arrangements. “I get 80 percent done, and I come to Sara for an honest opinion,” she says. “She adds to it or takes away.” “It is like Teri brings in the furniture for a room, and 1 come in and arrange it,” Sanders explains. “W hen 1 find the harmony, it becomes really exciting.” The creative process is tricky for any group of performers, but it can be made even more complex when artists are life partners as well. Adding to a certain quiet mystique, Terra’s inti macy and respect for each other as people and as artists are evident on stage. They share an infectious enthusiasm for their music and per formance, and their sincere enjoyment of one another is playfully aware. “Music makes our relationship, and our relationship makes our music,” Sanders says with a grin. Pretty simple. “I write very emotionally,” Payton adds. “I have a moment to sit with my guitar, and it turns into seven or eight hours.” Sanders says, “If I come home and the hall door is closed, 1 know she is working on a new song, and I just let her be.” Besides playing regularly around the Port land area, Payton is eager to “go on the road.” But Sanders wants to put out that next album. “Teri has so much more material. W e’re anx ious to get more out there.” J H Produce R cav , 201 S.E. O ak St . , from 9p.m . to nudnight Aug. 7 and lesbian'Ouned Touchstone C offee House, 7631 N .E. Glisan St., from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 21 for a $5 donation. 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