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
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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
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T e r r a plays
E ric : P l e m o n s
out
is a Portland free-lance writer.
out
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