The pair complement each other nicely - McGowan's rapid-fire enthusiastic speech contrasted with Winstanley's more laid-back, contemplative manner - and they seem very comfortable together, so it's perhaps no surprise that they were a couple for some time. I prefer to avoid, impersonal, non-descript metaphors that don't really go anywhere." "It's so unpretentious, and the songs tell a distinct story from A to B. "And I just love country, and bluegrass, and old-timey type stuff, and acoustic instruments played in a country context with open chords. "But she took to it very easily," Winstanley adds.
I didn't even really know bluegrass existed until Cy introduced me to it at about 25," she laughs. "I don't think we can get away from the fact we both love and listen to a lot of jazz. "I think there is a big jazz influence in there still," McGowan says of the change. In intervening years, Winstanley headed to London to spend seven years busking, performing and touring the country, having discovered folk, country and bluegrass, while McGowan moved to Las Vegas to do her Masters on jazz bass.īut when they were reunited in 2007, it became clear their path ahead lay as a duo - so Winstanley convinced McGowan she could sing, introduced her to some of his folk favourites, and away they went. For although this is the first release under their new name Tattletale Saints, they've been performing together on and off since they were 16, and previously put out an album as Her Make Believe Band in 2009 when they were based in Britain.īoth began on the piano at a young age, progressing through a variety of instruments, until they met in the Queen City Big Band in their mid-teens - McGowan on double bass, Winstanley on guitar - and discovered a shared passion for jazz. It's a little misleading to call How Red is the Blood the debut album of alt-country-folk duo Cy Winstanley and Vanessa McGowan. They talk to Lydia Jenkin about their short genre-hopping history Jazz-gone-country duo Tattletale Saints are heading out on tour with their almost-debut album.
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