The Twins of Franklin
The Twins of Franklin are not twins, they are friends, and a band. Becky Shaheen (vocals/guitar/keys) & Laura Lou DuSchane (vocals/uke/guitar/keys) of the Twins of Franklin just put out their new album This Life. Americana Highways had a chance to sit down and talk with them about the album. Here’s what they had to share.
Americana Highways: How did you decide to name your new album This Life?
Becky and Laura: “This Life” was actually the working title of the song “Look at all This Life,” so when we were asking ourselves that album title question, we came to the conclusion that we might just have to rename the song. It encapsulates the album’s subject matter so well, of two women settling into the lives they’ve built in their 30s, so we kept coming back to it! The title was cemented when we were singing the line “we only got this one life” in the song “Life By Design” and gave each other a “OMG DUH” look. It felt like the obvious choice, one we both came to separately on our own before high fiving at practice and proclaiming it NAMED.
AH: Did any of the songs on the album come to you almost completely out of the blue? Which one / one(s) and how did it happen?
Becky: “All Your Love” is pretty out of the blue! I had been holding onto the line “whiskey fighter and tequila crier” for years, but never could make it work. Then the hook “all your love” started floating around in my head while I was searching for inspiration for this raucous rock song. I started filling in the holes with stories of some of my more regrettable behaviors, and wove them into the song. And that whiskey line finally found a home.
Laura: Another song that was quite “out of the blue” for completely different reasons was the song “The Wait.” It’s based on my experience of having a miscarriage, which is something that inherently happens “out of the blue.” I wrote it in one or two sittings after a friend of mine encouraged me to put this extremely common yet hardly talked about experience into a song. The lyrics flowed out quite naturally, all these intrusive thoughts and feelings that kept repeating in my head, and is one of the songs that’s gone through the least amount of changes from its original form. Some of the hardest life moments inspire a completely clear creative vision, and this was one of those moments.
AH: When songs don’t come to you out of the blue, what’s your songwriting process like?
Becky: We both write music for television and advertising (especially Becky) so inherently dedicate a lot of our songwriting energy into more specific projects that have a more commercialized purpose. With The Twins of Franklin, we have the privilege of writing completely for pleasure. We get to utilize it as a way to process events, emotions, and observations, which in turn means we’re often waiting for sparks of inspiration from our personal lives. For example, writing the song “Worry” followed a realization that there’s no end to the worry that comes from bringing a child into the world. I (Becky) kept hitting these milestones and thinking that feeling would subside, but alas – not the case! It was such a “ah-ha” moment, and moments like those typically end up in a song. Even though the nuts and bolts of the song flowed out, this song really had to marinate for a few months after. When we finally brought it to the full band, the beat, the vibe, and the three part harmonies came together alarmingly fast. We brought it to the stage within a few short weeks of workshopping it.
AH: Becky, I read that your dad, and also your boss at your other job, are both in the band. How did that come to be?
Becky: Surround yourself with talented people and you might find yourself in a band! Well – big shock, me and my Dad have been singing together ever since I can remember! He helped me with my very first band, and has basically been playing with me ever since. Not just because he’s my Dad, but because he’s really friggen good at playing SO many things. I’ve also been a music consultant at the same publishing house – co-owned by our drummer Brian – going on 15 years! We’ve all been playing together for years, backing each other’s solo projects, singing backup vocals, etc.. We were recently recalling the gigs we booked about 10 years ago, doing some really fun 3-4 hour sets at bars, taking turns leading tunes between us three songwriters (Becky, Laura, Joe) and offering support on each other’s songs. Brian started playing with us after he produced a rock album for me in 2014 (that also features Joe and Laura). I think after that album release party, we all couldn’t imagine playing with another drummer. He is incredibly talented and versatile. In 2016 we declared ourselves “The Twins of Franklin” and solidified the ‘core 4’ as we call this formation. We love adding different instrumentalists here and there (even had back up vocalists at our This Life release party), but the core 4 really informed how the album ended up sounding. We’re so pleased that we get to mix our music work life with personal life relationships, and think it helped this album sound as good as it does.
AH: If someone only had ten minutes, which 3 songs on the album should they listen to first & why?
Becky: In honor of all things VINYL, I’d say just put on the record and let the first 3 tracks take you away! If you don’t have a record player, well – find a way to fix that, and THEN pull up your streaming service of choice and focus your attention on “To The Moon,” “The Wait,” and “Stay.”
We are a pair of classically trained musical theater nerds, and sometimes that reflects in the songs we write. For example, “The Wait” and “Stay” are just dripping with drama both in the subject matter and the massive dynamic changes found throughout the songs. They’re our most emotionally charged tunes on this record, especially because Chris Koza composed string arrangements that sound like the keening of our hearts.
“Stay” is a song written about a love lost after one of our best friends decided to sell her house to try and give RV “travel around the nation” life a go. I (Becky) was completely broken-hearted about the decision and this was my internal dialogue at the time, wrestling with my desire to beg her to stay, wanting her to be happy, and wondering how much of my emotions were driven by my own selfish desires for closeless. After the RV life didn’t turn out to be as great as TikTok made it seem, they decided to move back, and made it back to MN just in time to hear us play the song live for the first time. Good thing they did come back – may not have been able to record it if they were still out there on the road!
AH: Were any of the songs on the album written by inspiration and or frustration about an event and or place? If so which song (or songs) and tell us more about it?
Laura: Definitely. “To the Moon” was inspired by an evening spent alone on my front porch, staring at the full moon, and thinking about all of the world’s troubles and my place within them. As I’m sure we can all recall, the summer after covid hit was also a summer filled with unrest and uproar after the murder of George Floyd, which happened a couple blocks away from where I lived at the time. In the weeks following, I had to confront a lot of uncomfortable feelings and spent a lot of time on my porch – my writing space turned into a neighborhood observation deck – wondering what the next day would bring. I often felt helpless while deeply wanting to be connected to my community and the necessary restorative justice conversations and actions that were being had.
One night, I found myself lighting candles, drinking wine, feeling anxious, and writing what I call burn letters to the moon. On full moons, these letters are often filled with things I’m trying to rid myself of. On new moons, these letters are filled with intentions, hopes, and dreams. I was sitting there, anxiously texting on too many messaging apps, and thinking man… this full moon let go list has never been longer. Thankfully, my guitar made the cut of things I carried out onto the porch, so I started singing and jamming and repeating the hook “so much to let go, so much to hope for” and a rage rock and roll song started to take form.
AH: What would you like fans to take away after listening to your music?
That we’re just a pair of pals navigating life together who just so happen to write and sing about it. We really want our songs to resonate with our listeners. Like heck, be nice to yourself! Be patient with yourself! Be present in the moment! Motherhood is hard and beautiful and complicated! It’s okay to enjoy life when you are happy! Mostly, we just want our fans to feel seen.
AH: When you were a kid, who inspired you to make music?
Becky: So much inspiration!! Maybe not a kid…but when I was 14 I heard the song “Cold Hard Bitch” by JET on the radio while driving with my Dad and I vividly remember feeling ALIVE. We bought tickets to their show with The Vines at The Quest (RIP QUEST) – it was my first concert ever and I’ll never forget how it fueled my desire to rock it up on stage.
Laura: My Mom. She has such a good voice but always had a lot of stage fright so rarely sang for folks other than her family. I grew up listening to her sing while she worked, always harmonizing, always screwing up the lyrics to songs. I am also the middle child of 3 sisters, so there were A LOT of performances where I insisted on singing lead.(BIG shock I know). Piano lessons were a requirement, which led to voice lessons which led to guitar lessons and so on and so forth. My happy, musical childhood really set me up for success, and my parents have always been my number one supporters and fans, never once telling me I couldn’t pursue my dreams.
AH: What is next for The Twins of Franklin? Any big festivals and or tours coming up?
We are excited to play with the full 8 piece Release Party band at the Lake Harriet bandshell in Minneapolis on July 24th! We are currently building out some regional weekend run outs to Eastern Wisconsin, Duluth and whoever else will have us! We are buzzing with momentum, so will keep our songwriting sessions regular so we can start dreaming up album #3.
Thanks for chatting with us, Twins of Franklin. Find more of their show dates and music here on their website: https://www.thetwinsoffranklin.com
Enjoy our review of their album here: REVIEW: The Twins of Franklin “This Life”
