Indie-pop duo joan performed in Sacramento for the first time on Oct. 17 at Ace of Spades.
The group is currently opening for alternative-pop band MisterWives on their “Just For One Night” tour, playing cities around the country until Nov. 8.
The duo, which consists of Little Rock, Arkansas natives Alan Benjamin Thomas and Steven Rutherford, formed in 2017 and said pop is a huge inspiration for their music.
“We definitely cover the gamut of pop music,” Thomas said. “I think we’re through-and-through kind of popheads and are always striving to write timeless, catchy and meaningful songs.”
Their newest single, “heartbodymindsoul” was released Sept. 17 via Photo Finish Records and re-released on Oct. 23, with alternate versions including acoustic, live and slowed renditions.
The name for the track was inspired by an accidentally-scheduled couple’s massage the duo received while touring in Asia.
“We were laying there getting massages, and [Rutherford] noticed on the wall, a saying they use there in massage parlors: ‘body, mind, soul,’” Thomas said. “He jotted it down and was like, ‘That’s a good song lyric’.”
Using that mantra as a muse, they were then able to create a song around the concept.
“It just ended up being a song about an assessment to someone,” Rutherford said. “Giving your all to them in every part of your life.”
Thomas and Rutherford also produce and write all of their songs by themselves, saying it makes their creative process smoother.
“Definitely less cooks in the kitchen, which is always easier,” Rutherford said. “You don’t have to wait on somebody else, and that makes for a very efficient process as well as making what we feel.”
RELATED: Lovelytheband’s latest album navigates life’s highs and lows
They had a positive experience in their introduction to the city, making an Instagram post Oct. 18 where they said the Sacramento crowd was “incredible” and described their inaugural show in California’s capital city as “so special.”
Both members are husbands and fathers with their own respective families, meaning that they have to sacrifice family time in order to tour.
“It’s tough. We’re definitely at the point where it’s heavier to go out and be away for an extended amount of time,” Thomas said. “But if they didn’t believe in it, we wouldn’t be here.”
The group also said that they have big plans on the horizon for new music.
“We have a backlog of songs we’re very excited about, and we’re still creating and developing,” Thomas said. “You will hear new music from joan very soon.”
