Album Notes

Kelly Colbert Baynham (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Wade Baynham (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano) met as undergrads at Stanford University. When Wade saw Kelly sing on campus he actually said to her afterwards: "Let's get together and see if our voices blend." Kelly rolls her eyes and admits that the cheesy line worked. It was only a month later that a professor was assigning Kelly & Wade's first demo tapes as "listening homework" to the seminar-students-turned-guinea pigs. The pair married after graduation, and have been writing, performing, producing, and selling CDs out of the back of their brown van ever since.

Kelly & Wade played countless college gigs, clubs and churches while in school and juggled different band line-ups. When they kept losing drummers and bass players to grad schools, fans termed Kelly & Wade "the basics." The moniker stuck, and the modern folk/pop duo was born. Over the last ten years they have released five independent CDs of original material, a Christmas project entitled Canticle of the Turning, a vinyl single, a short film score for the First Look Festival in Hollywood, CA and two songs for a television show that aired nationally on ABC and on ESPN. They have played shows with such notables as Train, Vic Chestnut, Vigilantes of Love, Box Set, the 77's, Ginny Owens, Claire Holley, and the Call. Carry me Close won songwriting awards from the Northern California Songwriting Association in 1999, and Walking in Heartland was featured on San Francisco's KFOG 104.5 FM Acoustic Sunrise.

After building a large Bay Area fan base, touring regionally from San Diego to Seattle, and playing more than 500 shows, the basics decided it was time for a change. They relocated to the Triangle area in North Carolina. In a bold move to collaborate with other artists, the basics opened their own home recording studio, the Second Story. Time off from non-stop touring has given Kelly & Wade the opportunity to grow as artists: Wade as a producer and session musician, Kelly as a singer/songwriter, choreographer, and teacher. The basics have collaborated in the studio with Matt Slocum and Dale Baker of Sixpence None the Richer, Ken Coomer of Wilco, Chris Donohue of VOL and Over the Rhine, Phil Madiera, Jason Harrod, and Claire Holley among others.

Kelly & Wade have gained valuable experience doing session work for a wide assortment of projects, both commercial and artistic. In 2003 Kelly & Wade created original music for The Mirrorings Project, a dance theatre piece based on the writings of Lucy Grealy, in addition to other sound design for dancers performing in the American Dance Festival. Wade produced a single for a musical tribute to Brian Wilson entitled Making God Smile released by Silent Planet Records, a theme song for the NC Hurricanes, in addition to producing full-length projects for many regional artists.

The newest original material from the basics springs from this intense season of reflection, rest, change and transition. Grow chronicles the search for community in an increasingly isolated world, and celebrates the authentic connections that make life worth living. Known for their passionate singing and intense vocal blend, the performances on this new project shine. The mix of folk, pop and roots rock dominate the record with some nods to more atmospheric influences of Daniel Lanois, Pierre Marchand, and John Leventhal. With renewed passion and fresh vision, the basics' live show inspires. With the release of Grow, you will find the basics back on the road, with shows slated on both coasts in 2004.