Album Notes

“One of the most promising songwriters I’ve heard in quite some time.” --Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal

“A treasure to be shared…with a touch for taking simple ideas and infusing them with unexpected meaning, metaphor and imagery.”--Hicks With Sticks Magazine

Just when you thought you’d heard all that the Americana/Folk revival could show you, Misner & Smith bring a freshness and lyrical vitality you won’t find anywhere else. When you hear these two you’ll think they were born to sing together, with an exceptional vocal blend that cuts right to your soul. At moments raw and powerful, and at other times hauntingly subtle, extraordinary two-part harmonies anchor Misner & Smith’s unique and compelling original music. Megan Smith plays the upright bass and mandolin while Sam Misner plays guitar, and with stellar award-winning songwriting to boot, Misner & Smith retain a connection to roots music that has been described as “the perfect balance between traditional and contemporary”. Though it is not always easy to put their music into one category it is evident that the tradition of duets is truly alive and well in these two performers. You will be amazed at the fullness of sound and depth of songs from Misner & Smith.

The duo began their musical collaboration after working together as actors on a production of the musical Woody Guthrie’s American Song and immediately recognized a mutual love of Americana music, particularly focused on vocal harmonies. Since then, the two have been touring regularly and have built a steady and loyal following. They have performed on the main stages at both the San Francisco and El Cerrito Folk Festivals, and recently headlined at Berkeley’s famed acoustic venue, the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse.

Balancing their careers as actors and musicians is no easy task, but the two have found the art of storytelling to be one of the common threads running through both forms. Characters of various types inhabit their songs. Some are fictional, some are autobiographical, and some are even historical, as in the tune “Triangle Factory Fire”. Based on the true story of the infamous fire at the Triangle Waistcoat Factory in New York City in 1911, the song combines researched facts and invention to retell the tragic story from a first-person perspective.

Crafting original songs rich in meaning and texture, the duo’s sound is centered around unique vocal harmonies and evocative lyrics, and in 2007, “Madeline (Paradise Cracked)” won the West Coast Songwriters Association’s Song of the Year competition. The title track of their most recent release “Poor Player” (2008) was nominated in the New Folk category in one of the world’s largest international song contests put on by the Just Plain Folks music organization. It is the combination of strong songwriting and vocal delivery that drove RARwriter.com to declare “this is truly inspired vocalizing, this is ‘shivers up the spine’ singing!”