Album Notes

Mandy Rogers & Christa Wells are sisters who have years of experience in being creative together--backyard musicals, song & dance numbers on the family room "stage," community plays, etc. Now all grown up, Mandy is painting and teaching art at the university level. Christa was recognized in 2006 by the GMA for her writing of the Natalie Grant song "Held." Both sing and write on piano. Mandy and Christa share a love of music and family and faith; and this album is truly a reflection of all three.

christa...

Music was always “the thing” for me--I loved melody-making and wordplay as a child and began playing the piano in early grade school. My first attempts at actual songwriting (not counting the nursery rhyme tunes I created when I was six) took place when I was about 15 and in the midst of a depressing high school experience, and they weren't great songs. BUT, at the risk of sounding cliche, a door to another universe opened for me with that first song...I found a place in writing where I'm at home--in my own headspace--and I can roam freely and explore and play with the pieces of a lyrical and musical puzzle until everything fits. It still feels that way.

I studied English Education and Music Industry at college in Indiana and gained a lot in the way of experience there, but the bulk of my growth as a songwriter has been and continues to be the result of doing it. I’m not all that interested in being an “artist’s artist,” though I value the knowledge and insights of other writers. I’m more interested in creatively communicating stories and questions and discoveries—anything true—to people who are interested and willing to listen.

Performing my own songs is not something I’ve been ambitious about, and simply writing has been satisfying as well as a good fit for the realities of my family life. But I think we needed to do this project…because we’ve loved some of these songs for so long. And because some of the newer ones needed to be written and possibly could only be sung by us. Enjoy.