“When I write, it is with the voice of who I am.  That is not about anything other than this internal authentic voice. That is what I want to write, not just about all the pretty and fluffy parts.  I wrote a song called, “When I’m Found Out,” and it is about (this idea) that women have about themselves, ‘Oh they’re going to find out that I’m ugly. They’re going to find out that I’m stupid. Somebody’s going to find me out and I am going to be busted.’ That’s real and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t feel that, and I know a lot of people.  Those universal experiences, (which when expressed) in a very personal context, is what we do.  I can spin all sorts of stories about what we have done individually, collectively and as individuals outside of the band and that has certainly overlapped into what the music sounds like.  Angel Band is a coalescence of all of those experiences.  Collectively as a band, this is who we are. We are this music,” says singer and songwriter Nancy Josephson of the Angel Band.

 

Angel Band’s whose music is an acoustic blend of Americana and folk music with suggestions of bluegrass and gospel music.  The group is comprised of three singers, Josephson, Philadelphia folk singer / guitarist, Jen Schonwald and acoustic and choral veteran Kathleen Weber. Josephson formerly played bass guitar and performed as a vocalist with Arlo Guthrie, the Buffalo Gals and the David Bromberg Band.   Angel Band’s musicians include, Josephson’s husband, the legendary David Bromberg (guitars), Bobby Tangrea (mandolin / guitar), fiddlers Nate Grower and Jeff Wisor and bassist Bob Taylor.

 

One of the more beautiful acoustic songs that you will hear comes in the form of “Drown In The Fountain Of Good,” from the band’s current album, With Roots & Wings. Commenting on the flavor of the song, one which she wrote, Josephson says, “I like writing stuff that sounds like it has been around for a really long time. When I write, I don’t go, ‘I want to write a bluesy tune.’ Lyrics will lend themselves to one form or another.”

 

Elaborating further about Angel Band’s sound, Josephson says, “We are very deeply based in a roots oriented concept. That being said, what really seems to resonate with us is based in that acoustic sound. On the CD, we used drums, pedal steel and we actually use an accordion on “Drown In The Fountain Of Good.”  The song was recorded with all sorts of effects on it, which was really spooky, like there was a big, big monster coming to get us. That’s one of our favorite tunes to sing, because you can get so down, deep into it. In terms of writing, performing and figuring out the material that we want to use, we can’t do only that or we won’t feel comfortable. That would be like eating a cheesecake. You can’t have only cheesecake, if that makes any sort of sense.”

 

“Though we are much steeped in bluegrass roots, we are parts of various generations that have had access to huge amounts of music. Good music is good music, and there is this appreciation for all good music that is out there. All three of us have a deep rock and roll background and we all have had various stints in gospel stuff, although the music that comes out of there (gospel); that really deep spiritual music, is something that resonates with David as well. We have a pretty wide array of interests and we utilize that in what we sing. We will do something that is like a stone old country tune and we will do “Drown In The Fountain Of Good,” says Josephson, as she also alludes to elements of  a capella and Cajun in Angel Band’s music.

 

For their sophomore CD, Angel Band enlisted the services of producer Lloyd Maines who has produced among other fine artists, The Dixie Chicks, which includes his daughter Natalie Maines.  “He (Maines) was our first choice in terms of finding someone to work with us. That he consented to working with us, I consider that to be a miracle. I was shocked and delighted beyond belief. It was a really interesting process, because these tunes were so close to us. To have our stuff handed over to someone else really involved a level of trust that we needed to experience immediately, because there was so little time to do the recording. He came in and made us feel like we were all on the same side and he was not going to make us do anything that we didn’t feel right about doing. He respected so deeply our musicianship, and then he was able to augment that with a fresh ear.  It was awesome and was so right. After the process, I sat in the studio, because I wanted to see how he worked.  Now if we are arranging tunes, we will ask ourselves what Lloyd would do in this case.  He taught us an enormous amount. He taught us how to condense something that is big and long, into something that is a lot more pointed and clear. Lloyd also played on this CD and his musicianship is so solid and so deep that I can’t think of anybody with whom I would rather work. He definitely had us do things that were outside of our comfort level. We are three extremely tough chicks and he put us in a position where we felt vulnerable.”