TIGER ALLEY
3.24 4PM
Katy Rose Cox and Sophia Johnson have both already had long careers in the music industry, performing in other peoples’ bands for many years. Both are extremely experienced instrumentalists, used to playing supporting roles to other people. And they have another thing in common – both were also accustomed to being the only girl in the band, roughing it as “one of the boys”, and doing the grunt work of a band member without the glitz and glamor of the spotlight.
Tiger Alley, their joint project, sees them step outside of their roles as sidewomen to front their own band, developing their unique sound as singers and songwriters, and bringing their musical skills to fruition under their own names. Their exciting debut release, Sizzlin' Summer, is a full-length album of all original material, written, arranged, performed and produced by Cox and Johnson themselves.
“We feel really confident about what we are bringing to the table” says Cox, “and that is a hell of a lot of experience! This album has been a long time coming, we have both done so many recording sessions and work for other people, it was time to truly take the reins creatively.”
Ten years ago, Johnson, who hails from Birmingham, England, was on a US tour and had a chance meeting with El Paso-born Cox in the place of so many musical connections; Austin, Texas. The pair hit it off immediately, but their creative partnership was a slow burn through snatched moments in their regular gigging schedules and as Sophia focused on settling in stateside, establishing herself professionally as a fixture on the scene in Austin.
Today, Tiger Alley is a fully formed dynamic live act with a new album full of catchy hooks, sophisticated arrangements, and an assured sense of their own sound and style. The eclectic mix of songs on Sizzlin Summer is a direct result of the pair having spent so much time studying the nuances of their multiple influences, all of which are included under the umbrella term of Americana music. Cox and Johnson have both nurtured their love for a wide span of American roots music, from bluegrass to swing jazz, honing their craft through accruing thousands of hours on stage, in studios and woodshedding at home. And you can hear those hours in their playing – all the many nights spent sweating it out playing 4-hour shows in Texas dance halls and honky-tonks paid off, and the duo is musically undeniable.
The combination of a British guitarist and an American fiddle player makes Tiger Alley’s sound both vibrant and distinct, intertwining their individual but complimentary voices both vocally and instrumentally. Cox’s writing has a definite cinematic quality inspired by her fascination and love of the desert of West Texas and New Mexico, which is obvious in songs like ‘Ghost of Ray Leon’ and ‘Ozannah’, (think Morricone with an old time fiddle) while her love of early rock and roll is clearly displayed on tracks like ‘Eugene’ and ‘Wicked Ways’.
In contrast Johnson’s songs have a cathartic and confessional element; “Katy writes these wonderful, fantastical, stories with characters and a plot line. I am stuck in therapy exercising my mental demons!” Sophia jokes. Nevertheless, her songwriting also gives her a vehicle for showcasing her prowess in different guitar styles. Proving herself equally at home playing a twanging phaser laden electric guitar on the band’s first single “Blue Jay”, or deftly swinging out twin lines on her arch-top on “Holding My Head Up High” or shredding some bluegrass on her Martin on “Sweet Nebraska Boy”.
A shared love of vocal harmony and instrumental virtuosity is a key binding element for the songwriting duo. For Tiger Alley, the harmonized twin lines of the guitar and fiddle are as important a feature of the sound as the singing voices.
Both women have had some unusual career highlights. Cox spent her twenties touring with a speed metal bluegrass band with a curse word for a name, and toured the UK and Europe extensively with acclaimed acts The Maybelles and Shotgun Party. Johnson has some unique accolades to her name as a founding member of her family band The Toy Hearts, being the only British woman to ever be featured in the incredibly niche bluegrass publication ‘Flat Pick Guitar Magazine' and the only British woman to win an Ameripolitan award in the Western Swing Female category.
As seasoned professionals, Tiger Alley have been winning over audiences with their live their live show for many years. Both Johnson and Cox know how put on a fiery and dynamic performance, and completed by a rhythm section of bass and drums, they are very used to both tearing it up and laying it down on stage! Their recorded debut has been carefully and lovingly crafted. The pair were able to take advantage of time in the studio to hone the Tiger Alley sound, layer their arrangements, instrumental parts and vocals, so that they now have an album that expands and develops what they are able to do in a live scenario.
People respond to authenticity, and it is especially important in country music. Tiger Alley have it in spades.