Q: What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
Cassie: I don’t think I ever really made a decision that it was a thing, I just picked up a guitar one day, started writing songs, and just never stopped
Evan: I’ve been playing/writing music for decades. The 80’s was so saxophone heavy, so that was my first instrument love. I played in cover bands and talent shows in high school, so I was hooked from there.
Q: Introduce us to you all and your musical history.
Cassie: I started playing guitar at 15, starting off playing in coffee shops at 16, then joined my first band at age 20. I’ve been in many different bands and musical projects since then, as I like to explore different genres and keep expanding my knowledge.
Evan: Well, after high school I bounced around with a few bands for fun. My first serious project came in high school, which was the goth band Lestat. Jess, Susan and I played together for 10 years, dropped three full releases (Theatre of the Vampires, Grave Desires and Vision of Sorrows), toured, the whole thing. My second act was a metal project called PKS for about 10 years. Lestat got the band back together for a few years and dropped 1 more full release (Arisen). After we broke back up, I was honestly done until I re-found my love for the music and paired up with Cassie to make some amazing music as She 1 · Him 2!
Q: What’s the live music scene like in Cleveland right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
Evan: There’s some amazing venues of all sizes and live music happens quite a bit. The alternative scene isn’t what it was in the 90’s, but there are a few up and coming acts and some veterans like Tomorrow’s Ghosts.
Cassie: I’ve seen a lot of people struggling for support recently online.
Q: What’s your view on the industry?
Cassie: I honestly gave up on the “music industry” a long time ago. I don’t really have a business mind and just prefer to create and throw things out into the void and what happens happens. Evan is definitely more business minded.
Evan: Oof, yeah it’s not my favorite. I’ve tried multiple times to do everything on my own, but ultimately I’m best as a musician. Luckily, Cassie introduced me to our producer, Michael Seifert. And this year we have representation, which is making for a much better and bigger impact. And yes, streaming is the best way to get out there and the least profitable to no one’s surprise.
Q: Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Evan: I’d say we’re up and coming? Cass and I don’t have much experience in the Synthpop world, so we’re navigating our way through new waters. It’s all very refreshing and exciting.
Q: Tell us two truths and a lie about you.
Evan: I bought my first keyboard from Trent Reznor, I worked as a chef in a high class restaurant and I own 16,000+ comic books. Killer question! Never been asked that one.
Cassie: My first time in an airplane was skydiving, I was in a McDonald’s commercial, I used to be a mime.
Q: Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
Cassie: I try to be mindful, but I also am pretty private about things and prefer to speak through music rather than debate. I will say that I am a very liberal person.
Evan: I don’t really get controversial with my music, especially this project. We’re all about having fun and making people dance. Cassie and I are on the same wavelength on a lot of things.
Q: Do you sign up to any conspiracy theories? If not, why not?
Evan: Oh boy, so I would say that the reason for conspiracy theories is that they’re far more exciting than the truth. I can say I follow any of them. They’re interesting, I guess.
Cassie: I’m a mothman fan. Does that count?
Evan: (laughs) Sure!
Q: What was your best experience on stage?
Evan: Playing to a full auditorium for the release of our Vision of Sorrows release with Lestat. Man, I love playing to a big crowd.
Cassie: It was really fun to have some of my friends dance for She 1 · Him 2 and to work out the choreography together.
Q: What was your worst experience on stage?
Evan: Being a rockstar, overly dramatic, standing up from a kneeling position and taking a deep breath at the same time, only to get a full-blown hernia and having the wind knocked out of me. Good times!
Q: Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Cassie: I have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master’s in education. I also do modern dance on the side.
Evan: I also have a Bachelor’s degree, but in Communications. I worked in radio for a bit, but didn’t love it.
Q: What are the next steps you plan to take as a band to reach the next level?
Cassie: My goal has always been to get songs in the media. I’m not really interested in touring at this time of my life.
Evan: We just switched to Kycker to manage our catalog for one. Touring would be rough for us, but there’s some festivals I would love to play on. If the right opportunities came along, who knows? We still continue to get our music placed in movies, TV shows, etc.
Q: I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Evan: We do! Our new track is a perfect fall/winter break up song called The Way from You.
Cassie: I wrote the lyrics to this song to reflect the heartbreak of a relationship where you are slowly watching one or both of the partners growing apart, and the helplessness and dread of knowing that the end may be creeping up. I also tried to show the self-reflection of an individual’s perspective as they try to make sense of the situation and the wistfulness of looking back on happier times. So basically, it’s a very sad song.
Evan: I love that the drum beat is super funky while the rest of the song is so melancholy. Cassie’s lyrics are so hauntingly beautiful.
Q: What was the recording process like?
Evan: We work with a brilliant producer in Michael at Suma Studios. He and I work together to get the music sounding perfect. Cassie and I were until recently recording vocals with him as well, but I’ve started doing them out of my house with her. It’s more comfortable and we can experiment a little more without eating into studio costs. Michael does all the vocal production, which is a blind spot for me, anyway. He’s great at it.
Q: What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Evan: Honestly, it was learning to work on music remotely. Split the Line, our first song was done during Covid in 2020. I would write the music, and then Cassie would write the melodies and lyrics on top of them. I think we have it down to a science now. The chemistry is there.
Q: Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Cassie: There is one thing I would change in the music video. Ahem, Evan.
Evan: (laughs) Yeah, she doesn’t like my animated beating heart being in the video as much as it is. I wouldn’t change anything, honestly.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Cassie: I just love writing and sharing music and always feel so honored if other people enjoy it!
Evan: I just hope that people love this project as much as we do. It’s been so much fun, and I look forward to what’s yet to come.
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