[May 23, 2013] Nikki Talley and Jason Sharp master the art of subtle seduction Tweet May 23, 2013 (The News & Advance - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- On a sunny afternoon last Wednesday, singer/songwriter Nikki Talley was spending some down time with her husband at a beach in North Carolina before the duo hit the road again to continue their spring/summer tour. It will take them up the East Coast from South Carolina to several venues in New England until the end of June and make stops at Baine's Books & Coffee in Appomattox and Scottsville for two shows next week. Traveling from one state to the other has become a way of life for Talley, 35, and guitarist Jason Sharp, 39, who've been married since 2008 and took a leap of faith in January of last year, when they decided to trade the stability of a steady paycheck for the unpredictability of being full-time, D.I.Y. musicians. After raising $8,000 through a successful Kickstarter campaign, the couple sold just about everything they owned, leased their apartment in Asheville and committed themselves to realizing a dream that's been known to push artists to the brink. "We had so many people who were younger and had been on the road longer telling us, 'Oh, it's so easy, you know '" Talley said by phone last week during a day off near Wilmington. "Someone were even like, 'There's nothing more motivating to get gigs than not having a job.' And that's true. If I had a day job, I might say, 'Screw it. I'm not going to book for this month or whatever.' But seeing that it's our only income, it's a little motivating to go out there and hustle." So far, the duo has played more than 180 shows and logged thousands of miles in their trusty 2005 Chevy conversion van, which they transformed into a mobile house on wheels and affectionately refer to as Blue Bell or Blue Steel, depending on whom you ask. Sharp adopted the latter nickname in the hopes of holding onto a bit of his rugged, road-dog masculinity but, with only one other person -- who happens to be of the female persuasion -- sharing the space with him, it's entirely possible that he's outnumbered. "We've called it Blue Bell forever," Talley said with a laugh. "All of my vehicles have always had a name. It's like our green room, too. When we show up to a gig really early, instead of having to hang out in the club all day, we can relax in our van and catch a nap or make a sandwich or sleep in the middle of Mardi Gras in New Orleans." The freedom to come and go as you please is one of the more obvious advantages of being your own boss. And it's really not bad work if you can get it. So Talley and Sharp capitalized on their collective independence and experience onstage by cutting "Nikki Talley Live at the Altamont Theatre" in Asheville last summer. The disc includes previously unreleased originals as well as some traditional numbers from the trove of songs available through the public domain. "Wade in the Water," one of those tracks that's been covered by a slew of other performers, is a passionate acoustic strummer that Talley uses to showcase her ability to turn lyrics on a page into a coherent and powerful statement of purpose. "Is it Wrong," a tune Talley penned that analyzes the notion of thinking about your ex long after they're gone, balances the countrified soul of a classic Dixie Chicks' cut with the tonal hypnotics of a duo whose strengths rest in their delivery of passion and emotion. "Really, the music is all about the song and her voice," Sharp said of the couple's collaborations. "I just bring in a few textural elements and try to enhance it when she's not singing. And I think when we get in the studio next time, we'll try to lay down what we've been doing live, but also with something a little extra." Like other influential songstresses -- Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones come to mind -- Talley's about subtle seduction and small, telling details rather than brash hooks and anthemic choruses. Her songs are a sonic sanctuary you go to, not one that comes to you. It's hard not to marvel at how elegantly she brings her alt-country swagger to the tracks without forcing it. But there's a difference between capturing that on a live record and in the studio. "It's kind of not an easy thing to do," Sharp said. "A lot of bands, you see them live and they're great and the album isn't anything like what you just heard. Nikki has a great voice live, but it's hard to capture what she does live on an album. And that's what we're going for." ___ (c)2013 The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) Visit The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) at www.newsadvance.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]