Today we’d like to introduce you to The Army, The Navy
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Sasha and I grew up in the Bay Area and attended the same middle school and high school. We always knew of each other because we were both identified as the singers from our hometown. But what really united us was our shared voice coach, Amber Morris. Sasha started seeing Amber when she was fourteen, and I started when I was sixteen. We would often play shows alongside each other and go to the same musical summer camps growing up. We even were in a production of Annie together when we were five years old. When we started applying to colleges, Amber recommended we both check out Loyola University in New Orleans; a small, musically inclined school with a killer music program. We both got in and chose roomed together, and we’ve been living together ever since (almost eight years). Since we went to music school, a lot of our homework assignments were writing original songs, performing them, taking courses on artist management and so on. Because we’re living in such close quarters, we developed the habit of writing a lot of songs together, and singing harmonies together which amused our teachers. We were always involved in each other’s music; whenever Sasha would play a show, I’d sing harmonies in the background and vice versa. It became so routine for us to sing alongside each other and write together. It was so natural for us. I felt just as comfortable writing songs with Sasha as I did writing alone. We didn’t officially form our band until the end our senior year of college. I don’t remember the exact moment Sasha and I decided to become The Army, The Navy, but I do remember it being a no brainer.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I count my blessings every single day that I get to experience the world of the music industry with my best friend. It’s daunting, and we’re so lucky to get to go through it together. I truly believe we are soulmates in our own musical way. As we are best friends, we had to learn how to communicate effectively with one another, which of course can be challenging while still growing up and becoming your own individual. Writing music is extremely personal and it can be scary sharing it with somebody else, but we’ve done a great job in establishing a closeness and safety net within each other where we can be honest and open and vulnerable. We moved from New Orleans to Los Angeles, which was quite an adjustment for both of us, and our lives started moving at a much different pace. We started actively pursuing music together instead of passively, and we couldn’t believe how much there was to learn. But what Sasha and I share is a deep sense of passion and drive, which makes the journey so worth it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Sasha and I have always been singers first. That’s what we both wanted to be growing up, pop stars, and it’s always been our main focus. Since we went to the same voice coach growing up (and still do) we were trained very similarly, which allows us to blend our voices together and create the illusion of one. I was in an acapella group growing up, which taught me a lot about melodies, harmonies and counter melodies. I was the annoying friend who was always harmonizing over the songs on the radio. But it did give us an advantage and a lot of freedom in writing our melodies. College is when Sasha and I became really passionate about lyricism, finding inspiration in Adrienne Lenker’s music. We are so inspired by Lenker’s simple yet gut punching lyrics. Whenever someone asks us who we’re inspired by, she’s always the first person we name. I feel the proudest of us after we write something that we are both just obsessed with. I love listening to the first songs we ever wrote and hearing the growth. It is so satisfying. My favorite compliment to get is that people like our lyricism !
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
We loved living in New Orleans. We loved the seafood, the weather, our beautiful apartment, our neighbors, all the stray cats. There was always music just round the corner. We would wake up to the sound of a full jazz band outside our windows. It was truly magical. I can barely fine the words for it. We both worked in restaurants and just enjoyed the sunshine and the easy lifestyle. Since we lived together, we wrote often for school assignments and once we graduated, we started writing music together just for fun. But we never wrote with the intention of building our careers. When we moved to LA, however the pace of everything changed significantly. The reason we moved to LA was to kickstart our career, since we finally decided we wanted to take it seriously. Our easy living lifestyle was completely halted. That bring said, LA made us work hard and efficiently. We were constantly being pushed, and we established a routine constantly revolving around music. I like to say that New Orleans was the place that Sasha and I became friends and we were so exposed to so many talented musicians which created such a sense of inspiration. Los Angeles is the place that we took our inspiration and made it tangible.
Contact Info:
- Website: N/a
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thearmy_thenavy?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thearmythenavy?si=2fEgFLQ4K-shTljj
Image Credits
Lucy Black
