I feel so lucky that I got to talk to these wonderful women, I definitely think they’re going to be the people we get to tell our kids and grandkids “I went to college with them. I totally knew about the Mother Pluckers before it was cool.” Here’s my interview with Abbey, Becca, Bella, and Catherine. I hope you all have as much fun reading about them as i had writing about them!
I have to ask about the name. Who came up with it? What do you think it says about you guys?
It might have been Abbey, in a moment of frustration, who said it first. It quickly became funny when she reinvented a curse word when trying to find a pick for her banjo…either way, we laughed pretty loudly, and then the name settled. Our original name was the Cumberland Bums, but one of our friends gave us a pretty bad nickname so we had to nip that in the bum. Instead we decided to own up to our inappropriateness and call ourselves The Mother Pluckers. The name encapsulates our goofy and easygoing nature, and really how comfortable we are just being ourselves.
What are your goals for this year?
Truthfully more of the same. We love playing for you guys! Professors and students, hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wives. We have a great time playing for events with Greek life, for the Board and for other organizations like the Green House and the Healthy Hut. This summer we are actually going on a van tour of the U.S.!! Hit us up if you know a place we can play or stay, you might find us on your doorstep this summer! We just want to provide a fun atmosphere and get our music out there. We have some sick merchandise coming around, stickers for now but soon we should have t-shirts and various clothing items from Goodwill and the Hospitality Shop with super cool Mother Pluckin’ logos on them.
What kind of impact do you think the Mother Pluckers have had on Sewanee?
The Mother Pluckers are actually the first all-girl student band at Sewanee (within most memories, at least. We haven’t heard of another one yet), which is simultaneously awesome and upsetting. Why have females never come together to make their musical presence known before now? While our band has the classic Sewanee Band attributes of musicians from various fields, both socially and academically, we feel unique in the way that we each felt compelled to start this band, which happened quite naturally. It seemed like all we could do it, and so we did.
I heard you guys recorded an EP, what can we expect to hear on it?
We’ll keep you updated on the release date! Expect to hear what The Mother Pluckers are really about. We’ve recorded five originals, and each brings something a little different to our brand of bluegrass funk but each with its own unique sensual Mother Pluckin’ feel. *wink*
What was your experience recording like?
We recorded with one of our good friends and Sewanee alum John Cochran. If it wasn’t for him, we don’t know where we’d be. He was really able to help us bring our sound together and cared about each song the way we did. In less than 36 hours we recorded all five, a feat in itself. We each put our souls into those recordings, and we count ourselves lucky to have had such a great friend with the expertise, equipment and gumption to help us share our sound with all of you. Coffee and whiskey helped the process too.
What has been your favorite part of being a part of the Mother Pluckers?
This is corny but what the hell: we love each other. This is an amazing group of ladies, we all are very different but somehow we work together, care about each other and conveniently want to share our music with everyone ever. We couldn’t have asked for a better group dynamic, but more importantly we couldn’t have asked for better supporters. It’s truly ya’ll that have allowed us to do these things that we’ve always dreamed of. “This is what dreams are made of.” -Hilary Duff
Lastly, If you could give a three word description of the band for people who’ve never heard of you, what would it be?
FUNKED-UP BLUEGRASS
To learn more about these lovely ladies, check out their Facebook page!