Songwriting as a duo with Three at Home

If Bruce Springsteen and Sara Bareilles formed a duo, put it through a Black Keys fuzz pedal, and added the blues and harmonies that made Fleetwood Mac famous, you would get Boston-area rock band Three At Home. Two voices with one guitar, a full band with horn section, or any permutation in between, Three At Home delivers pop folk with a kick that invites audiences both tearfully and joyfully to sing along.

Three at Home’s Mary Cassiello and Dann Russo talk about their collaborative approach and their new song Athena.

We talked about:

• how Dann was inspired by ancient history and visiting Nashville for his song
• creating an “open tuning” sound with a standard tuning on guitar
• writing your song title last, not first
• introducing “moments” into your song to keep it interesting
• considering the ending for your song
• lifting lines from your favourite songs
• writing for horns and vocal harmonies
• networking boils down to “be a nice person”

Download the lyrics to Athena to follow along.