Durwood

As both singer-songwriters and self-proclaimed television addicts, Golda Inquito and fellow band member Gertie Meza found the inspiration for their band’s name within one of their favorite shows. Inquito and Meza decided to call their band Durwood, a word that turned up countless times during episodes of “Bewitched.”

“It was one of the nicknames that Endora would use for Darrin Stephens because she didn’t like him very much. The one that she used most commonly was Durwood,” Meza said.

Inquito, a UCLA alumna, and Meza, who said they laughed hysterically each time the Durwood nickname was used, recently released their self-titled debut album.

In 1993, Inquito graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science, changing her major three times along the way. She said her undergraduate studies helped her hone her writing and analytical skills and, after graduating, she moved to the Philippines for three years to do theater.

“When I was in college, I didn’t have anything figured out at all,” Inquito said. “I was initially on the acting side, and then some acting friends of mine invited me to a party to sing, and I met Gertie.”

The two first met through mutual friends at a jam session, shortly after Inquito returned from the Philippines, and ended up in the same all-girl band, Boo Boo Kitty (named after a stuffed cat from the sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” which ran in the 1970s and 1980s). Upon that band’s dissolution, Inquito and Meza decided to stick together and formed Durwood.

“When we were in the other band, it was a whole different dynamic,” Inquito said. “When we formed Durwood, we discovered that there was a lot of our individual taste(s) that really meshed together.”

The Durwood duo said they understand each other’s strengths and were exposed to similar musical influences, including the Beatles, Queen and the Everly Brothers.

Both Inquito and Meza write their own music and lyrics, sing lead vocals and harmonize on almost every track. Meza, who started playing the guitar at the age of 12, uses this instrument to provide an acoustic background on the album.

The melody of each song is comprised of acoustic or electric guitar and drums or piano accompaniment. Some portions, such as the beginning of “Changing Speed,” sound like the guitar melodies of pop artists such as Taylor Swift, but the well-placed harmonies showcase the maturity with which the duo approaches their music. Inquito said they are influenced by multiple genres, and many categorize them as an indie rock or pop group.

The lyrics on this album are also highly personal. Inquito said the lyrics are often based on their experiences working together, such as in the case of “Not So Far Behind,” which includes lyrics such as “Dreams have no room for doubt.”

“I had an idea that was so raw (for that song) that I had no idea what it would sound like,” Inquito said. “Gertie came over and listened to it and started playing her guitar, and in a couple of hours, we had finished one of our favorite songs on the album. When that happens, you just have to go with it and not interrupt the flow.”

The lyrics of other songs reflect the very moment at which inspiration struck Durwood. “Alone in Her Dream,” for example, refers to a Los Angeles rainstorm that Inquito got stuck in, humming a melody that Meza had shared with her during the downpour.

Glenn Sura-vech, co-producer of the album, said he feels very proud of the way in which Inquito and Meza have taken their time to develop as musicians, rather than simply chasing fame.

“Sometimes your career doesn’t take off right away – not everybody is that lucky,” Suravech said. “But if you take your time and grow with the art that you’re creating, you will still have pride in what you’ve done.”

Inquito said their pride stems from the belief that there is a power in music and their attempt to maintain an element of positivity in their songs.

“We take everything from a realistic perspective,” Inquito said. “There are melancholy songs on the album, but there is also hopefulness while we’re experiencing the sadness.”

Durwood will take on the challenge of going on the road and performing live in the coming months – the perfect next step as they burst onto the music scene in Southern California, Suravech said.

“You get a little tougher when you perform live,” Suravech said. “Every artist goes through a process of change, and they’re going to start to mature as performers.”

For Inquito and Meza, pursuing their passion and being in a constantly creative mode has made this process a fulfilling journey.

“It is so worthwhile to do what you love to do,” Inquito said. “There is always an opportunity – you just have to grab it.”

- Daily Bruin (UCLA)

The List: Your very own Filipino Artist Database. A place where you can reference Filipino artists around the globe. - BakitWhy Entertainment

Gertie Meza and Golda Inquito are the indie folk pop singing-songwriting duo Durwood. They just dropped the official music video for "Belle of the Ball," the first single from their forthcoming debut album. Take a look:

Fun stuff. The video was directed by Golda Inquito, and features some of my pals around town, including Traci Kato-Kiriyama and Greg Watanabe. You can get a free download of the track here when you sign up for their mailing list.

Durwood's debut album will be available on June 26. For further information about Golda, Gertie and their music, visit the band's official website here and follow their updates on Facebook here. - Angry Asian Man

When I was handed the inaugural album release of Durwood to review, I have to admit that I wasn't sure to expect not initially knowing their material. My first impression before even playing a single note, was that they really went the extra mile on the presentation of their press packet. It was incredibly organized and clean, containing plenty of information for backstory, pictures, and even the lyrics.

The songwriting duo that is Durwood consists of Golda Inquito and Gertie Meza, who are native to Los Angeles. Describing their music with quotes like "acoustic driven sound", "textured harmonies", "bright sounds", "unforgettable medlodies", and "impassioned lyrics", I was curious to see how that would play out. They compared their music to bands that I have listened to like "The Civil Wars, Swell Season, Silversun Pickups, Feist, Sara Bareilles, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz", and I thought wow, thats a pretty diverse batch of comparisons. When asked how they formed they said:

"We met several years ago at a jam session when some mutual friends of ours wanted to get together and play and just hang out. We got along really well and soon thereafter, we formed a band called Boo Boo Kitty with some other musician friends. When Boo Boo Kitty disbanded, we started playing together again and found out that we really clicked especially with writing songs and crafting melodies. It was so weird because we never had the opportunity to work on songwriting with each other when we were in the other band. But when we formed Durwood, it all came together effortlessly."

So I've listened to this album several times, and I'm always someone who reserves judgement until I've exhausted all possible scenarios and applications to play an album. I did the car test, the in bed test, the hanging around the apartment test, and lastly the walking test. In almost all applications of playing the album I found enjoyment, but it was not until the walking test, which consisted of a sunsetting walk along the bustling market place area of Venice Beach, that I fully connected to the material.

(HIT PLAY BELOW and stare at the sunset image if you want to get a sense for the vibe I was feeling...)

My opinion, I really enjoyed what I heard, especially given the new found beach environment I now have found myself living in (recently moving from Chicago, to the Los Angeles area of Venice). The album is the perfect ear candy for warm weather, ocean breezes, and those afternoon bbqs.

Some of the highlights for me are the track 1 opener "Changing Speed" (my album favorite), track 2 "Not So Far Behind" (lyrics "because I'm not so far behind, a long way from home" struck a chord with me), track 5 "So I Pray", the 60's beach sound "Sweet", and the track 12 closer "Un Buen Dia" (which is in spanish). Overall, I felt the collective album was strong and that the recording was really well planned, recorded, and produced.

I asked Durwood about the recording process...

"We remember a lot of CRYING and tantrums. No, just kidding. Sort of. Yes, we're kidding. A little bit. Really though, what you hear on this album is us sharing a part of ourselves with you. Each song is very personal to us. Even as we sang certain songs in the studio, you can hear in our voices what we were going through. Sometimes, even now, when we rehearse we are STILL affected by the emotions that drove us to write certain songs.

Our writing process varies. Sometimes one of us comes up with a melody and the other writes the lyrics. At other times, it's the other way around. Or we do both simultaneously. The one driving factor is we never compromise on our songwriting. If we are not feeling connected to a song, we won't continue writing it.

We were privileged to have the chance to co-produce the album with producer Glenn Suravech ((Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ben Harper, Dawes). He's just such an incredible artist and an extremely fear - BakitWhy.com

The first single Belle of the Balle is now available on their website as a free download

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 06, 2012
Los Angeles natives and local live favorite Durwood, fronted by duo Gertie Meza and Golda Inquito, will release their self-titled debut album on June 26, 2012. The album was co-produced by the band and musician/producer Glenn Suravech (Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ben Harper, Dawes).
Inspired by Gertie and Golda’s love for music as diverse as The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Patty Griffin, Coldplay, Queen, Everly Brothers and Etta James, the album presents an introduction to Durwood’s unique vocal harmonies, impassioned songwriting and acoustic guitar driven sound. Recorded in Los Angeles, Durwood offered Gertie & Golda the opportunity to work with producer Glenn Suravech and acclaimed musicians Shin Kawasaki (Bass, Electric Guitar), Abraham Kim (Drums/Percussion), and Marc Macalintal (Keyboard), among several other guest artists.
Durwood spins stories of loves won, lost, in progress and to be determined. In this debut collection, Gertie and Golda defy genre designation and deliver a sound that will appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners who are fans of country, indie, folk, rock and pop, to name a few.
From the sparse and deceptively simple acoustic guitar arrangements of the sad tale of Alone in Her Dream and the tender lullaby Two Little Lights, to the more epic rock/country flavor of Not So Far Behind and the ‘80s pop rock inspired Belle of the Ball - Durwood knows how to keep it interesting. Each track leaves you wanting more and wondering what’s next. In a time with unlimited musical distraction where listening to individual tracks is the acceptable standard, Durwood is the kind of album you listen to from start to finish.
Gertie and Golda share lead vocal duties, occasionally singing in unison or harmonizing at key moments in each track. The duo’s contrasting vocal styles hit full, perfectly textured harmony with Gertie’s earthy and raw deliveries mixing with Golda’s bright and sweet melancholy vocalization.
Perhaps due to the duo’s distinct and very different personalities, Durwood is a collection of tracks that is both emotionally charged and playfully laid-back. “If you saw me and Gertie performing independently from one another, I guarantee you would not have put us together musically,” Golda says. “I am influenced by pop, hip hop, country and R&B. I get a huge thrill performing on stage and interacting with the audience. Gertie tells me I am a ‘social butterfly’ – her nice way of calling me a ham, I’m sure. Gertie is so NOT that”.
Gertie agrees. “I’m much more introverted than Golda. I’m laid back and enjoy observing people. I grew up listening to the Beatles, CCR, James Taylor, Journey, the Eagles and countless folk/singer-songwriters. I don’t know 90% of the artists in Golda’s music collection. And, as much as I love performing, I still get stage fright. That’s the great thing about Golda and me – we balance each other out and bring out the best in each other, regardless of the differences.”
Los Angeles-area fans can catch Durwood performing throughout the Southern CA area. For an updated schedule, please visit: http://www.durwoodmusic.com
The track-listing for Durwood is as follows:
“Changing Speed”

“Not So Far Behind”

“Belle of the Ball”

“Alone in Her Dream”

“So I Pray”

“Sweet”

“Tangled Heart”

“It’s a Good Day”

“Falling to Pieces”

“No Stoppin’”

“Two Little Lights”

“Un Buen Dia”
http://www.durwoodmusic.com

http://www.facebook.com/durwoodmusic

http://www.twitter.com/durwoodmusic - PR Web/Yahoo News