Those Willows

Ever since their days together in high school theater, Jack Wells and Mel Tarter have been inseparable. The pair, who co-front the indie pop quartet Those Willows, have been making music together for nine years. In 2012, the couple relocated from Detroit, Michigan to Portland, Oregon where they built a community and eventually joined forces with Mike Grippi and Josh Hertel. The group is now preparing for the release of a second full length, an eponymous album.

Co-written over the 4 years since their migration to the West Coast, Those Willows features ten songs that serve as something of a forum for the couple to talk honestly about their life together. Relationship autonomy is commendably a frequent subject, and also included are a peppering of other musings conceived through their relocation. In “Mitten State” and “A Dream I Had,” the pair observe gentrification from both ends of its spectrum, Portland and Detroit both being cultural meccas at different stages of that process.

Today Glide Magazine is presenting an exclusive sneak premiere of the new album from Those Willows. The album is infectiously poppy yet sensible, bringing to mind influences like Feist, Rilo Kiley, St. Vincent, and fellow Portlanders Unknown Mortal Orchestra. These songs are smooth and bouncy while still being thoughtful. This is the kind of feel-good music we all need right now.

Mel Tarter reflects the album:

“This album is the culmination of the past four years of our lives together. The songs generally speak to the concern of holding on to our deepest beliefs in the current climate of the country and during the time we moved from our home in the Midwest to the West Coast. Both Portland and our hometown near Detroit, Michigan are in flux in such different ways and that acted as a backdrop while writing these songs.

Jack and I recently became engaged to be married and endeavored on our first international, long-term tour. Staying autonomous through this process has been a subject we explored on the album as well.

We recorded with our long time collaborator and producer Adam Brock in SE Portland. We went about it in a somewhat traditional way, beginning with a live rhythm section and layering on top of that. We were fortunate to invite talented local musicians like Patti King (Radiation City) and Zach Banks to contribute auxiliary instruments to the tracks. The album was recorded over the course of the summer and all but one of the originally planned tracks made it on the album. We actually scrapped a song to include ‘Think For Me’ which was written in the studio. It felt too ‘of the times’ to leave it sitting.” - Glide Magazine

WHO: Jack Wells (vocals, guitar), Mel Tarter (vocals), Matt Grippi (bass), Josh Hertel (drums).

SOUNDS LIKE: When young love works out, or the color lilac, or two velvet ribbons tying themselves into a bow.

FOR FANS OF: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Rilo Kiley, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent.

"I guess we've known each other for a very, very long time," says Jack Wells of Portland indie-pop band Those Willows. He and the band's other primary writer, Mel Tarter, first crossed paths during ninth-grade theater productions in their native suburb of Detroit. Wells, who was singing in a pop-punk band, picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time when he and Tarter sat down to write some songs.

After discovering Tarter's classical theater-style vocals and Wells' pop-punk roots made for "a gross combination," they experimented with "Regina Spektor kind of stuff." But as they kept playing together throughout high school and college, their influences grew in number and scope. Wells cites Fleet Foxes and St. Vincent as informing their current amalgamation of folk and art rock. He adds that "Grizzly Bear has been this thing I tell our producers: 'Please, try to get some Grizzly Bear vibes in the drumming.'"

Occupying a space where melodious acoustic pop lives happily alongside synth and reverb, the band's new self-titled album is the sound of a folk band that's grown roots in the same town as Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Its opening track, "Know More," contains a sax line that Wells says "was directly inspired by St. Vincent. She uses a lot of interesting tones, and that's something we always try to explore."

Opting for the term "indie pop" mostly out of a struggle to pin down something more exact, Wells says the band's sound is "no longer folk music," especially on this album. Tarter chimes in with the clunky but helpful descriptor "dreamy folk jazz pop." But through its stylistic twists and turns, the bright thread running through Those Willows' sound is the magical blend of Wells' and Tarter's voices. It's next to impossible to tell which one is singing.


Thankfully, the addition of a full band for this new album doesn't drown out this focus, but actually highlights it. "The bass player and the drummer both joined about a year and a half ago," says Wells, "and they helped us form these songs. We came to them with the ideas, but they brought a unique groove to them, which is something we've longed for."

The added volume range of the full-band sound creates more space to marvel at Wells' and Tarter's harmonies as they crescendo and break off. Each found much more than a musical half in the other, and as if their music could be any sweeter, the two are now engaged to be married.

"Doing this with someone I love makes all the difference," Tarter says.

SEE IT: Those Willows plays Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta St., with Lenore, on Thursday, Nov. 17. 9 pm. $7 advance, $10 day of show. 21+. - Willamette Week

When musicians Jack Wells and Mel Tarter relocated to Portland three years ago from their hometown of Detroit, they were looking for a change and a new home for their folk rock band Those Willows.

“We were at a crossroads in our lives,” recalls Wells. Although he admits that the abundance of great mid-sized venues and the quality of the local music talent were a big draw for them at the time, “the mountains, food and beer [didn’t] hurt either.”

Since moving to the Northwest, they’ve added band members Mike Grippi on bass and Josh Hertel on drums, recorded two EPs, and thrown themselves into the tight-knit Portland music scene.

“It seems like everyone we meet in the music community here plays in two or three bands,” says Wells. “We’ve all taken a page from that book and have been playing in multiple projects trying to expand ourselves musically.”

But Those Willows will always have roots in Detroit, and that city remains their major influence.

“We have always loved Motown and soul music, and we think it shows in our newest album more than ever,” says Wells. “Detroit also has a really impressive jazz scene that we only had the chance to scratch the surface on, but it stuck with us.”

Those Willows’ forthcoming self-titled sophomore album is due out in mid-November. The album was recorded and produced in spring of 2016 by Adam Brock of Old Wave in his personal studio in Portland and features contributions from Brock, cellist Zach Banks and Patti King of Radiation City. You can hear the album’s first single, “Some Kind Of Love,” exclusively at opbmusic (above).

“Some Kind Of Love” is a complicated folk pop song, both musically and lyrically. The track’s time signatures change on a dime, and it’s littered with vice grip vocal harmonies that shift impressively with the flickering pace. According to Wells, the lyrics deal with “an argument where both parties are actually fighting for the same thing,“ a recurring theme on the album.

The “Some Kind Of Love” single release party is ‪September 18th at The Secret Society in Portland, OR with Tango Alpha Tango and Weezy Ford. The band is also touring the Western United States throughout the month of September. - OPB

Get to know the beautiful & endearing styles of Those Willows who stitch a sound that sweeps you off your feet with an honest & human approach that makes you smile & skip-stroll through your day. “Some Kind of Love” is an infatuated walk through the park on the sunniest of afternoons where exchanges & dramas take place beneath the shade of a willow tree. - Impose Magazine

All the way from Portland, Oregon, Those Willows are Mel Tarter, Jack Wells, Mike Grippi and Kirch Hertel. They bring a flavour of indie soul-folk that caught the ears of visitors to this week’s Listening Post.

Know More, the opening track of the band’s self-titled album, released on 18 November, is an anthem for low self-esteem over-achievers. “I know I need to read more, write more, see more, know more.” Beautifully produced, with polished arrangements supporting crystal-clear vocals, Those Willows create neat music without a phrase or a note out of place.

Although there are no upcoming gigs listed, Those Willows have a track record of regular appearances in the USA. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for future dates. - Fresh Faves: Batch 220

Those Willows, of Portland, are here with the infectious track that was just premiered yesterday on OPB. “Some Kind Of Love” is a soft track with some beautiful harmonies with some harsh lyrics. “You changed your mind but you can’t change me.”

From OPB: “Those Willows’ forthcoming self-titled sophomore album is due out in mid-November. The album was recorded and produced in spring of 2016 by Adam Brock of Old Wave in his personal studio in Portland and features contributions from Brock, cellist Zach Banks and Patti King of Radiation City. - Next Northwest

Those Willows was forged in the melodic fires of the Motown jazz scene, and eventually followed their folk-infused hearts westward to Portland, Ore., where they've received acclaim for their nostalgic melodies and soul-driven performances. The pair's first full-length album, Rivertown, released in 2012, gained national recognition with songs airing on ABC, MTV, VH-1 and Bravo. In 2013, Those Willows released Existential Folks, their first EP recorded in the Pacific Northwest. This earned them performances at legendary venues including the Doug Fir Lounge and Mississippi Studios. They’ve quickly become a local favorite as The Deli Magazine’s Artist of the Month and were featured artists on Tender Loving Empire’s Friends & Friends of Friends compilation alongside The Family Crest and Wampire. In 2014, they embarked on a West Coast tour and humbly accepted comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel, Fleet Foxes and She & Him. Check out their new EP, Three Books, on Bandcamp. Those Willows - Vortex Music Magazine

In 2012, Those Willows moved from Michigan to Portland, and their new EP, Existential Folks, marks a full year in their new city. It's a delicately pretty recording, with Jack Wells and Mel Tarter entwining their voices in such a way that it's difficult to tell who's singing what. Feather-soft percussion, tasteful guitars, and subtle keyboards bring these songs into clear definition, but it's the duo's exquisite, almost eerie vocal blend that sets them apart. They're joined on the bill by Portland songwriter Adam Brock, who produced Those Willows' new EP and has a repertoire full of gentle but laser-sharp songs under his own belt. NL

(Kelly's Olympian, 426 SW Washington) - The Portland Mercury

Those Willows is a melodically rich indie-rock band based in Portland, Oregon. The band was forged in Detroit, Michigan, and eventually, they went Westward to Portland, Oregon, where they received acclaim for nostalgic melodies and soul-driven performances. Those Willows’ first full-length album, Rivertown, released in February 2012, gained national recognition with songs airing on ABC, MTV, VH-1, and Bravo. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, they’ve recorded two E.P.s; Existential Folks (2013) and Three Books (2015) and have quickly become a local favorite as Deli Magazine’s Artist of the Month and featured artists on Tender Loving Empire’s “Friends & Friends of Friends Compilation.” In 2014, they embarked on a West Coast tour and humbly accepted comparisons to Dirty Projectors, Head and the Heart and Simon and Garfunkel. After completing a mid-west tour in October 2015 they have since recorded a second full-length album, to be released in summer of 2016.

This Bar Chords session features a haunting rendition of the song "Winter Skin," a highlight from their previous full length effort.

Shot and Edited by Ryan Fruge' - Sound and Light Syndicate

When Those Willows start dancing in your speakers for the first time, you may have a twinge of nostalgia and warm recalling of something you can't quite put your finger on. Perhaps it is the perfect harmonies that Jack Wells and Melissa Tarter slide in and out of so effortlessly you think of the great harmonic groups from years gone by, and I mean Simon and Garfunkel great. It is often difficult to tell, much less care when the duo is a duo or when one steps out on a solo in a particular song, you are simply too busy enjoying the perfectly sweet and borderline optimistic songs that refuse to fall flat. I fell especially hard for the dreamy "I Feel Younger" but truly, every single song on the just released EP Essential Folks lands on this wonderfully soothing and perpetuating engaging point perfectly. Adam Brock is to be held responsible for the excellent production of Essential Folks and will be opening for Those Willows with the rest of the Adam Brock 4 at Kelly’s Olympian October 23rd to celebrate the release of what will surely be Those Willows third critically acclaimed album. A special note about the release show: The Wisherman, an indie jazz collective from Portland will be performing that night in addition to the aforementioned bands. The Wishermen is one of the jazz bands in Bridgetown who are so much more than an improvisational contemporary jazz band. They break down barriers of pop and soul music in a way that is not only relevant to the current music landscape, it is important. These three bands are delivering music that leaves an impression. - Joy Pearson - The Deli Magazine

It’s been three years since Those Willows left their hometown of Sterling Heights for the West Coast to pursue their music career.

Much has happened since Melissa Tarter (vocals) and Jack Wells (guitar and vocals) left for Portland, Ore., but one thing has remained the same, their love for music.

That’s why the duo is excited to announce they’ll be back in Michigan later this month on a mini-tour and to catch up with family and friends.

“We’re thankful for all the support we get from Michigan,” Tarter said. “It’s always nice to be able to go back home.”

Born and raised in Sterling heights, Tarter and Wells started their first band Sunny Side Up in 2007 while still attending Stevenson High School.

At the time, their music styling was a combination of new indie, folk and jazz and has since evolved to include soul and rock. They added bassist Mike Tor and Those Willows was formed in 2011.

Shortly before leaving for the West Coast in 2012, the band had recorded and was preparing to release their first full-length album “Rivertown.”

“It was a great stepping stone, something to have under our belt,” Tarter said.

With an album out and vibrant music scene all around them, Tarter and Wells got to work and started making connections.

“The move helped in a lot of ways,” Wells said. “The music scene out here, everyone’s so connected. It feels like we’ve really established friends in the scene.”

Both have gotten involved in other bands as well. However, Those Willows remains their main focus.

“I’m in three bands right now,” Wells said. “I drum in two and Mel sings in one of them.”

In the short time they’ve been gone, Those Willows have established themselves on the local music scene in Portland. They’ve also had the opportunity to tour California, hitting many of the major cities.

As their music continues to evolve, so do the members of the band. What started off as a trio has now grown to include five members.

“The way the music was going it always had a full band sound and we wanted people to see and hear the way it was intended to be,” Wells said. “A trio wasn’t making that happen.”

When Tarter and Wells left Sterling Heights, bassist Mike Tor stayed behind. Over the years, the group has added a bassist, Mike Grippi, as well as drummer Kirch Hertel and cellist Carmen Everingham.

During their time on the West Coast, Those Willows have released two EP’s, “Existential Folks” in 2013 and “Three Books” in 2015. They’re currently working on their second album.

“Our goal is to finish up the songs and record the entire winter,” Wells said. “We hope to have it out by the spring 2016.”

While the pair is working hard and doing what they love, the money brought in from the band alone doesn’t quite cover the bills.

Tarter has a job as a nanny and Wells is the manager of a smoothie shop. They also bring in income from licensing their music.

Their songs have been featured on the television show “Skins” (in the United Kingdom), on reality television shows on Animal Planet, MTV, Bravo, Planet Green and VH-1, and in more than 40 commercials in the United States and Europe.

“The strangest place we’ve heard our music was in an A-1 (steak sauce) commercial,” Tarter said. “We’re actually both vegetarians so it was kind of funny.”


Following their Michigan tour and completion of their second album, Tarter and Wells say they’re looking to book some longer tours.

Whether or not they hit the big-time isn’t a concern of theirs. The duo loves making music and plans to do so for as long as they can.

“We’ll be doing music forever,” Wells said. “There’s many directions I will take to be sure I can do it the rest of my life.”

Those Willows Midwest tour looks like this:

• Sept. 23: Chicago, at Uncommon Ground with JKutchma and Adi Kanlic.

• Sept. 25: Detroit, at The Majestic with Chris Bathgate, Woven Tangles and the Whiskey Charmers.

• Sept. 26: Grand Rapids, at GRACC – James Russell House with MOTH, Zen Star Belt Cult and Kamau.

• Sept. 27: Kalamazoo, at Louie’s Back Room with Fiona Dickinson, Rae Fitzgerald and Lucas Oswald.

The tour will conclude back in Portland on Sept. 30 at the Doug Fir Lounge.

For more information visit thosewillows.com or search for them on Facebook or Instagram under Those Willows. You can also follow them on Twitter @thosewillows. - The Source Newspaper

Those Willows are Jack and Melissa, a duo from Portland, Oregon. They started working with Soundreef in October 2012 and have been a runaway success, with our clients playing their songs over and over again. They’re an unsigned band, but the quality of their music shines out and makes them a hot tip for future stardom.

Jack and Melissa have been writing songs together for about five years. ‘We started out as an acoustic duo just doing coffee shops,’ Jack explains, ‘And it kinda turned into a band and then back to a duo, then into a band again…’

When they met, Jack liked Feeder and was into rock bands, but they soon realised how much people could be affected by more basic, stripped-down songwriting. They talk about how they were inspired by musicians at a folk festival in Michigan: ‘There was this band that we saw,’ Jack recalls, ‘And they just played on two [tree] stumps… There was a ‘cello player and acoustic guitar player, but they just had such an amazing presence.’

‘They enchanted everyone,’ Melissa adds.

The band used to hire studios to record their material, but have recently installed recording equipment in their apartment and started laying down new material with the help of a friend. ‘It’s a more relaxed atmosphere and we can get out more of what we actually want to hear,’ Melissa says.

The new set-up has also changed the way they write. ‘Working with a friend has helped us shape the songs and has been a good learning experience for us,’ Jack comments.

Despite the band doing so well out of Soundreef, they don’t actually write with background music in mind. ‘It must be in the back of our heads somewhere,’ Melissa says, ‘But I think it’s more what we’re feeling at the time and it’s really self expression.’

Jack laughs. ‘We tried at some point to write background stuff,’ he adds, ‘But it failed!’

The band first heard about Soundreef when Jack was researching a college project on music licensing. ‘I went to school for creative advertising,’ he explains. ‘I wanted to do something that tied in with what I was doing musically, but also have the business end of it, because a lot of people don’t know the business end of music.’ His project ended up being quite useful: ‘It’s my quick and easy guide to how to get your music out there! I’ve given it to a couple of friends here to help them out.’ (Read Jack's project here.)

Soon, with the help of his father, he was trying to make his own music available for licensing. ‘It takes so much time to first get your songs looked at,’ he says. ‘And then from there, starting to get them circulated, and then from there seeing any of the profit that you’re actually made… I think what I actually say in my book is, “Patience is the key to licensing music, ‘cos it just takes a while!”’

Jack’s father, David, says: ‘I was pretty impressed with their songwriting ability and thought that maybe I could find a revenue stream for them, some kind of income to help them out as they continue to try to make it in the music industry with their performance.’

So he started researching: ‘I ended up finding out about the term “music licensing”.’ The results were a bit daunting: ‘There were hundreds, literally maybe hundreds and hundreds of music licensing companies… I looked at all of them, and I first came across your sister company, Beatpick, and so we’ve been a member of that for a few years. And through Beatpick, I was seeing things about Soundreef.’

David thought that Soundreef seemed different to the others: ‘I was really fascinated with the concept of the technology-driven company. It was transparent, which I like, so you always knew what was going on. I had a very, very positive experience with Beatpick in the past, so I felt good about it and I was also reading a few years ago where in Europe, where there was no longer a monopoly for the performing rights organisations out there to basically paying the royalties for the composers and so now it’s opened up to competition, and Soundreef was basically the first one, maybe the only one, that really perceived the opportunity and went after the marketplace in Europe. So I was very, very intrigued by the concept.’

He also found the terms of the Soundreef membership agreement appealing: ‘I was never interested in exclusive agreements, where a music licensing would try to license your song exclusively, because you never know what they’re going to do with them – they may do nothing and then you’ve basically lost the opportunity to market the song. So I like the idea of non-exclusivity, transparency, and also I felt that in the past when I dealt with Beatpick, your sister company, they were very, very responsive. They responded to me very, very quickly. And the same with Soundreef, too. I like that. I like the idea of people being very responsive.’

He didn’t have the same experience with some other licensing companies. ‘I researched hundreds of them; the people are well-intentioned, but some of them are just composers that really don’t have a business background… and I’ve basically had to discontinue some of them because they’re just so poorly managed. And our songs are being played on TV stations or TV shows and they just weren’t keeping track of things. And so you have to be very careful who you sign up with. You have to really try to understand the agreement and what the risks are from both sides. With Soundreef, I thought it was very easy to join. And it would be very easy to discontinue – I wouldn’t want to, but they make it very band friendly and it’s very easy to load the songs up on the player. You have to add a few things on the metadata, describing the type of song. It’s a very, very easy process. And you’ve usually loaded up the song and in a matter of just a few days, they’re active.

David agrees that it’s difficult for independent musicians to collect international royalties. ‘We’re in the States, and it’s very, very difficult – you never know what’s out there! You don’t know who’s using their music, and you don’t know if the performing rights organisations, the PROs, who we currently have a reciprocal agreement with, with our PROs here in the United States, you don’t know what they’re doing. You really don’t. With Soundreef, you know where songs are playing, you know what songs are playing, how many times the songs are playing, so there’s transparency. I could not tell you today if any of the songs are being played that were licensed to the PROs out there. I have no idea. I’ve never received a royalty, I can tell you that!’

David handles the royalites websites, while Jack and Melissa take care of the social media work, though David makes sure that Jack and Melissa understand how everything works. ‘I don’t want to be naïve about it,’ Jack says. ‘I want to know what’s going to happen!’

What advice would Those Willows give artists who want to follow in their footsteps?

The band suggest that artists should create an instrumental version of each of their songs. ‘We’ve had the most success with instrumental versions,’ Melissa says. They recommend some websites: ‘Sonicbids has gotten us quite a few of the bigger shows, so it’s nice to have a profile up there,’ Melissa says. Jack points out that it has a start-up cost, but thinks it’s worth the money. Melissa also likes Reverb Nation: ‘That’s been a really good way to network and meet other musicians.’ The band are currently featured in the Reverb Nation folk charts. They also suggest Bandcamp, their album is available for download.

At the moment, the band says, it’s just about being heard – but even though they’re earning from Soundreef, are they happy about having to give their songs away for free on other sites? ‘I think it bothered me at the start of this all,’ Jack says, ‘But now… You have to go with the times, you have to get moving. And a lot of people do buy CDs at shows – it’s just that there’s a lot of people who don’t!’

Melissa agrees. ‘Once you come to terms with it, giving your music away is a good move because really what you want to do is get your music out there. So if you’re playing enough shows then I guess that’s where you have to expect the income from. If they’re downloading our CD then you can hope they support us in separate ways. We just want people to listen!’

The band want to carry on getting their music heard – perhaps by a wider range of people. ‘We would like to be able to not only play shows in our general area but in a broader arena. We’d love to travel, to tour,’ Melissa says.

David agrees: ‘We want to have the group continuing to grow their fanbase and hopefully get more and more exposure. They’ve had their songs being played on TV shows here in the United States. Maybe at some point a record label will be interested in them; maybe they’ll just get enough of a following that they can play bigger and bigger shows.’ But he finds it hard to tell what the future might hold when the technology is changing so quickly. ‘It’s hard to navigate it because there’s just uncertainty out there. But they are excellent songwriters and I’m hoping that that will catch someone’s attention.’

For the moment, though, they have work to finish off: they’re currently recording an EP and will soon be thinking about another album. ‘We write a lot of music!’ Jack says. Hear it soon on Soundreef!

Are you an independent artist wanting to get your tracks heard, and get paid for what you do? Register your music with Soundreef for free and collect royalties when your music is played in the background in stores. - Soundreef

Some people throw around the label “folk” for the strangest things, but Those Willows use backing strings, guitars, stand up bass, and something that sounds like it might be a mandolin… and their vocals are harmonized bliss. They are a folk band, of course hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Put them on your radar; no, scratch that, put them in your earbuds.

The album begins with “Winter Skin,” an aesthetically complicated piece about uncertainty and doubt (I think?). The repeated refrain, “we could fall in love all over again – you had my heart” gives a connotation of the uncertainty of nostalgia and looking back on what could have been. But the sound really comes together nicely with the strings and the uptempo feel. It’s not really the typical jangly folk we cover around here, but it’s great.



The second track “Three Books” is legit the perfect song to play in a coffee shop or book store. Seriously it’s just groovy enough to be not the average sleepy folk song, but it’s just down tempo enough to be comfortable. It reminds me of a stroll down a country road. “I’m not quite sure, but you could mean more than anyone else has before.” What a great line! How many times have you met someone and wondered if it was going to be more… and immediately began planning all sorts of craziness. It’s a quaint, blissful little track. I like it.

“Former Life Crisis” is a smart song. It’s filled with positive vibes and colorful soundscapes. The female vocals layered over the strings are picturesque. The song has a historian’s tone, giving a narrative of something that happened in the past between two people. It’s more than a song; it’s a story of love and the past. It also holds a tangible emotional reality that I connected with immediately. It made me think of very specific situations in my own former life.

The final track comes too soon for sure. It’s called “The Noise” and is anything but noise. It’s a bit more raucous than the rest of the album, but it’s certainly well put together. The song reminds me of something out of the later Beatle years, toying with instrumentation and time signature, all while maintaining characteristically vibrant harmonies. It has a good feel and shows just how unpredictable Those Willows can be in their brilliant artistry.

This is a great little EP that will have listeners eager to visit Those Willows’ full discography. They conjure comparisons to The Postmen, The Harmaleighs, and even some vintage folk rockers like The Beatles at times. Give ‘em a spin. - Ear to the Ground

The Deli Magazine’s national and Portland, Oregon August 2013 artist of the month. - Deli Magazine