Nyack is undeniably home to some incredibly talented artists, but it’s not often that a village as small as ours houses musicians who can seamlessly collaborate and actually release material together. I recently had the chance to catch up with my friends Soren Song and Travis Stever (guitarist for Coheed & Cambria, L.S. Dunes) to talk about their joint EP, The Nyack Chapter.
The title is pretty self-explanatory, given that Travis and Coheed & Cambria started out in Nyack along with lead singer Claudio Sanchez. Soren, a long time Nyack resident, made a name for themself here, performing original music at spots like Olives and Casa del Sol and hosting a handful of open mics in the area. Though their time playing in Nyack didn’t overlap, fate had it that Travis moved back to Nyack with his wife, Abigail, and their children, settling across the street from Soren—and the rest, as they say, is history (or at least history in the making).
I met up with Travis and Soren at Club Andromeda on Main Street to talk about their EP, The Nyack Chapter, which Soren playfully mentions is a nod to a friend whose band shared a similar name, albeit from a different homestead. When asked about why they chose the name, Travis said, “We both love it here. It’s an homage to our home, our art, and our friendship.” (In the video, the duo is wearing Bill Batson’s ‘Edward Hopper bike’ knit caps.)
I asked Soren when they last released an album. “My last album, I’m, was about a year ago,” they said. “But this album has been in progress for 8 years.” While both musicians have collaborated before, this is the first time they’ve released something together.
“This really started when I moved back to Nyack 8 years ago,” Travis explained about the EP. “I had gotten my hands on Soren’s record Beloved, which had come out a year earlier, and I fell in love with it. My wife, Abigail, fell in love with it too.” On their growing friendship, Travis added, “It became this mutual respect and desire to talk about all the different kinds of music that we both love.”
The EP features four tracks, starting with “Meet My Body.” “It was just there. Soren started singing the melody, and a lot of the same lyrics stuck,” Travis recalled. “He had the initial guitar idea that he came in with. I think I just used his melodies. It was probably within an hour that we had a song,” Soren said.
When I asked about the significance of the four songs and whether they had more material that didn’t make the cut, Travis responded, “No, we had less. We wanted to do more, but it’s a matter of time and scheduling.” Soren added, “One of our songs was a demo we did years ago, and we just had some friends do live bass and drums for it.”
Despite the time constraints, the duo was able to fit in videos for all of the songs. “The End (To Be Continued…)” features Coheed drummer Josh Eppard’s brother, Joey Eppard, on vocals and bass, along with longtime Nyacker Sam Oatts on trumpet. “Honest Answers Only” includes vocals from Travis’ cousin, Laura Tsaggaris, from Washington, D.C. “Meet My Body” has a rhythm section made up of producer and guitarist Danny Blume and bassist Gary Solomon, and on “Winged Prism,” the duo is joined by members of the Ohio band Narrow/Arrow.
One of those members, Columbus, Ohio producer, performer, and multi-instrumentalist, Jonathan Hape, was the glue that held the EP together, playing multiple instruments as well as mixing, mastering, and producing the album alongside Soren and Travis. They recently signed a licensing/sync deal with The Music Playground and their point man is another Nyack native, Chris Celaya.
When asked if they had anything to say to Nyackers, Travis spoke about his collaboration with Soren: “For me, when I’m playing with Soren, I’m playing with somebody who makes this feel authentic.” Soren wrapped up by saying, “Travis gets a chance to show another side of himself musically on this album – one that’s steeped in a lot of the music we both grew up on and love.”
The Nyack Chapter is available on all major streaming platforms
Nyack resident and musician Norvin Van Dunk (TRON THE ARCHER).
