ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE / JUNE 2000

birds of a feather    -Tim Morse June 2000

THE INNOCENCE MISSION HAS NEVER been concerned with image or posturing but has chosen instead to concentrate solely on their music.  This is more evident than ever on the group's current release, Birds Of My Neighborhood (Kneeling Elephant/RCA). The departure of drummer Steve Brown and the decision not to replace him has meant that the group's backbone and sound coloring now come from the acoustic guitars of Karen and Don Peris.  Their new recording is so sparse and intimate that it sounds like a group of friends playing in a living room, and this approach perfectly frames the wistful sentiments expressed in the songs.

The Innocence Mission was formed by Karen and Don with Brown and Mike Bitts while they were attending high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Don and Karen started dating the first summer they met and often played their guitars together. As Don says, "it's romantic and inexpensive."  Even in their earliest years, the band's sound was centered around Karen's heart-felt vocals and introspective songwriting.  A&M records signed the band in 1989 and released an eponymous debut that is considered to be a classic among die-hard fans.  They recorded two more albums for A&M, Umbrella (1991) and Glow ( 1995), toured with acts like Natalie Merchant, and appeared at the Lillith Fair in 1999.

Don and Karen agree that 60's-era folk music has been a great inspiration.  "I love Paul Simon," says Karen.  "And just before we started writing this album we began listening to Bob Dylan's records, songs like 'One Too Many Mornings.'  The finger-picking in that song has had a big impact on me."   Don also admires Simon and Garfunkel's music for its beautiful guitar work.   "Paul Simon was an early inspiration, but also a recent one,' says Don.   "Early on I listened to Neil Young and Don McLean records and those are still some of the records that I really care about."

Birds Of My Neighborhood was recorded at the Peris' home and took about two and a half years to complete.  "We recorded when we had songs and when it fit into daily life," says Don. "The newness of a song can be an exciting thing to try to get on tape - it can be hard to try and recapture that later."  Karen agrees and feels that the lyrics to her songs have become more personal. "We tried to have a child for many years, and there were things we felt we needed to express," she says. "When I was writing 'I Haven't Seen This Day Before,'  I didn't really think about the idea of recording it;  I was just writing it.  It was the first song I wrote after I became pregnant  - and I was of course elated but also frightened because I had lost a child before and it was an overwhelming time.  I really wanted to write about the newness and the possibilities of each day. 

As for her songwriting process, Karen says, "Often for me a melody and chords will spill out together.  The lyrics will take longer to finish - sometimes I'll work on them for weeks over even a month.  "The Lakes Of Canada' was written after driving through Canada on a tour with EmmyLou Harris.  I wonder a lot about the towns we're passing through, the shady side streets; who lives there and what their lives are like.  The song is about moments of sudden joy and how they glimmer the way fish do when you see them in a lake."

The band is now touring to support the record and looking to record a follow-up.  Don and Karen are the rare breed of musicians who can be married and work together. 'It feels more and more miraculous to me to be able to work with the person I love best in the world," says Karen.

What They Play

Don Peris of Innocence Mission plays a 1974 Guild D-44M, a 1929 Gibson L-37 arch-top (his grandfather's guitar), and a 1997 Guild JF30-12 12-string.    Karen Peris plays a 1963 Gibson C-0 classical guitar and a Gibson L-37 arch-top from the early 30's.  For the past five years , Karen has been tuning her guitars down a step or a step and a half. "I just love hearing the guitar in that lower register," she says. "When Karen tunes down to C#, I often capo up," Don adds. "The open chords resonate so beautifully in this C# tuning and the capo accompaniment allows  for light on the top."  They both use light gauge D'Angelico 100L 80/20 brass round wound strings and Fender Medium picks.  For live performances, Don's D-44 is outfitted with a Martin Thin-line pickup, which he runs through an L. R. Baggs Para-Acoustic D. I., and Karen uses a Gibson J-100 and a Fishman Pro-EQ.