Interview with the Logans
It’s always fantastic when new artists hit your radar and when they are a UK based female trio, we at Belles and Gals get especially excited. The Logans are Glasgow-based sisters Honor, Tayler and Leona and they are certainly making waves in the industry. The Logans recently supported Raintown in Scotland and are in the process of recording their debut album. What better time to have a chat with the sisters and find out a little about each of them!
Hi ladies! To start, can you tell us how you came to form the band as sisters? Did one of you come up with the idea, or was it a joint decision?
Music has always been a huge part of our lives, we come from a very musical family so it’s pretty much been all we’ve ever known. We played together for as long as we can remember- we loved to pretend to be destiny’s child when we were little. When we got older we had some individual projects going but we still kept the band going. We’ve been lucky enough to be given the opportunity now to pursue this as our career and it was the best and easiest decision we’ve ever made!
You recently supported Raintown. That must have been a buzz! The country music scene in Scotland is in a good place right now. What is it about Scotland that produces such great music?
The Raintown gig was amazing! They’re so talented and have been so supportive of us on our journey so far.
There’s an honesty in Scotland and a humour that makes for amazing storytelling. There’s a resilience in people that takes some of the most heart-breaking and painful experiences and turns them into music that can be equally beautiful, funny and healing. You know when something happens to you that can at first seem so limiting but can turn out to be a pivotal moment in pushing you to new potentials and to create things that you didn’t know possible?
Which artists have influenced each of you? And who are you listening to right now?
Honor: One of my favourite albums growing up was Ray Charles ‘New Sounds in Country and Western Music’. It was a pretty revolutionary album for the American music scene at the time, mixing R&B, pop and soul with country. But that’s pretty old school. Recently I’ve been obsessed with Miranda Lamberts Album ‘The Weight of These Wings’, she wrote 72 songs for it and had to cut it down to 24 and there all amazing. Now that’s the kind of standard of writing we’re aiming for!
Tayler: I loved, loved, loved Shania Twain! She managed to get an amazing balance between traditional country roots and pushing the boundaries for women in country music- that’s not an easy thing to do! I’m a bit more out there when it comes to my influences today, I’m a big fan of Angaleena Presely. She’s not scared to write about controversial topics with a bit of cheek- maybe that’s the Scots girl in me!
Leona: I was a Dolly Parton girl growing up. I was drawn to her glitz and glamour, but probably what was most important to me was her kindness and compassion for everyone she met. When I was 7 I had a school project on Saints and I wanted to write mine on Dolly- my mum had to break it to me that Dolly Parton was not a singing Saint. I’m really into Marren Morris at the minute, everything she’s bringing out is so fresh and contemporary and is keeping country alive and interesting for the younger fans.
Tell us something unique about each of you?
Honor: I graduated from a masters in Law before things really kicked off with the band
Tayler: I’m a professional public speaker for Robert Burn’s events.
Leona: I’m into Olympic weightlifting; my sisters always tease me by calling me Barbie Schwarzenegger!
It must be interesting working together as sisters. I’m sure it must become fractious at times, but overall a lot of fun!?
We’re lucky enough that a huge part of our upbringing has been in sharing in each other’s success. That’s a big part in why we can work so well together because we equally want what’s best for each other as well as ourselves.
We also love to get up to no good now and then and share a weird sense of humour- good fun for us but no so good for our band when we’re playing pranks on them before we go on stage! Our fans are also so accepting and supportive that it just makes each gig better than the last.
If The Logans could play the perfect gig, where would you play. You can each choose one artist to join you on stage too. Who do you choose?
The perfect gig would have to be either the Bluebird café in Nashville- that’s where the real country music is- or at the C2C (country to country) festival. We went to see C2C last year and all agreed it was the best show we’ve ever seen. It’s also really exciting because it’s a UK festival and shows that country music is really kicking off here!
Honor: I would love to be joined by Reba McEntire
Tayler: The Dixie Chicks!
Leona: Tim McGraw for me!
To finish, tell us about your upcoming plans in the lead up to Christmas?
We’re doing a lot of gigs at the moment and we especially love performing at the Country Vice Club, which is a Scottish Country music night. Our main focus is on finishing our debut album and we even have plans to record some of it in Nashville at the start of next year!
