By DAN ARMONAITIS
Michelle Lee had just filled in as drummer for a St. Patrick’s Day gig with the Spartanburg-based Brandy Lindsey and the Punch when an idea crossed her mind.
“Michelle and I were hanging out more after that, and, at some point, she said, ‘we should start a chick band,'” recalled Lindsey, who plays acoustic guitar and sings. “And I said, ‘oh, that would be fun.'”
Lee and Lindsey wound up inviting three other women to join them, and the result is a full-on rock band, The Sally Rides, which will make its public debut with a hometown performance on Saturday, Nov. 9 at The FR8yard in Spartanburg.
“Liftoff is about to happen,” said Raegan Tennant, a longtime cellist who learned to play bass specifically for The Sally Rides. “I’m really excited, and I’m really nervous. But I know being up there with that group of ladies, it’ll be a great time. … I’m excited for the group and for people to hear us, and I hope that (the audience) enjoys us as much as we enjoy playing together.”
The Sally Rides are rounded out by Raegan’s sister, Carsyn Tennant, on lead guitar and vocals and Alison Hughey on keyboards and vocals.
“Of course, being a Converse College graduate, I’ve been in other ensembles that were all female, but definitely not a rock band,” Hughey said. “It’s a very rare thing to see an all-female band around here, so I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
The band name, of course, pays homage to the first American woman in space. Sally Ride, who died in 2012, also remains the youngest U.S. astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so in 1983 at age 32.
“It’s kind of perfect, right?” said Lee, who proposed naming the group The Sally Rides. “Just everything that she stands for; she was a strong woman who excelled in her field. And it just sounds cool.”
Noting a lyric from “Mustang Sally,” the hugely popular 1960s soul hit made famous by Wilson Pickett, Carsyn Tennant added, “It also has a lot of other connotations like ‘Ride, Sally, Ride’ and some other cultural references, so we just went with it.”
The Sally Rides’ music draws from an eclectic array of classic pop-rock influences, ranging from Steely Dan to Sheryl Crow, but there’s also a strong folk-Americana element to it.
Lindsey estimates that the group’s set at The FR8yard will consist of about 25 percent originals, written separately by her and Carsyn. Over time, the group plans to concentrate more on original material.
“Carsyn tends to write more on the side of rock, and I write more on the side of pop, but our sounds blend really well,” Lindsey said. “And she, Alison and I are doing a lot of three-part harmony. I think if you like rock music that’s more melody driven, you’ll like us.”
For Lee, who’s well known for her work in the Spartanburg-based Marc Higgins Band, playing with The Sally Rides has been a challenging but rewarding experience.
“I’ve been playing with Marc for so long, and you get to a certain style of playing and kind of in your comfort zone,” Lee said. “And this is something different. It’s made me use my brain instead of just playing on feeling like I always do playing with Marc, just because I’m so comfortable playing with him.”
Likewise, Lindsey said playing with The Sally Rides has affected her songwriting.
“Maybe it’s because we’re all females, but I find myself writing a little more toward the emotional side or a little more introspective, although I wasn’t purposely thinking in that way,” she said.
With the exception of Raegan Tennant, whose primary previous music experience has been performing in symphony orchestras, each of the members of The Sally Rides are veteran rock ‘n’ roll musicians.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do and something I’ve always tried on some level, but there’s always been a guy in the band,” Lee said. “But now that we’re a bit older and we’re better players, I just thought it was time to something different and have a group that truly is all women.”
In addition to Friday’s debut show at The FR8yard, The Sally Rides have already scheduled another gig for January at The Peddler in Spartanburg and plan to add more dates in the near future.
“We’ve just been having so much fun,” Hughey said. “If you come out to our show Saturday night and have half as much fun as we do playing music together, it will be well worth your time.”