About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2011)
ftluEs 12/27 • 12/28 ■ 12/29 • 12/30 • m Tycho (Live Band) Machinedrum The Polish Ambassador Gramatik Up Until Now TABERNACLE • ATLANTA STS9's New EP When the Dust Settles BUY ‘ - TICKETS f/e nnnon com = Q™* 8 > 3000 *" n ■ HcaJf*3te^r1pr<«so6)ecttoa^•ng^»l•>ou• ■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ no»c« roe! po «■suoect ic a«»cabie lew TabemacleATL.com Available Now on iTunes □ (in TabernacleATL TabernacleATL OT Selection of Holiday Patron 1 A— Prince Ave. UGA Medical Campus > 1452 Prince Ave (beside Sam's Texaco) Normallown, Athens 706 353 8881 tlabbn Sang Bass (Anti the Turms) otneb Right lit) t ocal producer John Keane is well known for his work with R.E.M, the Indigo Girls, Widespread Panic, Uncle Tupelo and | other noteworthy acts; he's down-to-earth, friendly and highly sought-after in Athens and elsewhere. Keane may be a big-shot pro ducer, but he has another fulltime gig: dad. Since his twin daughters, Paige and Rachel, were around 13 or 14, Keane has been accompanying them on traditional Christmas songs, performing these tunes for friends, family and the sheer fun of it. Calling themselves We Three Keanes, the trio % decided to take it to the next level this year and record an album of their Christmas cov ers called 0 Christmas, Where Art Thou? For Keane and his daughters, this project is chiefly about the experience and second arily about the future. "We had some friends that also sang and played guitar," says Rachel, "and we wanted to make a CD with them just for fun." "We always liked playing Christmas songs," adds Paige, "and we already knew them. Also, we're trying to save money for college tuition, because we both want to go out of state for college. We thought it'd be a I good way to make extra money." Clearly, Keane is an accomplished artist, but he doesn’t try to push his kids into his line of work. Rather, he seems to incorpo rate his passion into family life liqhtheart- ealy. "He did a contest earlier." says Rachel. | "where Paige, our brother Ian and I had to write a song, and he'd give $30 to the person who wrote the best song. I won that one." "Bravo, Rachel," replies Paige, in a jocu larly begrudging (sisterly) tone. At 17, the Keane twins have their own future ambitions, but Paige does intend to remain on the artis tic route. "I actually hope to pursue more of a theater career," she says. "(Music] is more something we do as fun, not something I'd want to do as my job, professionally. I think that might take some of the fun out of it." Rachel, on the other hand, doesn't plan on studying the arts full-time. However, she acknowledges the need for art in her life. "I'm actually interested in international affairs," she says, "and I want to go to school in Washington, D.C. But I'd definitely do theatre and music while there. I don't think I could give it up; I just wouldn't want to pursue it as a career." Recording with family members must be a different experience from what Keane is accustomed to, but he says that the produc tion techniques were largely familiar on this project. "I didn't really approach it that differently than I would recording a singer-songwriter type project, except for the fact that it was spaced out over such a long period of time. The girls are very busy with school and vari ous drama productions at the high school, so I had to catch them when they weren't busy and have them come in a little bit at a time and record these vocals... It's pretty low-key... really oriented toward the vocal harmonies more than anything else." When it comes to holiday music, there are countless songs to pore over. The task of oicking the right tunes seems like a daunting one, but according to Keane, it wasn't as dif ficult as one might think. "To me, it wasn't really that big of a pot to choose from, because I don't really like most Christmas music," says Keane, with a laugh. "I let the girls pick songs that they wanted to do, and then I picked out a few songs... so it was kind of a group effort." Paige describes the experience as "a good way to just hang out with our dad and get to know him better." If Christmas is about fam ily, We Three Keanes really hit the nail on the head this year. 0 Christmas, Where Art Thou? is available for purchase downtown at Wuxtry Records and Chick Music as well as online via www. johnkeanestudios.com, iTunes and Amazon. Kevin Craig 20 FLAGPOLE.COM • DECEMBER 14,2011
