By Station Manager Kacie Fuller
I’ve been a very long-time listener of The Crane Wives. I have very distinct memories of reenacting dramatic story lines I had imagined in my high school bedroom, all while the indie-rock band blasted in my battered skullcandy headphones. Their music has been the soundtrack to many daydreams of mine well into adult-hood. The rich and vibrant songs are extremely easy to get lost in as they seem to completely envelop you in the story they tell. Each song from their entire discography feels like a window into a much larger novel-length adventure, and reignites a burning passion in me to write a trilogy or go on some crazy expedition. I dare you to listen to “Sleeping Giants” from their 2015 Coyote Stories album and not feel a deep desire to run through a wooded meadow at dusk on some perilous journey.
That is to say, I’m a big fan!
The Crane Wives is a four-piece indie rock band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Having formed in 2010, The Crane Wives have released six albums, one being comprised of live-sessions, all of which have found success due to the clever writing and gripping production. Whether you’ve realized it or not, you have likely heard a handful of The Crane Wives’ songs, as online communities use them to soundtrack their own artistic creations due to the rousing and inspiring nature of the music.
Their most recent album, Beyond Beyond Beyond released in 2024, is a fabulous addition to their treasure trove of a discography. The album offers fresh and exciting new material on relatable and devastating feelings like in “Black Hole Fantasy” and hard hitting, yet still fantastical, experiences like “Arcturus Beaming.” The folk music style of storytelling is alive and well within The Crane Wives, and so whether you’re a longtime lover of the genre or trying to branch out I’d highly recommend giving them a listen. I’ve yet to find another band with a sound and style matching that of The Crane Wives.
I was fortunate enough to hear them play live at the recordBar in Kansas City about a year ago. I can’t express how lovely the experience was all around. Fans dressed up in beautiful outfits and flower crowns, some in elaborate make-up and costume to celebrate the event, and I’ve never seen a crowd who was so attached and dialed in to what was happening on stage before. Every single song from their most popular releases to some of their more “obscure” songs got cheers of excitement and a full chorus of voices singing along. It’s a strong community of fans, and one that is very excited to share their love of music with those not yet inoculated.
What’s even more exciting, is that The Crane Wives are coming back to Kansas City! The show is July 14th at the Truman, and you will absolutely see me there. I look forward to another absolutely lovely experience with fellow fans and getting to hear songs from Beyond Beyond Beyond live, which wasn’t released yet last I saw them.
And as the title suggests, I am even more excited to share with you the interview I was able to conduct with Dan Rickabus and Emilee Petersmark! It was such a privilege to get the opportunity to ask them a few questions, and I hope you enjoy reading their responses. The band has been an absolute joy each time I’ve had the opportunity to interact with them, and that kindness does not go unappreciated. Below is the interview!
Just to start, how are you doing? How has the tour been so far?
Emilee –
Doing alright, thank you for asking! We started the touring season last month
in May, and are excited to head back out for our July run, so we’ve had a bit
of time at home to recharge, do some laundry, and prepare for this next leg.
So far, touring season has been incredible. We’ve played some of the biggest
rooms of our career this year, and our fans continue to be such a kind,
considerate, and energetic audience. Being on the road can still be
challenging, but every day feels like a miracle, and we’re so grateful.
With so many stops around the country, even heading across the pond for later shows, how do you keep the energy up each night?
Emilee –
The older I get, the more important it feels to take care of my body on the
road– back in the day, I used to be able to function on 3 hours of sleep and a
pot of gas station coffee, but these days we’re more intentional about keeping
up a rhythm that doesn’t push us to exhaustion. We like to say we’re running
a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re really fortunate to be able to schedule our
tours in such a way that we’re able to take little breaks to exercise, sleep, and
play. It makes such a big difference to be able to take the stage every night
feeling balanced and well-rested.
Dan –
Every time we walk out onto a stage, and our amazing audience gets roaring
with all that joy, I get a huge boost of energy just from that exhilaration. It’s a
funny contrast though: we really like to have a sort of quiet “calm before the
storm” energy in the hour or two before we hit. Really, keeping up the energy
is all about just tending to the basic “being a human in a body” needs every
day, no matter how much free time vs long-haul drive time we have. It can
sometimes feel like a marathon, so, good food, good sleep, good exercise,
and as much nature as possible!
Top four artists for you right now?
Emilee –
Djo, Meaningful Stone, Mother Mother (their new album is AMAZING), Ethel Cain.
Dan –
I’m so glad you said “right now,” because it’s everchanging! Right now: Saltbreaker, Big Thief, Sampha, Lucy Dacus
Starting in college and locally in Grand Rapids; what did the local music scene in the area look like? What was that like for growing the band?
Emilee –
While I want to preface that no community is without its flaws, the Grand Rapids music scene is overall an excellent place to raise a band. There’s lots of opportunities for bands of all sizes in West Michigan to perform all year round, and the audiences out here really seem to understand the importance of supporting local acts. The scene has changed a bit since we were in college, but the community’s love of music is still going strong. We hope to continue the tradition of supporting new and growing artists the same way we
were supported when we first started out.
Dan –
We got to experience a lot of collaboration, cooperation, and community encouragement early on. A lot of West Michigan folks showed up for us in huge ways that helped us feel so supported while still being free to maintain our independence and stick to our values.
You all have developed a very strong cult following online; garnering more of an actual substantial fandom surrounding the stories told in your music as opposed to a group of more casual fans. Has that involvement and dedication from your fans changed the way you view your songs in hindsight? Or create them going forward?
Emilee –
The passion and creativity of our fans is really contagious, and for me it creates this feedback loop of inspiration. When I see the fan art, animations, the costumes, the crafts based off of our music, it makes me feel the same way I did when I was in my mid-twenties, full of feelings that would eventually find a song as an outlet. I used to be that kid painting pictures to music that moved me, and it feels very full-circle to see the fans using our music to fuel their art. In some ways, it does create a new sense of pressure when writing music now because we know folks are listening deeply, but we do our best to stick to what feels authentic to us. I trust that if we’re true to the music we want to make, it will resonate with the right people.
Dan –
It is so surreal that our fans know all the words to songs we wrote 15 years ago. By its nature, recorded music captures a moment in time when you were that version of yourself, yet the meaning of the music always changes when you step back into that snapshot as who you are now. We’ve been learning one particular older song this week (no spoilers) and I’m feeling all sorts of new and different meanings in the metaphors.
Going forward, it’s a really rare and special thing that we feel encouraged to just be our authentic selves as writers, producers and performers. We’ve never really tried to be any kind of band other than what comes out when we arrange a song. That dedicated support for everything in our past catalogue makes me feel like all we have to do is keep doing that, and that’s so special.
Beyond Beyond Beyond is your first major album since the live sessions released in 2020, or even Foxlore in 2016, how do you maintain momentum and motivation for your musical projects over the course of a few years?
Emilee –
To be honest, it can take a crazy amount of time to write and polish a song to a place where it feels ready to go on an album, so a few years doesn’t feel like that long to us! I think parts of the music industry want us to be songwriting machines, regularly releasing something new to feed the algorithm, but that’s just not how our creative process works. There are a couple of songs on Beyond Beyond Beyond that are over five years old by now that had been waiting for the right place on an album.
Dan –
Even though BBB was released a full 8 years after Foxlore, there was actually only one year between the writing retreat where we started working on the new music and the album’s release. So, there was a lot of accumulated inspiration that went into that relatively swift process. The music industry is wild though. There is a lot of waiting for release day and believing in the music long after you’ve finished the songs!
Has there been any particularly crazy or interesting things that have happened on this past tour that has made it memorable?
Emilee –
No matter how well you plan, all tours have a small undercurrent of chaos. One of the venues we were supposed to play on this last run had a small electrical fire before the show and we were forced to evacuate the building and cancel the performance. We’ve never had to cancel a show like that before (sorry, Pensacola!) but we’re really glad everyone was able to evacuate safely and are super grateful to everyone for being so compassionate and understanding.
I have to ask everyone this question, it’s my personal favorite. All of our DJs here at KJHK have DJ names, like DJ Small Fry, DJ Goose, DJ Beefcakes, etc. If you had a DJ name what would it be?
Emilee –
I’m probably the last person you want to be your DJ, but if I had to pick, it’d be DJ Eun-Sang (which is a reversal of my Korean name, Sang-Eun)
Dan –
I’m gonna go with DJ Quokka.
Follow up to that, what kind of music would you play if you had your own radio set?
Emilee –
Nothing but K-indie.
Dan –
I think I could probably assemble a three-hour set exclusively of tracks that
have nature samples in them.
Thank you again to The Crane Wives and team for reaching out! Lovely to speak with you,
Keep it Locked!