Taking their name from a song of one of their chief inspirations The Civil Wars, Dust to Dust is a new North Texas-based duo pairing the vocals of a talented, up-and-coming young singer Briton Malone with one of Dallas’s premier classical guitarists, Chris Richter.
Chris had been performing classical guitar professionally around Dallas-Fort Worth area for several years, including regular performances at several upscale hotels and private business clubs, but had desired to start performing some of the original music he had been writing.
Meanwhile, Brit, who had begun performing as a child, singing at the state fair and local Opry, had been wanting to get back into singing after stepping away from doing music for several years after her father had passed away.
The two connected through a Craigslist ad and immediately found they had a strong musical chemistry, with Brit’s vocals serving as the perfect complement to Chris’s guitar playing and songwriting style. They soon began playing out around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, everywhere from house shows to the House of Blues, building up a strong local following that led them to record four of the most popular songs from their set list with producer Anthony Celia.
In this interview, we chat with Dust to Dust about their newest project, influences, and more.
Full Q&A, links and a stream of On Fire below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I think my interest in folk/acoustic music goes back to discovering the music of Nick Drake in high school. It just seemed really cool to me the seemingly infinite possibilities that could be opened up from a single acoustic guitar by using different fingerpicking patterns and alternate tunings. Plus, prior to that I had been deeply into shoegazing music, and this was much cheaper than buying a ton of different pedals for my electric guitar. 🙂
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I’ve been creating music for years, but it’s only recently I began sharing the original music I’ve been writing. Prior to this I had been working for several years playing classical guitar professionally which provided a nice creative outlet by getting to arrange different pop songs for a completely different setting, but I really wanted to begin performing some of the original music I had been writing as well. That led me to place an ad that Brit responded to and we began collaborating on some original music since.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
As mentioned above, Nick Drake was a big influence on my playing style. Jose Gonzalez is another one. One of the songs on the EP (Early Morning Hours) was an attempt to do a song in the old Delta Blues style of artists like Robert Johnson. As far as the motivation to keep going, just the opportunity to for artistic expression that music provides.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
This is the first EP we’ve released, so really the major goal we had hoped to accomplish was just to get several of the songs we’ve been practicing and playing live for a while recorded and have something to share with others.
What was the last song you listened to?
Death Cab for Cutie “Photo Booth”
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I like the convenience that MP3s provide. Having the ability to store your entire music collection on one device has been a godsend for me–I still remember family trips as a little kid, trying to decide which of my CDs to take with me and inevitably I’d leave something home I ended up really wanting to listen to, because there was only enough space to take a few albums.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’ve been using Spotify for a while and have largely been satisfied with their service.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
I think a lot of it comes down to finding good outlets to getting your music heard. You just have to keep grinding away and slowly but surely build up a following.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
We do regularly gig. As of yet our performances have been confined to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where we are from, but we hope to be able to expand on that soon!
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
There are several ways people can connect with us online. The first would be our official website, where people can find our music, pictures, upcoming performance dates, and other information. People can also connect with us on Facebook. Our EP, the Darkest Hour, is also available from all major online distributors, like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc. and you can preview it by listening on Soundcloud.
