Twin sisters Brit and Brooke Graeff of the Sarasota-based indie duo Good Graeff are currently on tour with their latest EP Better Half, released in 2013. The duo is also included in the impressive lineup for the Coral Skies music festival on Oct. 25. The Minaret was fortunate enough to sit down with the band under the Ybor City night sky after their Streetcar Live performance last month.
Minaret: It’s to my understanding that you broke up for 6 years to travel, came back, and put out your EP Better Half. Could you explain what made you want to come back and create this album?
Brooke: So we split up for, like you said, six years, and music was just something that happened. It wasn’t planned, we weren’t planning on putting together any albums after we broke up. But because of the response we had in Vietnam, so many people wanted us to keep going with it and we just kinda had that “Why not?” attitude? And we didn’t want to that regret of “Well why didn’t we just try to make it work?
Minaret: How has the response been from your Florida friends since you’ve come back home?
Brit: Incredible! When we came back and really went at it, we did not think it was gonna have this response. We were like “We’ll just try this for a few months and no one’s gonna book us and it’s not gonna work.” It’s just something we never thought was gonna happen, and it happened really quickly for us. When we came back to the country we didn’t have a house, we didn’t have jobs, we didn’t have music equipment or anything. And when you have nothing, you really find that you fight for the things that you want. You work a little harder, and I think that blind ambition and perseverance is what really pushed the band forward.
Minaret: Speaking of perseverance, could you describe the process you took in creating your latest album?
Brooke: So we wrote Better Half when we were in Vietnam, and when we came back we started a Kickstarter campaign, and we knew we needed something for people to listen to that would gain us support. So we just started self-recording in a friend’s bedroom, and it took us awhile because we were a bit rusty at that point, but we were able to get the six tracks out, and after awhile we were finally able to get more tracks out for our fans. We’ve been sitting on a new EP for about a year now and, well, we’re really patient. We’re just waiting for the perfect moment and the right people to back us up. We want the best chance possible to become successful.
Minaret: I think you guys are off to a great start. I mean, there was a really great crowd tonight.
Brooke: [Laughs] I looked up and there was just, like, a sea of cell phones. It was incredible! And what’s really awesome is that it was a huge mix of people, from our grandparents’ age down to little four-year-olds. It’s cool having such a diverse crowd.
Minaret: On a tangent, would you say you’re more classically trained or self-taught?
Brooke: It was definitely more a teach-your-self thing. I started taking cello lessons for about five years and then by high school I just stopped. I listened to music that really inspired me and got sick of classical music, and that’s when we started playing together.
Minaret: So what’s next for Good Graeff? So you have any near-future plans?
Brit: We are now recording a new new EP that, I don’t know when we’re planning to release it, but definitely as soon as possible. We also have a quick west coast tour and we’re coming back for the Coral Skies festival.
Minaret: Which is going to be amazing.
Brit: Incredible! We’re so excited for it. I don’t even know how we got it. But that’s our next big show in the area and we’re working on a few music videos, so I’d say just keep your eyes peeled. We’re working super hard to bring the best possible prodict to our fans because everyone’s been so patient for so long. We and our amazing team are all super stoked for it.
Jackie Braje can be reached at Jacquelyn.braje@theminaretonline.com.