"Music is where our hearts met, and we'll always share that," Simring says, noting that Ard performs some Rachel & Andy songs with his new band, Andy Ard and the Meantime. The two aren't exactly friends, but they remain kindred spirits when it comes to music. "We made those songs together, and we never wanted to see each other not do music. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, and he's not trying to take anything away from me. You can't deny where you came from, and playing with Andy is one of the experiences that makes me who I am."
Many of the songs on Everything That Was orbit the emotional sphere of boy-girl relations and are clearly painted from a feminine perspective: "We're different from boys," she says. "We share. We talk about our feelings. We're girls. So what? Why can't our music reflect that?"
John Johnston
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With Melanie Susarus and Anitra
Carr, 8 p.m. Friday, February 6,
Soiled Dove, 1949 Market Street,
$6, 303-830-9210
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But Simring has other things on her mind, as well. "Black Cloud," the opening track, concerns negative people and what a drag they can be, while "See Saw" is a barn-burning homage to horniness. Everything That Was definitely has its quiet moments, but it's far from mopey. Simring knows the value of the perfectly placed hook, and her songs, though straightforward and pop-friendly, aren't as simple as they seem. Simring likes to play with chords and modulations, moving up and down the fret board and making connections between sounds and notes that don't usually come together.
"I actually think that's a benefit of being self-taught," she says. "I don't know the theory behind a lot of what I'm playing -- not that I don't think it's good to know that; it is. But I have a good ear, and I can let that be my guide rather than thinking, 'No way can these things be played together! It just isn't done!'"
Simring considers her songwriting a work in progress, and she's right: Everything That Was is a largely satisfying collection, but there's a sense that Simring is just starting to come into her own. She's writing more than ever, learning, moving away from her influences to forge a more individualized sound.
"I really think that she could do with music anything that she wanted to," says Shiveley. "Her goal with this album was to prove to herself that she could write songs, and she did that."
Simring's got plenty of time to track down the muse. She can't go to smoky clubs. She doesn't drink. She's in many ways cut off from the music scene, an active member plugging away from the sidelines.
"I have no life," she says. "I live in my house. Most people use their house like a truck stop. I live live in mine.
"But," she adds, "at least I can talk. I talk to myself. You know I do."
