We were lucky to catch up with Jim & Tanya Disner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jim & Tanya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

We were both almost 40 when we started this project. There are a lot of good reasons why we didn’t begin earlier. And while sometimes we wish we did, there are a lot of nice things about venturing out so late. We met when we were 14. On many a night we would sit around at Muddy’s, our favorite coffee shop, talking and dreaming about becoming performers. Could we get a sweet VW bus and trek about playing music? We thought, “Of course we can and should!” But life happens and we found ourselves pregnant at the ripe age of 16 and plans changed. Our focus had to be our son, and so it was. Jim intended to become a music teacher, so enrolled at Metro (college) in Denver, where he studied with local jazz hero, Ron Miles. He ended up working for Flesher-Hinton Music for the next 20 years, gigging on the side. Tanya was a florist and then became an optician when her hands couldn’t take it anymore. Early on we had a band together, Ficus Benjamina Exotica. Tanya became discouraged with FBE’s first public performance at The Lion’s Lair. It was a battle of the bands where we were beaten out by Brethren Fast and their scantily-clad dancers. Tanya, wearing her 90s grunge, jeans and a buttoned flannel, felt like it was too much about image and not enough about music. So we didn’t perform together again for about 20 years. We actually brought a song from back then out of retirement, “Ghost”.
So now, being older, we realize what we really want: no bar gigs playing until 1am, no battle of the bands, etc. We also have some savings and investments to help support our musical life. Not to mention, our son benefitted from a more stable childhood without his parents constantly on tour. Our musical journey began just when it was supposed to and it’s never too late to start.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We are The Ordinary Two, the Alternative/Folk duo with jazz flavor, fancy fretwork, sultry vocals, and sweet harmonies. Sharing our original sound in venues from coast to coast. In theaters and outdoor festivals, breweries and vineyards, and intimate house concerts, After raising our son and working 9-5 for years, our musical journey as The Ordinary Two began with purely selfish motives. We wanted to travel, explore the country and make enough money playing music to put food in our bellies and fuel in our van. And we did that for a few years! During our travels we met people who taught us how much we as humans need each other. Understanding that has changed our approach to life and songwriting. Now we write songs about our fears, hopes, sorrows, grief, joy and our love for each other as we connect to the human race.
We think that although we may be different, we are also very much the same. Can we be a reminder that our differences as people make the world interesting and that we are all more alike than we realize or admit?
Writing songs is the best form of therapy!
We create our songs to entertain those who listen but also touch their hearts and maybe even their funny bones.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

We do some live-looping in our concerts to create a bigger sound – we record a part live, then can repeat it and add layers on top. It’s much more difficult than playing to pre-recorded tracks, because you have to play the parts just right and hit the record/playback/stop button with your foot at exactly the right time. I think some in the audience may not know what that is. Or may confuse it with having pre-recorded tracks, which we used to feel, though not so much now, was a bit too much like karaoke to be considered “live”. In the beginning we felt that even live-looping was cheating. Now, having heard some great artists that use backing tracks exclusively, we are considering using some as well, to add drums, bass and create a really big sound. In the end, most people in the audience may not know or care about the difference, and just want a great musical experience.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Buy their merch! It has become increasingly difficult for musicians since streaming is the way most people listen to music. Go see live music. Go see a band you have never heard of and buy a CD or a t-shirt. (CD’s make great coasters) or buy a digital song. If you are enjoying music somewhere put some money in the tip jar! One t-shirt is the equivalent to about 5,000 streams on Spotify. Most music is streamed and not bought physically or digitally. Band merchandise is the most direct way of supporting an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: ordinarytwo.com
• Instagram: @ordinarytwo
• Facebook: facebook.com/TheOrdinaryTwo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOrdinaryTwo

Image Credits
DJ Disner, David Starr, Hillery McCalister, Glenn Sawyer