We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lee & Dylan (The Sogs) a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lee & Dylan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Over the last year or so we’ve been working on and recording songs for our first full length album. In the summer of 2022 a dear friend of ours, Jon West, who played drums in our previous band reached out and gave us the devastating news that he was battling cancer, and that the prognosis wasn’t good. When we told him we were in the process of recording some new material he offered to lay down the drum tracks on 5 of the songs we’ll be releasing on our upcoming album. During the process of practicing and eventually recording these songs he put everything he had into getting them perfect. Whenever we’d ask him if he was sure he wanted to continue, he’d push himself a little more and tell us how much it meant to him to get these recordings set while he still felt able. It’s unlikely that there’s anything either of us will do in a creative capacity ever again that will rival the experience of coming together with an old friend and being fortunate enough to build something in the midst of such a tragic situation. The process was filled with joy, and exhilaration, and immense sadness when it was over. Jon passed away in February of 2023, but the fact that we’ll always have this experience with him and the recordings that we worked on together is such a kind consolation.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

We’ve played music together for over a decade now in a few different bands. In 2016 we became The Sogs and have experimented with a variety of different sounds and formats. We originally played as a full three-piece band with a drummer, and are currently performing as a two-piece acoustic act. For our upcoming recordings we’ve gravitated back to a full band and were fortunate enough to have two of our close friends from previous iterations and bands provide the drum tracks.

We have the most pride in always being our genuine selves. Neither of us have ever wanted to, or felt the need to, sit down and discuss what we think our “image” should be, or how we should alter our sound to be more radio-friendly or fit some sort of algorithm. We play the music we like, we do it in the way that makes us happy, and we’re fortunate enough to have good responses each time we perform.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being able to exercise creativity is a necessity for us, and for humans in general if we’re being honest. There has to be an outlet for you to express yourself to feel fulfilled in this world, and that can come in a variety of different shapes. For us, it’s music. The process of writing a new song, pulling something from the ether that didn’t exist before you created it, is intoxicating. Recording that song or performing that song for friends and strangers, and getting a response from those who are listening, is an even bigger thrill. It’s a high we’re constantly chasing, and it never gets old.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal has always been to do this as long as we’re having fun. If our music continues to grow, continues to find new listeners, and eventually builds into something big, that’s just icing on the cake. Whether it’s seeing one person connect with us or an entire crowd of people, the thrill is the same. We just want to play for people who love to listen.

Contact Info:

• Website: thesogs.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_sogs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SogsBand/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_Sogs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwM9NHJ4s7cfHuNVLLp-02Q

Image Credits
Photos by: Devon Hutchinson, Nico Goda, and Justin Hein