Who’s in the band and what do they play?
Vanessa Reynolds / vocals & guitar Dan Steadman / vocals & guitar Paul Wilcox / drums
When and how did you become a band?
becoming a band was a gradual progression since we had all been playing music together for a few years. we’ve been playing as a band since 2010 but dan and i (vanessa) met in 2008 and have been writing and recording together since then. Initially, it was something that we always did whenever we hung out, without any specific intentions as to where we wanted the music to take us. it was also a regular thing for us to constantly seek new music and artists to share with one another. playing music was one way that we came to know each other; I can say that there is so much that we have adapted from one another when it comes to our playing styles.
How did you decide on your band name?
River Spirit. the name was inspired by photography that vanessa did in Southfield, Mi of hidden wooded areas behind strip malls & apartments complexes. we toyed around with a few names for a while and River Spirit just kinda stuck.
Tell us about your first show.
our first performance as a band was at the 5e gallery when it was still on Michigan ave for the riot fest. it was a really fun and detroit style show that included a diverse line up. we remember house phone’s performance and there was comedy, snake charming, and freestyles.
Can you describe your music?
mathy-doomy soulful lullabies?
What bands (or other things) are your influences/inspiration?
all three influence each others taste a lot. some of the range of things we like and have influenced us are deerhoof, luscious jackson, joan osbourne, kindness, bjork, cat power, fka twigs, edie brickell, hella, incubus, and Nina Simone
Gear talk: instruments/pedals/amps
when we perform live we keep it pretty simple, two guitars and drums. vanessa plays a white fender strat and dan plays a black danelectro. for our guitars at most we will use a delay pedal or reverb on our amps, but when we are at home writing we mess around with a lot of different instruments including piano, hulusi, synths, samplers and drum machines.
What do you want everyone to know about your band?
we want everyone to know that what we have to offer through RiverSprit is a gift that stems from the heart of companionship; it is the gift of a lens into our intuitive interaction and development.
Any other comments/shout outs?
we would love to shout out everyone involved in Seraphine Collective- we are extremely grateful for the ways in which they have shown support and been a gateway to so many awesome opportunities.
Seraphine Collective 
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