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For love and music

Ziesemer and Luckett release two new discs

It’s not unprecedented to release two albums simultaneously, but it is an unusual move for an independent Indianapolis act, especially when the two discs feature different arrangements of the same songs.

Such is the case with Bare Bones and Virginia, the twin studio debuts from the singer-songwriter duo Greg Ziesemer and Kriss Luckett.

Ziesemer is a seasoned veteran of regional jam bands, currently serving as default frontman for the folk collective the Spud Puppies. He connected with Luckett several years ago upon joining her respected, but now defunct roots band, Diamonds and Rust. They began performing as a twosome in 2002 but didn’t take their songs into the studio until last fall, working with noted bluegrass engineer Ben Surratt at his Nashville studio.

“It was a one-day super-session that just went miraculously,” Ziesemer says. “We recorded 11 tracks in eight hours.”

The result was Bare Bones, a collection featuring two voices, two guitars and songwriting credits split down the middle. Each contributor shows a knack for writing about relationships with a modern sensibility that leaves room for mythic rural imagery.

“Bury my bones in the stone cold ground,” Luckett sings.

“There’s a Garden of Eden hidden here among the weeds,” Ziesemer sings.

They harmonize easily, despite the contrast in their voices — hers a clear Joan Baez soprano, his a gently road-worn croon.

But at the suggestion of a friend, they called in reinforcements, primarily from the Spud Puppies and the likeminded Blueprintmusic, to beef up the basic tracks with various combinations of banjo, bass, Dobro, violin, cello, mandolin, drums and other percussion. Those elements were added earlier this year with local engineer Tim Brickley at his Hit City studio, and the result was mixed by Surratt in Nashville to create Virginia, essentially a fleshed-out mutation of the same album, with an additional bonus track.

Ziesemer and Luckett couldn’t bring themselves to pick one album over the other, and neither can many of their fans. So both discs are for sale through local retailers and the CD Baby Web site. The albums can also be purchased as a package at shows.

“We figured one or the other would end up being a limited release,” Luckett says, “but it’s been about an even split.”

WHAT: Greg Ziesemer & Kriss Luckett
WHERE: Boulevard Place Café, 4155 Boulevard Place
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., $5, all-ages
WEB: www.myspace.com/gregandkriss