Outskirts is a three-piece band that blends the unique voices of vocalists Lisa Taylor and Sierra Farr into footstomping garage western with a little bit of country twang.
Taylor, the band's guitarist and vocalist, said she spent several months convincing Farr, bassist and vocalist, to sing with her.
They got together to see how their unique voices would blend and started writing songs that day.
"We got a collection of songs together and started playing," Farr said.
"We started doing shows, just the two of us. We did a few local art shows, a fun grand opening at Farmhouse and Bellwether comedy shows last fall."
After writing songs together and performing a few shows locally, Farr and Taylor decided they needed a drummer to complete their sound.
It was at their second Bellwether show that they were approached by now-drummer Brian Macleod.
"Working with them is exciting because you can feed off each other and you can grow and develop along the way," Taylor said.
"We are able to produce our music together over time the way we want it to sound. It's harder to do that when you're working alone."
Outskirts played its first show as a full band at the end of January.
Their music is vocally driven with an emphasis on Taylor and Farr's unique harmonies.
"A lot of people describe us as folk, but I don't think that we're slow and pretty enough to be called a folk band," Farr said. "I think the best description that we keep hearing, and I don't think Lisa likes this description, but I think it's an apt description is from people who have no idea what to expect and see us live who say it's a Western punk band."
Outskirts cited The Sandwitches, Those Darlins, Loretta Lynn and Nancy Sinatra as influences.
"The music is definitely inspired for me from old fifties bluegrass sound," Taylor said. "That's not what we sound like now, but it's where the sound came from."
When it comes to song writing, Farr said their technique involves an organic process of layering music with lyrics.
"She might have guitar part that she's been working on and I write a lot of lyrics, so we'll both hum over it and see if it works well," Farr said. "We can definitely finish each others sentences when it comes to music. She has great ideas and I help hone them in."
Farr said that the lyrics content of their songs centers around the idea of struggle.
"We're both in our thirties and neither of us have had simple lives," Farr said. "We have both been very independent since the second that we finished high school. We've lived on our own and paid our own ways and had to fight a little bit for the things that we have."
Taylor said that one of the biggest obstacles facing the band is finding time to practice.
"I have two jobs, Sierra has her job as a hairstylist and a daughter," Taylor said. "Our drummer also works full time. It's hard to schedule our time to get together and write. We have the desire, we just don't have the time."
When they do get the chance to perform, both Taylor and Farr said Outskirts has been given a warm reception in town.
"The people behind the music scene in Auburn are really wonderful, thoughtful, genuine people when it comes to supporting creative people in this town," Farr said. "When you reach out to this community, you find people who are really supportive of the arts and music specifically."
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