Meg Baird has been playing music with her sister Laura for as long as she can remember. The sisters were introduced to a trove of traditional material

via Smithsonian Archives LPs early in life. Their natural gravitation to folk music must have been strong if they felt compelled to write to agencies associated with the Federal Government to unearth old tunes from the vaults.

By the time Meg was high school-aged, Laura had a four-track recorder and a Fender Broadcaster that she let her fall in love with playing. Meg’s years of childhood piano lessons and her musical family upbringing transformed into a foundation for a self-taught guitar and singing style. In the last 5 years or so Laura and Meg became known as “The Baird Sisters” — just a name to tack on a show poster — but the name stuck well with them. As a result of her work with Laura, Meg was suggested to and recruited by Brooke Sietinsons, who was looking for musical collaborators in Philadelphia. In time, the collaborators became the group called Espers, a psychedelic folk group. In addition to being a founding member of Espers, Meg is also one of the primary songwriters and singers.

Chris Forsyth is a founding member (with Jaime Fennelly and Fritz Welch) of Peeesseye, a post-everything amalgam of minimalist rock, noise, folk, drone, psych, improv, sound poetry, and absurdity that has produced 14 releases and over 160 concerts in Europe and the US since forming in 2002.  His solo performances on both electric and acoustic 6- and 12-string guitars combine equal parts raw power and intuitive delicacy. And he is also a member of the elusive experimental group Phantom Limb & Bison.  Other notable collaborators have included guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, trumpeter Nate Wooley, and choreographers Miguel Gutierrez and RoseAnne Spradlin.  He recently completed his third European solo tour and released his new solo LP, Dreams, on Evolving Ear. Other recent and upcoming releases include the Dirty Pool LP, with Farfisa organist Shawn Edward Hansen, on Ultramarine, the Chris Forsyth + Nate Wooley CDR The Duchess is Dead, Long Live the Duchess on Chocolate Monk, and a long list of Peeesseye projects, including the Peeesseye + Talibam! collab record on CD (Invada) and 2XLP (Smeraldian-Rima). He is the caretaker of Evolving Ear and lives in the City of Philadelpha, USA. Download hi res photos here and here. Photo credit: Maria Dumlao

“It’s enough to signal Forsyth’s arrival as an erudite and farsighted guitar stylist, mapping a path that’s hip and scholarly in equal measure.” – Daniel Spicer, The Wire Magazine

“A destructible charm teetering on violence and elegance” – Eric Weddle (Family Vineyard), Signal to Noise Magazine

“This is the best solo guitar record since Donald Miller’s A Little Treatise on Morals. Keep your eyes on this guy.” - David Keenan, The Wire Magazine

“Killer on every level.” - Foxy Digitalis