Exclusive Interview with Country Duo Presley and Taylor

Sisters Presley & Taylor have been singing together since they were kids. Now, the duo is pursuing their dreams together and making a name for themselves in country music. I got the chance to talk to them about what it’s like working with family, their new single “Everybody Wanna Be Us”, what they’re currently nerding out about and more. Keep reading to see what they had to say!

Tell me a little bit about how you both first got into making and performing music. 

Taylor: Presley and I are sisters so we have been singing together since we were little girls in our car seats. Around the age of 14 and 16 was the first time Presley and I went to the recording studio together. We went and planned on only singing two songs and then we came out with an 8-song EP and we started releasing to radio. So that’s really when our career started, when we were 14 and 16 and we started in the studio. 

So like you said, you guys are sisters who have always been making music together and then when you went into that recording studio, it just kind of turned into something more. But was there a moment that made you guys want to come together and start pursuing a professional music career as Presley and Taylor? Or was that moment it and it’s just kind of gone on from there ever since? 

Taylor: Yeah, I mean I don’t think we would ever not do this together. We did go into the recording studio the first time together and it kind of just snowballed from there. It was almost just known that like, “Okay, it’s called Presley and Taylor and this is our music” and it just kind of continued from there. So I guess that was the moment. 

What’s it like working with your sibling? Do you guys ever have moments where you’re just completely over it because you get on each other’s nerves or is it for the most part like all love? 

Presley: It’s so much fun. Taylor and I are only two years apart age-wise, so we have grown up doing everything together anyway. We live together still, we go shopping together, we practice together; we always have fun. I think sisters always have their moments, but at the end of the day, she’s my person and we always come back to each other. 

That’s awesome. So I’m always genuinely curious about what artists want to convey with their music. Your sound would typically be classified as country, but if you had to describe it without using genre names how would you describe it?

Presley: I think it’s really energetic. It’s like really full band sound, which is kind of something that you don’t hear on the radio too often anymore. But we like to be able to kind of emulate what is on the record when we come to our live performances as well, so I think that plays through a lot in the music. 

Taylor: Yeah, I would just say that it’s really energetic and happy and focused on the good things in life. It’s all about love and stuff like that. 

Kind of going off of that, who are some of your musical influences?  

Presley: There’s so many. We grew up listening to everything, so we have so many different ones. I love Miranda Lambert. I don’t know. Tay, who are some of yours? 

Taylor: Yeah I mean I think we draw from a ton of influences. We grew up listening to all kinds of music, like everyone from like Tammy Wynette to Kelly Clarkson and Whitney Houston. 

Presley: I was a huge Justin Bieber fan. 

Taylor: Justin Bieber… we really draw from a lot of influences vocally. Then our sound is just a true country sound with our own twist on it. 

So lets talk about your new single, “Everybody Wanna Be Us”. What’s the story behind that song? 

Presley: Yeah. Taylor and I heard the first time actually through our manager Keith Burns, who played in Trick Pony. He actually had heard the song years before and then played it for us because he thought it would be a good fit for us. We were in the studio and it was us, Keith, James Stroud, our producer and our parents and the second we heard the demo for this song, I think everybody was just floored. We were like, “Oh my God. What is this song?” Taylor and I had a really fun time coming up with our own arrangements and switching things up and making it our own. Especially when you’re not the writer, you want to make it as much like you as you possibly can. Taylor and I are just really proud of this song because it pretty much showcases us the way that we want to be shown. We love it so much and it was just so much fun getting to sing it together in the studio. 

You said this was a demo that you guys heard through your manager and a song that’s been around for a little bit but what was it about the song that you guys related to the most? 

Presley: Yeah, well it’s all about love. It’s a love song. Both Taylor and I are in relationships, and at that time, we were starting out relationships. So at that moment, we were all like, “Oh we’re living this. We get it” and it was just something that we all related to and I guess still [do], which is crazy and kind of shows like… I don’t know. The song is just beautiful; it’s about love and that exciting feeling when you’re first with someone or whether you’re with them at the beginning or a year later or two years later like Taylor is with her boyfriend. It’s just a great thing and I think the first time in our life that we’ve been able to actually relate to a song in that way. So it’s super fun being able to go out and sing it live, too. 

I know you guys said you put your own spin on it, but were there any major changes made to the song once you got into the recording studio, whether it be something in the lyrics or maybe sonically? 

Taylor: I mean we always put our own harmonies on it. When we hear a demo, they’re usually aren’t any harmonies on it. But basically we just take the demo and make it our own. So we just put our own arrangement on it in pre-production and then it all comes together in the studio. 

I know “Everybody Wanna Be Us” sets the stage for the launch of your EP early next year. Is there anything you can tease about that EP, like maybe how many songs are going to be on it?

Taylor: Yeah we’re so excited about this EP and we feel like “Everybody Wanna Be Us” is a perfect first representation of it. It’s a great introduction to it. Honestly, it’s going to be five or six songs; we’re not really sure which [ones] yet, but it’s going to be a five to six song EP and we’re just so excited to get all that music out to our fans. Yeah, we just can’t wait for the world to hear it. 

So you guys are still relatively new to the music game and I’m curious, what are some of your music industry-related goals or benchmarks that you guys are aiming to reach in your career in the next couple of years? 

Taylor: Totally. We’re just reaching for the stars. I mean ideally, in the next couple of years, we want hit after hit on the radio and we want to win a Grammy and be on the ACMs. So we have a lot of big goals and big dreams for our career and this is just the beginning. 

Let’s end with just one final fun question. Our website is called Talk Nerdy With Us because we all have an inner-nerd, so what is something you guys are currently nerding out about? 

Taylor: I mean I know that I’m totally a Star Wars nerd in general. I don’t know if that’s current, but I totally love Star Wars. I feel like that’s a really nerdy aspect to my personality. 

Presley: I don’t know if mine is nerdy but I just got a puppy so I guess that I’m nerding out over dogs lately.

What kind of puppy do you get? 

Presley: I got a German Shepherd. 

Awwww. How old is he or she? 

Presley: He is going to be 4 months next week. 

Wow, so a literal puppy. 

Presley: Yes. He’s little and it’s so funny because I’m just obsessed with learning everything about training and the breed and the whole nine yards. So that is my nerdy obsession right now. 

For more information, visit Presley & Taylor’s website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.