Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are not quite like anything else out there. With a quirky style, powerhouse vocals and songs you’d swear you heard on American Bandstand, they’re throwback rock ‘n’ roll meets retro lady blues.
“It’s all roots music,” Ford said. “Blues and rock ‘n’ roll and soul are all related anyway. If you play one you’re pretty much playing all of them.”
The band is made up of two parts: Sallie Ford, the quirky frontwoman with her signature vocal tone and style, and the Sound Outside, her backing band. The fast and fiery Sound Outside is a product of drummer Ford Tennis, upright bassist Tyler Tornfelt and guitarist Jeffrey Munger, all of whom Ford met after relocating to Portland from North Carolina. After being raised in a family of puppeteers, music instructors and musical thespians, Portland provided Ford with space to stretch her legs and define herself as an artist.
“I have an idea of what I want [the music] to be, and I just keep getting closer to that,” Ford said. “At first it was just really rough and not anything that I think I would be proud of right now. I don’t think I would want to hear old recordings of me.”
Ford started writing songs in 2006 after feeling that covers were no longer enough. The band members who joined were instantly taken with her talent, and channeled their own to build a worthy foundation for her to impress from.
“It’s her voice. It’s the focal point of the musical experience that we’re trying to share,” Munger said.
“For me it’s a transformation,” Ford said. “You might feel like a nerdy, awkward person in real life, but then on stage you don’t have to be—except between the songs.”
The highly original, upbeat melodies, spunky attitude and complete likeability did not go unnoticed for long. Less than a year after becoming a quartet, the Avett Brothers brought Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside on as an opening act. The success has far from gone to their heads as they continue playing every basement, living room or backyard that comes up.
“We play a lot of shows,” Ford said. “Some people think we play too many shows. I think that we should play as much as possible. We’re open to do anything, really.”
Word around town is that they put on a show as vibrant and emotive as their recordings, which as anyone who has heard their EP would agree, is no small feat. When it comes time to write something new, Ford opts for a versatile, submissive approach, allowing the music to decide for itself what it wants to be.
“I definitely have some songs that I’ve accepted no one will ever understand what I’m saying,” Ford said. “Like, literally because they can’t understand the words. Then I sometimes write songs that could seem like a love song but it’s really not about that at all. And sometimes I write songs that are very blunt and in your face and you know exactly what it means.”
Currently tossing around the idea of recording a full-length album, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are full-steam ahead. Bold, adorable and timeless, the band offers something different for those who think they’ve heard it all.