Beth Shultis and Aaron Andrews of The Homestead
Want to know about the folk music scene in Hong Kong? Start with The Homestead. The Canadian duo of Beth Shultis and Aaron Andrews is a musical collective of sorts, teaming up with a diverse cast of local musicians during their shows to jam with bagpipes, flutes, keys, and their signature guitar and violin. With a busy month of performances ahead, Sean Hebert sat down with them to chat about their humble beginnings, and the benefits of busking and collaboration.
HK Magazine: How did The Homestead start?
Aaron Andrews: I had quit music entirely when I met Beth, who was another student in my grad school program back in Canada. It was only after we finished school that I picked up the guitar again, and our first audience was a duck. We technically formed the band on a dock in Tobermory, Ontario, as we practiced our harmonies for the first time.
Beth Shultis: Can I debate that? On our first date, he pulled out the guitar and tried to woo me.
AA: Oh. Well, I’d quit music—besides for wooing purposes.
HK: Does singing in harmony literally make your love stronger?
BS: Yes.
AA: I think it does, yeah.
HK: You have a song called “Debts,” which is about your experience moving to Hong Kong. Can a folk song be about anything at all?
AA: Absolutely. I think that one of the reasons people are surprised when they hear us play is that they are expecting clichéd folk music subjects, which include disasters in mines and “the logging experience.” But we try to write songs about what we do, who we are, and how we go about life. I think that is what real folk musicians have always been doing—it’s just that we’ve never been in a mining accident.
HK: Where did the idea of featuring other players in your shows originate?
BS: We were in Vancouver with Aaron’s friends when we first started recording together, and they played mandolin and guitar and harmonized. The idea that it was always going to be a collective of whomever was around and interested really appealed to us.
AA: I also think we’re most comfortable playing how we usually play, which is around a kitchen table or a campfire where there’s often a lot of other people who can play music, and who always jump in. That’s the ethos of The Homestead: it’s a like a house party, but we own the house.
HK: Do you find that adding freeform collaboration to a live show is a more inviting form of performance, or that it somehow draws the audience in more freely?
AA: Hopefully people realize that we’re always trying to do something new, and that the unpredictability can add some excitement in the room. That might help to break down the fourth wall a bit, since we’re a little less polished.
BS: I think it draws in the other musicians as much as it does the audience. The Hong Kong folk scene is not that big, so to collaborate is a great way to meet other artists—and it helps ensure that everyone is getting an opportunity for exposure. I came in not knowing much about the fiddle, for example, so collaborating with fiddle players and other talented people from the Hong Kong Folk Society has helped me broaden my own approach to folk music. I wouldn’t learn anything if I wasn’t collaborating with other artists.
HK: What is your impression of Hong Kong’s music scene?
BS: I think the opportunities afforded to us are unique because the scene here is so small and people are so passionate—the access to other artists is great. More established scenes might be more protective because so many people are competing for venues. But here, people seem very keen to share and come together. We’ve been so fortunate.
AA: It’s great, and people are so welcoming. The downside is that people in Hong Kong don’t always realize the value of having more live acts in the city. There are a handful of places that are all about music like The Wanch and Peel Fresco, but beyond that, there’s not much infrastructure to support local artists. Luckily, we’ve found other solutions like busking, and have had great success playing in parks and on the street around town.