little over a year ago, I attended the first night of the Veil Arms Wake Tour in Dallas, Texas. So many great bands mingled backstage: Flee the Seen, Sleeping Giant, The Glorious Unseen and more. Those of us in attendance that night expected nothing less than an inspiring evening filled with the hardest breakdowns and heart consuming worship. Among the seemingly dozens of bands playing early on in the evening were two young sisters from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Elle and Shealeen Puckett, who have already been playing piano and guitar for a decade, anxiously awaited their time to take the stage amongst the vastly different genre that had been occupying the crowd’s ears for the majority of the evening. This was one of Poema’s first shows and definitely their largest crowd. They may have been nervous but as I speak with them today, the girls are all smiles and confidence.
“We like to write happy, inspiring music,” tells younger sibling Elle. “We usually call it acoustic pop. We basically try to write exactly what we want to hear. Simplicity is best.”
Poema’s music is simple, yes, but that is not always a bad thing. The girls aim to inspire and paint portraits in the listeners’ minds of what they call “ideal situations”. That is to say that not every Poema song is about a specific boy or time in their lives. The Puckett sisters realize that their youth may play into some people’s opinions of their music but they do their best to stay honest.
“I think that in this industry, it’s not a bad thing to be young,” says Elle. “The younger you are, the more impressed people are when you can play (laughs), but hopefully our song writing outshines our age!”
Their youth is something that the girls embrace rather than shine away from. They speak humbly and recognize that this could seep into the way people view them and their songs.
“If we only wrote about the things we actually experienced,” Elle jests. “I don’t know if we would have as many songs!”
Elle Puckett has been playing guitar for just about eleven years, which is quite a feat considering she is only seventeen years old. The girls even had a band prior to Poema called “Underlined”. With their brother backing them up on the drums, the sisters did some recording around the Albuquerque area and soon, older sister Shealeen, knew they had something special. However, the scene in New Mexico is largely made up of heavier acts. It may have felt like there was no room for Poema but the sisters have let the music speak for itself. The girls admit that although their fan base (according to MySpace) is mostly made up of 13-24 year olds, when one attends a Poema show you will be guaranteed to see a menagerie of different types of folks.
“We’ve definitely had all kinds come out to shows, families with little kids, older folks and metal band dudes. It’s really awesome to see such diverse crowds.”
Fast forward a few months after The Wake. The Puckett sisters, based on a three track demo given to the label at The Wake, auditioned for the label and now have a deal inked with Tooth & Nail Records and are set to release their debut album in which they worked with famed producer Aaron Sprinkle.
“He’s someone who totally puts you at ease because he doesn’t act like he’s a big deal!” Elder sister Shealeen confesses. “So I wasn’t really intimidated per se, but it was definitely humbling to see someone we respect so much work really hard on making our songs sound amazing.”
As documented on their MySpace, Poema enjoyed every second of working with Sprinkle, who cited the girls as one of his most anticipated projects as of late. The label was even generous enough to bring in Copeland drummer Jon Bucklew to record percussion. Needless to say, having these two guys helping you with your first record might be a bit nerve racking but the sisters took it in stride.
Explains Elle,
“I was definitely nervous at first to work with him but it ended up being the perfect mix. I felt like he respected our opinions and he definitely made the record sound the best it possibly could. It was a great experience!”
Inspiration is something that girls take very seriously and have been aspiring to their whole lives.
“I have always wanted to inspire people. I was inspired by so many great musicians growing up and if I could be that person for someone, it would be the greatest thing ever. That’s part of the reason I wanted to become a musician.”
Older sister Shealeen takes a similar approach, “It’s a big deal. (Laughs) It’s crazy to think of people looking up to us, but it’s such an honor, and I don’t take it lightly.”
Along with all these new experiences also came the opportunity to work with Copeland drummer Jon Bucklew on their debut album, another indicator that their label has their back 110%.
“We were worried about having a lot of drums on the album,” admits Shealeen. “We didn’t want something too overpowering that would make us sound like we’re a rock band. But Jon is such a great drummer, he added a lot of texture and he gave the songs a nice chill vibe.”
So just let me recap really quickly: A debut album on Tooth & Nail, produced by Aaron Sprinkle and a drummer from one of the biggest bands in this scene today? Yes, these girls are poised on the edge of something big. At this point it seems like nothing will stop the two young songwriters who began this journey just for fun. When told that there is a lot of buzz around their first release, Elle retorts “Buzz you say? (Laughs!) That’s awesome. We definitely take things one step at a time.”
Poema released the first song entitled “2 AM” on their MySpace in mid February to very positive acclaim. If this is just a snippet of what the Albuquerque duo has in store for us, then you best start listening now before you see them everywhere and if music industry chatter is any indication, this statement is about to be truer than ever.
