Handing it over to the guys, what are some of the dynamics you've noticed being part of Hey Anna and working with the Rauch-Sasseen sisters?

Matthew: We've just intersected into the dynamic. I think that's just how we work. They may be sisters, bu they accept us as well.

Erin: They're our sisters, too.

Matthew: Yeah, we're all really pretty. We all do have nice features; so I guess we are all sisters. [Everyone laughs.]

Jamie: Like totally right? [All laugh.] We lived in an RV for almost five weeks, and everyone was great. It was a great experience. If you could do that, you could literally do anything. Sleeping three in a bed and then sleeping head-to-toe in a small area. You're literally sleeping on top of one another, and you're running around. Communication became that much more of a paramount for us. Everything was great.

Matthew: Yeah, there was no resentment. That [experience] really created a family dynamic that there's no separation...

Jamie: I think it's funny when bands end up building tension. In my experience, it's been like that, especially when everyone's coordinating schedules. But with [Hey Anna], everyone is professional...

Matthew: There's just a mutual respect for everyone and their goals. Yeah, I don't think there's a separation between them and us. Over time, it's become more of a family dynamic.

Anna Rauch-Sasseen: We're like a traveling family gypsy band with brothers from other mothers and fathers.

Favorite song to perform at the moment?

Katie: There's a new one we just made that no one's heard yet. That's my favorite to perform.

Erin: We haven't performed it yet. So Katie, you have to pick a new one.

Katie: Oh, one people have listened to?

[Everyone starts talking at once and laughs.]

Katie: Definitely "Don't Talk Stop." It's the most fun.

Anna: I like "Night River."

Erin: That's not from the album.

Anna: Well, it's coming out soon, and we have performed it. So if you've seen the tour, you've heard it.

Erin: I don't know we've been doing a cover song, which is coming out, "Sunny Afternoon" by The Kinks. And I loved doing that one on tour. 

Matthew: It has this cool vibe.

Erin: It's a little darker, a little slower, obviously not acoustic. That's right now one of my favorites to perform.

Matthew: I don't know. Pass. It's any moment on stage is the best moment ever. So it's really hard to pick one song. To have that time and have people actually pay money to come see us. I'm humbled by that fact. It's just enjoyment from start to finish. So I didn't answer your questions, but kind of.

Jamie: I think "Island" off Run Koko really took off the tour and became our staple opener. It was more open and more dancey, and it's a really good way to open the palette of the show. It's livelier and jumped off the page for me.

Erin: Yeah, "Island" was fun to play on tour.

Jamie: And "Don't Talk Stop" was great. It was always our ending song. It's great even though we're thinking, "Shit, we're done." So with that song, we're putting it all on the table when we play it live.

So you toured with Boxer Rebellion recently. What was that experience like? And what did you learn from touring with them?

Erin: First, it was just an amazing experience that just wouldn't have happened without them.

Matthew: They really championed us. They fought for us to be on their North American tour as much as they could.

Erin: Yeah, they didn't have to take us on the tour. Their tour managers were probably like, "Why are you touring with this band? They're not going to sell tickets around the country." But they respected us and our music. We played with them last May in New York and thought it was cool.

Matthew: And how did they find us?

Jamie: I think it was Spotify or something.

Anna: I think Nate (Nicholson)'s aunt sent it to them.

Erin: Someone sent them our song "Mt. Pichu." A relative head it and passed it to them, and they dug the song. And that's why they reached out to us about playing with them in New York. And then we all ind of got along. And I think they jokingly asked us if we wanted to go on tour with them, and we were just like, "Uh, yes! What do we need to do?" And it all just kind of happened. They were just so nice. I feel like you hear these horror stories of bands just being not nice to each other.

Matthew: Especially when you're support.

Jamie: But they're really humble guys, extremely professional. From the band to the road crew, everyone was on time with loading in and kept to the schedule. Just touring with a band that does that full time and have done tours all over, seeing all that was great. They're just classy people, really magnanimous. They did everything they can to help us and give us advice. 

Matthew: They definitely took us under their wing and helped us become a more professional band and doing six weeks of touring without killing each other. They showed us what it was like to do this for a living.

Jamie: And they also wore our [band] t-shirts during that show in Birmingham, AL.

Erin: Yeah, one of my favorite shows was in Birmingham, and it was a really nice venue but a very small crowd. And when they played, we were just there enjoying the show with the audience, dancing and stuff. Then for last song of the encore, we went onstage and danced.

Matthew: Yeah, we took the whole audience and put them onstage.

Erin: It was just magical. It really turned around what was a somewhat depressing night and became a really good moment when everyone had a lot of fun.

What's next for you guys?

Erin: We're releasing "Sunday Afternoon" hopefully by March 1. Hopefully shortly after that, we'll try to release some new songs just to get something out there.

Anna: We have some live recordings. So hopefully you'll get to see that soon, too.

For more profiles on up-and-coming artists, visit our Artist of the Day page.