Today we shine our Spotlight – Cross Parallel. We sit down with this talented duo to talk about this music and how they got to where they are. Check out what Jordan and Danielle had to say right now.
Hi friends! Thanks for sitting with us. What got you started in music?
Hi guys! Thanks for having us on to chat! So, for myself (Jordan), my dad is a country singer and has been at it since I was a young kid! So I’ve always been around it and knew I loved it. Being in some studio sessions with him at a young age gave me the bug way back then! But it wasn’t until he got me an electric guitar for Christmas when I was 11 years old that I started to get serious with music. I played the crap out of that guitar. Went on to have bands all throughout high school and got an opportunity to join Faber Drive, a touring band, just a year out of high school! Haven’t looked back since!
For me (Danielle), my mom always tells me I was singing songs before I was speaking sentences. At a young age I was put into music lessons, loved plunking away on the piano at home, and was very into band and choir in school. I always loved music, but it wasn’t until grade 9 when I really knew it was what I was going to do for the rest of my life.
I had the opportunity to shadow a studio engineer & family friend (Sheldon Zaharko) during a studio session with recording artist Tara Oram and everything about it was incredible. Getting to see how a song comes together, seeing a band live in the studio like that and being a part of it – I was sold. Sheldon threw me in front of the microphone and let me do a cover of a Lady Gaga song and the rest is history.
You are not just bandmates, but also a couple as of 2015. How did you get together both as a couple and as a duo?
Well, technically we met on Instagram! But we decided to get together to write a song. Don’t really remember the song! Sparks were flying. We kept hanging out and quickly became inseparable. Of course, that led to playing shows with one another, backing each other up. Friends and family told us back then that we should become a duo, but we were stubborn about it, until 2018 when we opened up about the idea. Then officially became Cross Parallel in January of 2019!
What are some struggles and benefits to being both romantically and professionally intertwined?
Good question! If I (Jordan) could give my answer, it’s that there are no struggles! Haha, just kidding! Well, this reminds us of where our name came from. We came from very different places, our paths CROSSED and now our lives run PARALLEL, together! Really, we do everything together and work very well as a team with music, business, and our relationship. Of course, there can be struggles, but that’s also kind of what the song is about. We get “Better with Time” as a team and individually!
Coming from different backgrounds, who are some of the artists that shaped your sound?
We may have come from different musical backgrounds, but we can agree on a lot, and have influenced each other with the others musical taste. For instance, Danielle’s gotten me more into Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift and I’ve gotten her into Elvis Presley and Foo Fighters. There are all kinds of influences in our sound, we try to incorporate some classic vibes here and there, like Fleetwood Mac or Queen, but also love to have modern sounding stuff or a mixture of different sounds.
You are based out of BC now, but are you both originally from the province? Where are you from and how do you think that helped shape you as artists?
Jordan is born and raised in BC, but I (Danielle) am originally from the Edmonton area and moved to Vancouver in 2014 specifically for the music scene here. Honestly, I’d say for both of us, it wasn’t so much about where we lived growing up that shaped us as artists, but probably more of our upbringing. Our family and friends along the way that led us to where we are today.
Your newest single: Better with Time, just dropped at the end of May. What does the song mean to you?
This song means a lot to us. Jordan just proposed to me after Christmas, and we felt like the timing just felt right to release this song and that it would be a tribute to our relationship and hopefully to other couples as well!
When I was listening to your music at home, I really liked “Sucker”. Tell us a bit about that one, and do you have a track you prefer?
Thanks very much! That one was a fun spin on a Jonas Brothers song that we had been playing at shows acoustically. We loved the different feel of it, and seemed to get great responses from the crowds, so we decided to record an acoustic version of it and release it! As for the rest of our music, it’s hard to pick a favourite when we put our all into recording/ producing/releasing every one of them! So right now, we’ll say our favourite is “Better with Time” 😉
I know it’s hard to plan with Covid, but is there a release date for an EP anytime soon?
Yaa, it’s been a crazy year, so it’s a little hard to put a date on it at the moment. But we’re planning on releasing the EP around the end of the year or the beginning of 2022.
Let’s talk about playing in 2020, and the rise of online shows. Were they fun for you or a flop?
We tried to make the best of the few online shows we did. It’s definitely not the same, not having a crowd to participate in the show with you, but we still enjoyed them. And this year has sure made us grateful to be able to play shows. It’s gonna be amazing to get back to the live shows with a crowd!
Do you think online shows help new artists reach a wider audience? Or is it an oversaturation of the market?
Of course, we think that the rise of “Zoom”, and online streaming services have created another outlet for any “size” of artist, so when things do go “back to normal”, there will be that much more opportunity out there to entertain.
2021 may not be as salvageable as we hoped, do you have any plans for this summer?
We have a few shows this summer, but definitely not as much as we had planned for the summer of 2020. But again, we’re grateful! Things are starting to come in more and we will feel so privileged to be up on a stage again. Even through the pandemic, though, we’ve really taken this time to work on our music and would definitely make sure anymore “down time” wouldn’t be a waste!
Being veterans of the Canadian music scene, what are some of the biggest changes you’ve noticed?
The technology age! Things seem to be changing every single year, if not more often. We’re learning more and more that you must constantly adapt and learn new skills. For instance, through this pandemic, where would music be at if we didn’t have platforms like Instagram or TikTok? Or Spotify and YouTube? The trend has been, since we started, things are becoming more and more online, and especially through the pandemic, everyone has had to adapt to it.
What was it like working with Aaron Pritchett, who not only is a legend in his own right, but is also your father?
My dad is an amazing guy and I’m very lucky to have had him as a role model all my life. It’s been amazing to be in the same industry as him since a pretty young age. We share so much now, and he’s been able to teach me everything he knows about the business and life. We still work very closely, probably more than ever, on both of our music or even the business side of it all. It’s a lot of fun!
What is one thing you wish that people knew about you that never comes up in interviews?
Danielle was a very competitive ballroom dancer. She used to be trained in Las Vegas and competed a lot in the states! For me. I love hockey (Canucks) and golf! I even watch golf and some people think that’s weird. We also produce our own music; people can talk about that if they want!! Lol
Lastly as so many of our favourite independent and smaller businesses have been hit hard from Covid. What are some of your local favourite places to hype up and give a shout out to?
Love this question!! One of our favourite things to do is eat out, and the pandemic didn’t stop us! 😉 We ate a lot of take out. In Chilliwack, some of our favourite local restaurants are. Let’s put it this way. “Curly Kale Eatery” for breakfast, “Fiesta Loca” for lunch and “Greek Islands Restaurant” for dinner. If you’re in town for a day and can manage to hit all those up. It’ll be a good day!
Thanks for the great interview, guys! Jordan & Danielle
Spotlight – Cross Parallel is in the books and a big thanks to Jordan and Danielle for chatting with us
Check out Better With Time now
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