Two Loons for Tea

Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer are Two Loons for Tea.

These musical mad hatters and spiritual twins meld tow very distinct backgrounds but it was inevitable that Jonathan and Sarah's musical paths would eventually cross.

Jonathan Kochmer was born in Bern, Switzerland and his family emigrated back to the US when he was four years old. As a child he listened to Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Shostakovich and Stravinsky -all five hugely influential in the development of his musical sensibility. Jonathan was playing violin at the age of five. From age eleven to fourteen he experimented with electronic music using various audio oscillators and Army surplus equipment lying around in his parents cellar (his father had been a radar tech at the Panama Canal).

At thirteen Jonathan was asked to play bass in a band. In his teens, the musical prodigy played church organ, piano, cello, Irish harp, flute, banjo, mandolin and lute. He continued his musical education by taking music composition classes in high school and college. While at Yale University on a full scholarship his studies were primarily focused on sciences: Biostatistics and Evolutional Biology. He became Internet consultant for the Yale Computing Center. In 1989, he left the hallowed halls of the Ivy League campus and moved to the burgeoning music scene of Seattle to pursue his first love.

Sarah Scott was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains before moving to Spokane, Washington. Performing was in her blood. Sarah's mother's family performs as the "Spies Family Orchestra" from Boise, Idaho. They also owned a music store. In the late 60s Sarah and her mother lived near Candlestick Park, directly across from the Jefferson Airplane house, where there would be a lot of parties and hanging out. Her father was a character actor and appeared on the 1970s hit series, "The Streets of San Francisco" as well as several films.

Sarah began writing music as a child. She grew up listening to her mother's soul records and was influenced by Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Barbra Streisand, Billie Holiday and Rickie Lee Jones. Deciding that Spokane was not the place to pursue a musical career, she dropped out of high school at seventeen and moved to New York where she performed at the city's cabaret clubs. It was her mother who suggested she move to Seattle, which was fast becoming the Mecca of the music scene.

Sarah Scott arrived in Seattle at around the same time as Jonathan Kochmer. Introduced by a mutual friend, they developed a musical kinship and began performing together. The chanteuse performed Jonathan's original music while they collaborated on new songs.

Sarah and Jonathan's love of performing was tempered by their financial struggles. They were eating from food banks and selling their belongings to pay the rent. Kochmer put his performing career on the back burner and in 1996 took a job at a start up Internet company. Jeff Bezos had been trying to hire him and Kochmer finally gave in at a low salary but with the promise of being an integral part of the fledgling company as one of the first ten people hired, working from a tiny office. Jonathan became one of the pioneers of e-commerce, creating the company's browser structure and helping to develop their data software. The company became Amazon.com, the world's most successful e-commerce retailer. After helping to develop the Internet giant, Kochment decided that he needed to pursue his dream.

While Jonathan was immersed in Amazon, Sarah sang, wrote and recorded for bands Acme Bomb Factory and Radio Saturn. She also recorded and performed back up vocals for Silly Rabbit, a hip-hop band; and sang in a cabaret-style Billie Holiday tribute band.

After performing together in various incarnations, from 1991-1999, Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer became Two Loons for Tea with a self-titled, independently produced CD that dissolves the borders of rock, jazz, funk, and torch song balladry.

The Seattle based band soon developed a solid identity and a solid fan base, becoming a local favorite at coffee houses and local venues.

Sarathan Records is distributed through Southwest Distribution. Both Jonathan and Sarah act as co-heads of the label and are actively looking for other artists to release. The label was born because the artists wanted to maintain creative freedom for themselves and other artists on the label. Kochmer explains, "We want music that is moving, has heart and emotional depth. We are not concerned about genre, but about quality."

album price # TWO LOONS FOR TEA: Two Loons for Tea $10.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TWO LOONS FOR TEA: Looking for Landmarks $12.98 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TWO LOONS FOR TEA: Blue Suit $4.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Choose how many, and click Orders sent by CD Baby - the fastest, safest, and easiest place to buy CDs online. You can also call 1-800-448-6369 to order by phone.

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