After two rock releases, Strand explores her Americana roots with one of Minnesota’s premier songwriters.
(Minneapolis, MN) — March 1, 2023 — Lawyer-turned-novelist-turned-songwriter Mary Strand’s first two singles explored 1960s power pop and 1970s rock. In her third single, “I Don’t Want to Be Your Yesterday,” co-written with and featuring Minnesota singer-songwriter Sarah Morris on vocals, Strand returns to her Americana roots.
While Strand’s forthcoming debut album Golden Girl (out June 23, 2023) primarily reflects the influence of artists ranging from The Go-Go’s to Joan Jett, her first and perhaps greatest inspiration as a songwriter was Americana artist Rodney Crowell. “I Don’t Want To Be Your Yesterday” offered a perfect opportunity to pay homage to his influence.
Strand and Morris, who was the Midwest Country Music Organization’s songwriter of the year in 2022, met online in Facebook’s Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge. Last summer the two women teamed up to write their first song together. They ultimately shot a laughter-filled video of “I Don’t Want to Be Your Yesterday” in Morris’s famed Big Green Bathroom, the scene of her popular music podcasts. On the single, Strand takes lead vocals, and Morris adds her sweetly soaring harmonies.
Strand is also joined by Ryan Smith of Soul Asylum and The Melismatics, Mark Wade of The Melismatics, and her son Jack Strand.
In addition to Strand and Smith on electric guitar, Smith plays acoustic guitar, ukelele, and mandolin on the track, Wade adds bass, and Jack Strand plays drums.
As with all of the songs on the Golden Girl album, “I Don’t Want to Be Your Yesterday” explores themes of love. Strand’s third single speaks of a love that’s both nostalgic and very much today. In other words, according to Strand, “It’s the sort of love we tend to find in long-term relationships: filled with sweet memories but maybe needing a few fixes.”
“I Don’t Want to Be Your Yesterday” will be released March 24, 2023, on all streaming platforms. Strand and Morris will celebrate by playing it live at the single release party on Tuesday, March 21, at kj’s Hideaway in St. Paul. This event will be a songwriters-in-the-round show with five other Minnesota musicians.
The duo will also play the song as part of Morris’s opening set for Lolo’s Ghost on Thursday, March 30, at Schooner Tavern in Minneapolis.
Download an advance single of “I Don’t Want to Be Your Yesterday”
https://www.marystrand.com/music
