Joanna Sterling Spence is a musician, artist, performer, maker, and nonprofit grunt who was raised between the Micronesian Islands and the East Bay. His work focuses on the places between justice and faith, inner lives and communal contracts, hope and hopelessness.
Unveiling his latest EP, Someone Tried to Calm the Storm, slated for release on all streaming platforms on May 17, 2024, the six tracks provide a more subdued look into the songwriter’s search for acceptance and purpose.
During a period of great turmoil, Sterling Spence wrote the EP. It addresses questions of purpose, reflects the end of a relationship, and honours the community’s resilience. Even though he writes personal songs, his allusions to a wide and wild cosmos give his stories a sense of depth and unease.
Before the global pandemic of COVID-19, Sterling Spence relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his then-partner’s goals. Their romance entered the calm and familiar hardships of a hopeless endeavour as the globe began to shut down and the music venues shook. He wanted to reconnect with his community and get insight into the significance of years spent attempting to make something work, so he went back to his house on the San Francisco Bay.
Someone Tried to Calm the Storm, presents the realisations he experienced while being welcomed back by former associates and friends. The EP, which showcases the skills of Noa Zimmerman and members of his band Westerly, was recorded at Soundwire Studios in Richmond, CA under the direction of Chris Krotky. Its melodies honour the efforts of love and provide an embrace to those who serve as a constant reminder of our position in their hearts.
The EP’s focus track, ‘What You Mean by Home’ is a reflective indie-folk tune, was a track written during the pandemic in a tiny town in Missouri. Serving as a song that discusses mourning and celebrating the places he grew up in, Sterling Spence was thinking about the families he saw and how difficult it is to find purpose in a place that sometimes seems like a trap. As we get older, we carry a peculiar trauma with us. No matter how hard our family or community tries, we will always have some wounds from the locations we used to call home. He couldn’t get the resonance of the folks he had met out of his head when he got back to the San Francisco Bay Area. Together with producer Chris Krotky, he recorded this song with a few of his favourite artists in the bay.
On the focus track ‘What You Mean by Home’, Sterling Spence comments, “There is a strange trauma that follows us as we grow up. Despite the best efforts of our family or community, we always carry some scars from the places we call home.”
With this EP, Sterling Spence reveals the honesty and sensitivity found in his songs, driven by his creative exploration of new sounds and desire to establish a closer connection with his listeners. Someone Tried to Calm the Storm, is filled with enchanting melodies and captivating instrumentation creating mesmerizing songs. The combination of his captivating voice and the compelling but melancholic connection transports the listener into a realm of gripping soundscapes.
On the EP, Sterling Spence comments, “Someone Tried to Calm the Storm” is a celebration of the labors of love and an embrace of the people who remind us of our place in their hearts.”
Someone Tried to Calm the Storm, serves as Sterling Spence’s debut solo release. Since he was very young, he has been involved in the music scene. He performed with Maya Angelou at the World’s Fair in Tokyo while in middle school, accompanied President Bush Jr. during the lighting of the Washington, DC Christmas tree, and went on a global tour with the children’s group VOENA. He has toured Italy and the United States with his loud soul-punk band Westerly, the Coyote Bandits, and Dirty Cello.
