Duo pairs song, word into a perfect duet

SANDPOINT —There has been a spoken-word performance renaissance in this town, with at least two monthly venues dedicated to the art form.

This Thursday, March 24, two of Sandpoint's most evocative songwriters will join that movement as they share another side of their talents, when Rob Kincaid and Amy Craven present what they are calling “an evening of songs, poetry and essays” at Downtown Yoga.

“We have been writing all this music and Amy has been doing so much poetry that we thought it should come out,” said Kincaid.

And so it will, as the couple divides the 90-minute performance between them as a way to focus attention on each of their work. Billed as “Out From Under the Covers,” the night's artistic fare is just that —a departure from the duo's original vision of mixing cover songs with originals and a bold step into sharing material that is distinctly their own.

Although Craven and Kincaid perform together, their musical partnership is not a true collaboration. They are on hand to support each other as players —he on guitars, she on keyboard —but the songs themselves are the sole creation of the writer.

The contrast becomes even more apparent when they fold their written word pieces into the set. The evening will start with Craven sharing songs and poems in a somewhat associated fashion, with imagery and symbology forming the connective tissue between them.

“I'm pretty much trying to pair a poem and a song together,” she said. “It wasn't too hard, because I think all artists have things they've worked on for years that finally bloom into a song or poem.”

She also will be discussing how the work came together, as well as touching, along the

way, on the writing process.

Musically, the couple shares classical roots, with years spent studying and performing art song. Now that they both write compositions that could loosely be described as popular music, they have arrived at the term “pop art songs” to depict what they do.

“It's hard to use the phrase without feeling pretentious, but it's difficult to pigeonhole our music,” Kincaid said. “In both of our writing, our classical background informs the chords and progressions.”

Those attending Thursday's performance will see only two artists on stage, but might get the impression that they are hearing four different writers at work. The multiplier effect can be chalked up to the natural boundaries that come with writing in song form.

“A poem is very different, because you don't have the economy that you do in a song,” Craven said.

A precisely inverse situation faces Kincaid, whose role as an essayist required him to edit his writing for the upcoming show —a job he admitted was painful at first.

“But nobody listening is even going to know that what I edited was ever in there,” he said.

More apparent is the difference between how each writer tackles thematic material, depending on whether the words are spoken or sung.

In Craven's case, her songs often spool out as dreamscapes, leaving the listener with just enough elbowroom to form a personal take on what they are trying to say. Her poetry, on the other hand, is topical, to the point and direct in nature.

Kincaid comes at things from another direction altogether. His songs can be romantic, setting a sonic stage that comes complete with curtains, backdrops and props, while his essays come across like a lone beat poet standing under the stark glow of bare bulb.

“I write songs about what I think is real, but the reality comes from imagination,” he said. “The essay stuff is about point-of-view and attitude —very different from the songs.”

Craven —the poet in the house —sees less division.

“I think most of our lyrics would stand alone as poems,” she said.

The couple worked with Downtown Yoga owner Peter Mico to use his cozy studio as an intimate setting for the evening's fare. The intent was to find a place that felt as intimate as the work to be shared there. To hear them talk about the show, you'd almost think these writers were seeking a venue that doubles as both performance space and crucible.

“There's an odd dichotomy about wanting to share what you've done and feeling self-conscious about it,” said Kincaid.

“All artists seem to feel that,” Craven shared. “At least, on some level.”

Doors for “Out From Under the Covers” open at 6:30 p.m. and the performance starts at 7 p.m. at Downtown Yoga, located on the ground floor of the Third Avenue entrance to the Belwood 301 building, also home to Pend d'Oreille Winery tasting room and the Bistro Rouge restaurant. The performance, which includes a complimentary glass of wine, is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to help cover the cost of the space and chairs will be available for seating.