The Pushovers: Having a Party with Their Favorite People

Despite living in three different cities and being in a “long-distance band relationship,” as they call it, The Pushovers (Liz DeRoche, Nancy Eddy, and Mara Levi) are about to release their first, full-length indie pop album.

The album, Falling For It, released on June 7. Just two weeks later they’ll be sharing their music with us live in D.C. at Corner Store Arts along with Frankie & Betty. “First,” says DeRoche, “you will be greeted by Kris Swanson and her husband Roy Mustelier. Kris has been bringing incredible music, art, film, workshops and dinner parties to Capitol Hill for years, and I’m so grateful we get to host our album release there!”

You can also expect red wine, snacks, “sweetness, saltiness, improvised harmonies, songs made up on the spot, songs from our album, plaid shirts (or maybe stripes), silly cover songs, and lots of love,” adds Levi.

They were able to create Falling For It after their friends and family contributed 10K to a kickstarter campaign, which in turn motivated them even more: “I just kept thinking about the incredible folks who were going to kick our asses if we didn’t get this done,” says Eddy.

Their songs can be just as serious as they can be goofy or playful—you can hear a few of their songs on their band camp website. ‘Thrill of the Chase’ immediately reminded me of the band Mates of State, while ‘Come in Waves’ sounded entirely different and a little more like the band Mountain Man (also a three-lady band).

DeRoche, Eddy, and Levi all grew up with musical influence at some point during their adolescence. Eddy’s mom is a singer, Levi’s been drawn to music her entire life, and DeRoche’s parents are pianists.

“I remember when I was about five years old I told my Mom I wanted to be a ‘maker,’ which to me meant music. It’s still true,” says DeRoche.

Levi actually hosted an open mic at Phase One where she met Eddy. Coincidentally, Phase One will be the site of The Pushovers’s album release after-party on June 21.

Looking forward, Levi says their plan is to “let the universe take us where it will, and to capture as much of the resulting music as possible in digital form,” to which Eddy responds, “Exactly what she said. I couldn’t have said it better. I wouldn’t change a word. Except maybe ‘universe’ and ‘capture’ and ‘digital,’ but otherwise I wouldn’t change a word.”

Clearly, as Eddy highlights, their sense of humor is a big source of their creativity. Levi says, “we love making music and performing because it’s just like having a party with our favorite people all of the time.”