nervous but excited

what do you mean "the green album" ??

well, it's 100% carbon footprint-less!

together with record label Riot Grrrl Ink, we created the first record ever made (to the best of our knowledge) in a completely sustainable fashion.

This means that every pound of CO2 used in the recording and production of anchors, from the emissions used for everyone to get to the studio to the energy the recording equipment uses, was either avoided (carpooling - yay!) or offset by means of renewable energy credits.  We worked in conjunction with vg kids to make sure we covered their energy use in the production of the packaging. not to mention, all of the packaging of this CD will be made of 100% recycled materials!

Both of us have been invested in the idea of conservation since we were kids. From Sarah's mothers prized compost bin and family gardens to Kate's fathers lovingly militant energy conserving strategies ($10 penalty for each light left on in an empty room). We are more than thrilled to take our passion for creating music, dig a hole, plant it in the ground and watch where it grows.

so it's green, what about the music?

musically, anchors is many steps beyond what what we've done in the past... it is representative of a lot of change and growth that we are so excited to share... we've been working closely with manager/musician and friend susie giang, as well as many other amazingly talented artists, to color in the lines of our songs with a sweet-tasting assortment of warming-your-feet-by-the-fire-in-the-wintertime kind of instrumentation.

we picked a few different places we love and asked if we could record there. luckily our friends dani, cynthia and laura j were all very generous with their respective spaces (thank you!) so we set up studio on location in ann arbor and canada with engineer Ian Gorman, who is also a very dedicated, witty and talented musician. we also spent some time in the very beautiful backseat studio with Jim Roll who lent his chops and humor to our lives. (though he still owes us a bunt cake)

anchors is representative of steady places, the hard phases and the comfort of friendly faces. we hope you can find your footing in it.

$15!

“...blending progressive politics, sharp wit, and deep introspection with nuanced harmonies...”       -curve magazine

“Kate and Sarah deliver high-quality, intelligent tunes with the skill and passion of legendary folksingers in the making.”      - Off Our Backs Feminist News Journal

Pleasantly Aggressive Folk Duo Nervous but Excited (Kate Peterson & Sarah Cleaver) is dead-on harmony: two songwriters, two singers, two guitars, a mandolin, a violin, a few harmonicas, some vaguely choreographed dancing and a lot of laughter. Their original repertoire ranges in topic from smart, introspective narratives to the tactfully political… and they still dabble a bit in the love/post-love variety every now and then. Since 2004, they have released two full length albums and 3 EPs and have played with many established artists such as Melissa Ferrick, Ferron, Toshi Reagon, Utah Phillips, The Butchies, Alix Olson, Bitch, Girlyman, Pamela Means and Ember Swift. From coffee shops to festival stages they've lead people in laughing, singing and handclapping throughout the country for nearly four years.

Some words about the Summer 2008 live album, {home}spun :::
"...If Cleaver's voice is a shiny beam, Peterson's is a blue spotlight, all warmth and atmosphere, and the blend of the two has become an NBE success story... the spark of their vocal interplay - sometimes harmonizing, sometimes bouncing against each other in gleeful contrariness - lights up the CD." -Lansing State Journal

About their first studio release from 2006, Once More… With Feeling.

"...how I feel about the whole thing - so real. This music comes from such an honest, beautiful place. Their voices sound beautiful together and the production is great - sparse and lush at the same time. I love how their voices can be soft yet retain their strength. Just beautiful. " - Natalia Zukerman, Singer Songwriter

Take a look at http://www.nervousbutexcited.com/ for the latest news and tour dates.