They aren’t kidding when they call Nashville, Tennessee, Music City. The place teems with professional musicians making a living at their craft and amateur musicians crafting their profession. 

Northeast Indiana native Angela Lese is one of the professionals. She returns to her old stomping grounds this month with her band Lips Speak Louder to record their debut album and play a celebratory show at The Brass Rail on Monday, April 22.

Lips Speak Louder are the duo of Lese on drums and Rachel Brandsness on vocals and guitar. They formed the hard-rocking band in the basement haunts of Nashville, a few miles and a whole world away from the honky-tonks on Broadway. 

I spoke with the pair about how they found each other in a sea of country cover bands, their method for making music, and what comes next.

Winds shift

Lese took a roundabout path to a professional music career. She didn’t come to Nashville to become a rock star. She came to check out the weather.

“I went to school initially for meteorology,” the Leo grad said. “So, I’m a meteorologist and graduated from Purdue. I started in meteorology, and I bounced around from city to city while I moved up in the weather service. I worked for the National Weather Service for 15 years, and that brought me to Nashville for a management position in 2012.

“Then in 2016, my band at the time started really kind of taking off. We were touring a lot and it just was too much to carry on the initial career. So, that’s when I made the big career change to music.”

Lese began playing drums while studying meteorology. That passion eventually led to her current profession.

“I always wanted to play the drums, and finally, in my third year of college, I said, ‘Screw it. I’m just gonna buy a drum kit and teach myself,’ ” she said. “I moved to Louisville, and that’s where I kind of got my drumming sea legs from just bouncing around from cover band to cover band. But that’s where I gained my chops because I did a lot of cover stuff, and then when I moved to Nashville after eight years, it was mostly original stuff from there on out.”

Coming together

Lese and Brandsness are not kids trying out this music thing to see if they can hit it big. They’re professional musicians who take pride in their craft. 

They joined up because they had a similar vision and knew they could mesh well together.

“I’m in another band called Flarelight, and Angie was helping us on the rollout of a new album,” Brandsness said. “After that she was putting together an all-femme Foo Fighters tribute band, which we still do as well from time to time. She asked me to play guitar in that and we really just got to know each other and hit it off.

“At one point, when we’re doing the Foo Fighters stuff, Angie mentioned to me that she had always wanted to be in a rock duo like a female rock duo that did original stuff. When she said that, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do that. Let’s go!’ So that’s kind of where the idea came from.

“We have great chemistry. We play really well together, and we’re both very professional, too, but want to do this for a living. So, it just seemed like a really good match.”

Lips Speak Louder released a screaming cover of Garbage’s “Why Do You Love Me” on streaming services in late March as a bit of a teaser.

In the studio

Lese and Brandsness are coming to Fort Wayne for their first real studio session, including a workshop with Sweetwater recording guru Shawn Dealey. They’ve engaged the skills of acclaimed rocker Emily Wolfe to produce. The hope is for the album to be released in July.

“I love being in the studio,” Lese said. “Yeah, I prefer playing live and touring, always, but this time around this just feels different. It’s freaking exciting. We’re so stoked. Obviously, we want to be able to get the album done and for it to keep our sound and what we’re going for.

“I think we’re just gonna have fun. And as long as we have fun doing it, I think that is the most important thing. 

“It’ll feel really rewarding to not only put out this great product, but to build these friendships and relationships, you know. I don’t think you can ask for any kind of a better studio experience, and I feel like that’s what we’re going to get out of it. 

Brandsness shares her bandmate’s enthusiasm.

“I think when you have a good time, it translates,” she said. “When you’re really enjoying it, that’s when the best ideas come out, too, when you’ve got a cool environment with people that you really enjoy working with.”

Old stomping ground

A trip back home would not be complete without a visit to the old haunts, and Lese is excited to have booked a show at The Brass Rail. 

“I love The Rail,” she said. “I was in my old band, The Dead Deads, and we played The Brass Rail several times, and I played there once or twice with Raelyn Nelson, Willie Nelson’s granddaughter. And then my old punk band Taco Mouth played there a couple of times, so I’ve probably played there about 10 times, I bet.

“I wanted to play The Rail. I want to anytime I’m up in Fort Wayne. The only night they had open was Monday, and they usually don’t have shows on Monday, but I’ve known them for a long time. They kind of threw us a bone, and we’re playing with Squirrel Cage, with their raw, edgy rock vibes. So it’s gonna be a rock show.”

Shift your schedule a little to pop by The Rail to get a sneak peek of a couple of serious professional musicians who also know the value of fun.