We dove deeper into the up-and-coming band’s origins, from their name to how they all met. We also spoke about inspirations they incorporate into their sound and writing process, and future projects they are excited to release, and play on their own headline tour one day. 

The Sewing Club originated in Nashville, TN, while attending Belmont University. Hannah was a voice major and had Zach and Stephen in one of her classes, where she had to perform cover songs with the boys. 

“Stephen played guitar for me, and Zach played kahone… then after that, Stephen and I had just become friends, and we just started writing songs together,” lead singer Hannah McElroy said. 

Shortly after, the two asked Zach if he wanted to play with them, and the rest has been history. 

From there, they came up with their unique band name, The Sewing Club. 

“There’s not really much behind it because we were just like sitting in class in college and Stephen and I were like maybe we’ll just call ourselves Needle and Thread or something, and Zach was like ‘that’s way too emo sounding,’” McElroy said. 

However, they created a meaningful connection by selling handmade “sock creatures” at their merchandise booth, adding a personal touch to connect with both new and existing fans. 

As they started their journey as a band, they would record their music and listen to it back to craft and figure out what they actually wanted it to sound like. A couple of years down the line, when they began the writing process for their most recently released EP, “Care,” they were able to seamlessly integrate the sound of influences like Wednesday and Slow Pulp into each song. 

“We were lucky enough to work with Alex Farrar, who does a lot of Wednesday’s stuff, and Henry [Stoher] from Slow Pulp helped mix some stuff… It was cool because a lot of our influences, we were actually able to work with either those people or people who have worked with them,” McElroy said. 

When it comes to the band’s writing process, some songs come together collaboratively while others start with an individual idea. Once a song reaches a solid “working spot,” they either move forward with finishing it or seek guidance from producers to help it reach its full potential. 

Every song follows a different path depending on the inspiration behind it, “which is really cool because then the songs turn out different ways and have a different feel to them,” Meaux said.  

In the process of writing, recording and finishing their first full-length album, The Sewing Club is excited to release it sometime in the new year. The album will feature some older influences the band had when they were younger, such as guitar-heavy music and softer, more acoustic features. 

“We’re gonna have a cool blend of heavy to soft to fast and aggressive. You know, just like going through all those different emotions on the record,” Meaux stated. “I’m really excited. We have been working pretty hard on this one, and the songs are starting to come to a point where we are really happy with everything.”

Be sure to stop by the Valley Bar on Saturday, November 29, at 7 p.m. to catch The Sewing Club’s opening performance for cokecherry.