Betty and the Boy & My Sister.

My sister, Alyssa Rae Hands, was recently in a music video for northwest band, Betty and the Boy.

Josh Harvey & Bettreena Jaeger of Betty and the Boy.

The band consists of four members: singer and guitarist Bettreena Jaeger; Josh Harvey on vocals, banjo, and mandolin; violinist Michelle Whitlock; and Jon Conlon plays the upright bass.

I've known Ms. Jaeger for several years now (we became friends in high-school), and it's been a pleasure to watch Betty and the Boy form in Montana and migrate to the college town of Eugene, OR. Over the years, the band has transformed from the original duo of Mr. Harvey and Ms. Jaeger to the current quartet, but still plays a unique mix of folksy bluesgrass.

The complete line-up.

The band's combined musical talents allows Ms. Jaeger's melancholy voice in "Pennies" to become serene and dreamlike in others ("Slow"). I recently downloaded a live set of theirs to my iPopd, via archive.org, and I literally cannot stop listening to it: my favorite is "Babble", a song of deep contemplation and retrospect.

I'm currently trying to convince Bettreena to re-record one personal favorite of their old songs, "The Man Who Loved Sound". I used to listen to it on Betty and the Boy's Myspace when I first moved to Texas (back when I HAD a Myspace; you can find Betty and the Boy on Facebook here). The band's youthful perspective on growth helped me not miss home as much, and I'm happy they finally have a music video that I can share with y'all. Now only if I could find a way to get them to Austin...

Aside from the music, the music video for "Moth to a Light" was solely created by Ben Jacobson of Roothead Films and features actress (and my sister) Alyssa Rae Hands.

Also, thank you to Betty & the Boy for the photos!