Music Interview: Aging Disgracefully

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Photo: Aging Disgracefully

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Aging Disgracefully following the stunning release ‘Foggy Highway‘. Read our in-depth below.

Hi Aging Disgracefully. Tell us about yourselves.

Karen: We are Karen Pyra and Mike Elliott from the East Coast of Canada. I live in the province of Prince Edward Island, and Mike lives in the province of Nova Scotia.

Mike: We met at a songwriting workshop in 2023, and something just clicked. We started out doing a holiday song together, and then we just kept going until we suddenly realized we had an album on our hands.

What is your songwriting process?

Karen: We live in different provinces in Canada about 6 hours apart, so most of our writing is done remotely. In a lot of cases, I come up with a melody and lyrics and send a very rough vocal recording to Mike. He then adds some guitar ideas and sends them back to me, and we go back and forth like that.

Mike: It’s been surprisingly easy for us to write together. We just keep building on each other’s work. Then, it really comes together when we get into the studio together, and the ideas keep flowing with our producer. We should mention the fantastic Darrel Cameron from Blue Acres Studio.

Tell us about your latest excellent release, ‘Foggy Highway’.

Mike: When Karen sent me the idea for this song, I immediately felt the groove she was going for. The guitar work flowed very easily.

Karen: I wrote this song one night while driving home from a late evening meeting for work. I was driving down a two-lane highway on the north shore of Prince Edward Island on a very dark and dreary night. There wasn’t another car in sight, and I had to go slow. And suddenly, there was a melody in my head with the first verse. So I pulled over and wrote the song right there on the side of the highway.

‘Foggy Highway’ is an authentic Rhythm and Blues release. What draws you to the genre?

Mike: I have always loved playing the blues. The blues speaks to me on a deep, personal level—there’s a raw honesty in it that you don’t find in many other genres. It’s music that tells real stories, whether it’s heartache, struggle, or joy, and you can feel every note.

Karen: I always say that when I sing, I sing with my whole body. And never is that truer than when I sing blues music because blues isn’t just about singing the notes—it’s about singing what you feel.

Can you tell us the ethos behind the name Aging Disgracefully?

Karen: “Aging Disgracefully” was chosen to reflect our refusal to accept the ageism that permeates the music industry. This industry often overlooks musicians in the second half of life, and we believe it’s essential to create and share music that resonates with people over 40. “Aging Disgracefully” represents our refusal to conform to society’s expectations of what it means to be “too old.” We reject societal expectations about ageing and instead embrace the beauty of this time in our lives.

What message do you think your music conveys to your fans?

Mike: I hope our music demonstrates that there is no age limit to writing, creating, and sharing music and having an awesome time doing it. Growing older doesn’t mean you have to stop living, loving, or creating. We hope we inspire people to follow their dreams, no matter what their age.

Who are your musical influences?

Karen: In the blues genre, we share a love of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Joe Bonamassa. I am also a huge fan of Etta James, who is such an emotive, powerful female blues singer.

Mike: I am also inspired by Grand Funk Railroad and, locally, by Philip Harding, a multi-instrumentalist from the nearby community of Lockeport, Nova Scotia. Also by my sister, Linda.

Karen: As a songwriter, I have been strongly influenced by two of Nova Scotia’s best songwriters– Terra Spencer and Dave Gunning. I have learned so much from them about how to tell stories through words and music, and they have both been big supporters of Mike and me.

Who are your non-musical influences?

Mike: I would have to say my wife Susan and my family. And Lake Deception, where my camp is.

Karen: My husband Jim has been a stalwart supporter of my musical musings, as has my sister Margaret Champion. I wouldn’t have been doing this without their constant support and encouragement. There have also been a few strong women in my life who have helped me conquer fears and step into the unknown. One is a wonderful woman I worked with named Nancy McCready Williams, who shares my passion for music and living life large – “if we don’t know what we’re doing, we’ll move forward anyway and just make shit up.” I have lived by her words of wisdom often!

What scares you the most when releasing music?

Mike: It’s sometimes hard to know when songs are done. You always think they could be a little bit better. So it’s scary sometimes to let them go.

Karen: We said it’s kind of like launching kids out into the world – you do your best with them then set them free hoping they will do well and people will like them.

What do you think are the biggest obstacles for bands/artists today?

Karen: There is so much pressure for artists to be everything – songwriter, singer, musician, social media content creator on the daily, marketing manager, project manager, graphic designer, tour manager – and on it goes. To get your music heard, you have to take on a lot of roles and invest a lot of time and money. The whole industry is geared to make money for everyone, BUT the artist.

What advice would you give to other bands/artists starting out?

Karen: Go for it. Do you. Don’t care about the number of streams on streaming services that don’t pay artists what they are worth. Just make music because you love doing it, and then share it with the people who like your style. Making a positive impact on someone’s life with your music is a powerful reward.

Mike: And get a good job to help pay all the music bills! Because you know you are going to need another guitar, and another, and another…

What are your hopes for the next two years?

Mike: I hope we get to perform at a few festivals together. We have such a great time when we get to perform together. I also think we have a lot more to explore musically together, so I can imagine there will be more songs on the horizon. Who knows, maybe we will record another album.

Foggy Highway’ is taken from the forthcoming album release, ‘Shatter the Mirror’. Can you tell us what to expect with a full album release and when it will be available?

Karen: This album is about breaking stereotypes of ageing and celebrating the second half of life. Society tries to make older people small and insignificant. This album proudly and loudly gives voice to the experiences and realities of those of us who refuse to conform to that expectation.

Mike: Listeners will find different blues styles on the album – we wander through Chicago blues, swampy blues, folk blues and more. We didn’t set out to pick a particular blues style, but let the songs tell us where they needed us to go.

Karen: The album will be available for download or purchase on our website on March 28. The title track will be available for streaming that day as well. Then we will release one track a month to streaming services. We are really excited to share this project with the world. It has been a joyful creation process and we hope people can feel that through the music.