John and Laurie Stirratt were born 5 minutes apart in November of 1967 in New Orleans Louisiana, and grew up in neighboring Mandeville in a musical family- their father Avery has played tenor and plectrum banjo in Dixieland bands since his teens. Their mother Betty Lou played guitar and piano and encouraged all of her children to play an instrument. The older Stirratt kids played their Dylan and Stones records and introduced their younger siblings to rock and roll at an early age.

   The twins both picked up the guitar in their early teens and John joined several bands and played locally in high school. After graduation, Laurie briefly attended LSU but soon returned to New Orleans in hopes of starting a music career. She apprenticed at a local recording studio and took courses at the University of New Orleans, occasionally playing with friends.

   In the late 80's John was attending the University of Mississippi In Oxford and was playing In various bands, eventually forming the Hilltops. After a bass player left the band, John asked Laurie to move up to Oxford and join the band, which she did. The Hilltops then toured extensively and released two recordings, Holler, in 1989, an SST-Influenced sound, and Big Black River, in 1990, combining a love of 70's rock and country music. The band split that year and Laurie and Hilltops guitarist Cary Hudson formed Blue Mountain in 1991. John released his first solo record in 1991 under the name The Gimmecaps, then joined old friends Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar in Uncle Tupelo in 1993. (After Uncle Tupelo's breakup John continued with Jeff Tweedy to form Wilco in 1994)

   Meanwhile, Blue Mountain toured constantly and built up a loyal fan base with energetic live shows. The band released 6 records, from 1995's Dog Days to 2001's live Tonight It's Now or Never, formed a record label (Black Dog) and were involved in many side projects during their 10 year run. The band was successful and critically acclaimed, but in early 2000, Laurie and Cary's marriage dissolved (they were married in 1994) though they carried on until June 2001, when they finally decided to part ways. Laurie quickly joined Tyler Keith and the Preacher's Kids and recorded and toured for a year.

    When not recording with Wilco, John has originated several projects of his own. In 1996, he recorded an unreleased record under the name Courtesy Move with fellow Wilco members Jay Bennett and Ken Coomer, and In 1999 formed the Autumn Defense with collaborator Pat Sansone (Joseph Arthur, Swan Dive) and released their first CD, The Green Hour, In April 2001. A new Autumn Defense record, titled Circles, was just released this year.

    Although they have successfully pursued other projects, John and Laurie never stopped wanting to play and record together again. Conflicting schedules and geography have prevented it from happening, until recently, in 2002 they collaborated on some songs and found the material promising, and soon after, Laurie pulled up her Mississippi stakes and moved to Chicago. She and John hunkered down in the Winter of '03 and focused on their sibling harmonies and their folk-pop sound to create a moody blend of songs about love, loss and hope. It should see release in late Summer 2004.