Norwood's Fallout Shelter Hosts Sibiling Rockers Jocelyn & Chris

NORWOOD, MA - The love of family and a passion for music have been twin forces in the lives of siblings Jocelyn and Chris Arndt. The sibling rockers have impeccably combined the two in a sultry and driven style of indie rock that is making audiences around the country take notice.

Jocelyn & Chris will be performing at The Fallout Shelter on Friday, December 3 in anticipation of their latest studio release "Favorite Ghosts," which is dropping in January. They are no strangers to the area, as both are Harvard graduates who honed their style playing weekend gigs while attending classes by day.

The siblings spoke to Patch on November 5 from the music studio in New York where they were putting the finishing touches on their new album.

Music always has been instrumental for the duo from New York, whether they were taking lessons in school or listening to it during family dinners.

"We started taking lessons in elementary school as something fun to do after school was out," Jocelyn said. "Then we started playing in front of audiences, which was a whole different animal. We very quickly caught the bug, basically."

Their parents influenced their development by always playing a variety of genres from jazz to blues to classic rock.

"We had a family tradition where we would always sit together at the dinner table as much as we could," Jocelyn said. "And there was always music playing during dinner. We were very lucky in the parent department."

They began writing their own music in middle school and formed a band called "The Dependents" with a couple of friends and played throughout high school. It was at a gig at a fair in upstate New York that Jocelyn and Chris were discovered by music producer and manager David Bourgeois and his wife, Anna. The duo has been working with them since 2013.

"They were managing a band that was playing after us," Jocelyn said, noting that the audience only contained a few family members. "They said, 'You're really good. You could really take a shot at making this music thing a job.' Up until then, we thought it was too fun to be a real job."

Close to a decade later, they are working on their eighth studio record. But their music career did not keep them from pursuing a Harvard education.

"We're closet dorks," Chris said with a laugh. "We did music full-time while we were at Harvard, so we were pretty much away every weekend. But we love the area, and we would not have traded that experience for the world. It was crazy, but it was really, really fun."

Chris majored in computer science, while Jocelyn studied English. Both took a couple of music classes, but experience proved to be the biggest teacher. Their music has a depth, intensity and range that belies their years.

The chemistry between the two was palpable, both in their music and their conversation. They write all of their songs together and enjoy the same musical influences - Janis Joplin, Queen, and more recently, Crystal Bowersox. Chris draws his guitar inspiration from Eric Clapton and B. B. King.

"We've always been a songwriting team from the very first song," Jocelyn explained. "We've never, ever written a song without the other person. There are some sibling moments where we want to strangle each other. But most of the time we get along really well."

"I feel like the arts are so personal," Chris added. "You need to be comfortable in your own skin when you're writing songs and be able to throw out ideas. It helps to work with someone you're close with."

Jocelyn, who sings and plays keyboard, joked that Chris "keeps me from being a total diva." Her vocal stylings combine the intensity of a Stevie Nicks and the urgency of Alannis Morrisette.

The two appeared on NBC's "Today" show in 2019 in anticipation of their upcoming tour. But COVID-19 altered their plans.

"We quickly pivoted and decided not to put out the album because we couldn't go see people and play it for them," Jocelyn explained.

But that didn't stop them from reaching their fan base.

"We livestreamed seven days a week for 150 days," added Chris, displaying how motivated the duo is to excel. Through livestreams with other artists, they connected with Grammy-winning producer Joel Moss, who is co-producing the new album.

"It's the most awesome music we've ever written," Jocelyn said. "I think a lot of it had to do with this extra time we had. We tried to really dig into these songs. The music still feels relevant to our lives, and it still feels fresh."

The pandemic influenced some of the tracks, she added, particularly "Runaway."

"Some of them are a lot edgier rock than we've ever done in the past," Jocelyn said. "There's a part of it that's acoustically driven, because this is the way we had to perform during the livestreams."

Their music has a classic rock vibe with a millennial spin on love and life. There are inflections of blues and heavy metal, which makes their songs sizzle. Chris's deft guitar amplifies the emotion in each track.

"Skeleton Key" was released in June as their tour kicked off. It was the follow-up to their first preview single, "Sugar and Spice." Watch the video for "Skeleton Key" here and "Sugar and Spice" here.

"This is definitely one of the darker, harder songs on the album,” says Jocelyn of "Skeleton Key." “Sometimes love can be a fantasy, but other times, it can be closer to a classic horror flick."

The duo is thrilled to be back on the road "because no one is taking live music for granted," Chris said.

"We're so excited for The Fallout Shelter show," Jocelyn added, noting it will be their third time playing there. "They understand the music industry there in a very deep way. It's a very cool, intimate vibe."

They will be back locally in January at the Haymarket Lounge at Boston's City Winery on January 21 at 7:30 p.m.

To find out more, check out their website.