The Girls.

It’s a direct, uncomplicated, unassuming name for a musical duo.

But this sobriquet, which may be viewed by some as simplistic, houses a karmic depth all its own, for “direct,” “uncomplicated,” and “unassuming” that echoes perfectly the personalities of the two musicians who make up this impressive, harmonious duet.

Portsmouth natives Liz Pedro (guitarist/bassist/vocalist) and Suzanne Kekligian (keyboardist/vocalist) have crafted a dynamic stage performance and varied set list that has charmed audiences throughout Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts for more than 15 years.

Recently, I had the pleasure of chatting with The Girls and found them to be thoughtful, intelligent, humorous, and deeply serious about their craft.

At various points during the interview, a natural, sisterly synergy would often emerge between the two. Pedro would begin answering a question, only for Kekligian to seamlessly finish the thought — or vice versa. In such cases, in these moments of fluid collaboration, to ensure accuracy, I attributed the quotes to ‘both.’

I asked The Girls how they entered a life of music.

“I began playing music in elementary school. I started out on the violin, which I wasn’t crazy about, then I played the cello, which I REALLY wasn’t crazy about,” chuckled Pedro. “When I was a teenager, my father played guitar, so I started to play his guitar. I kept playing through my teens and all through high school. Later on in life I got married to a guitar player. He and I played together, and we needed a bass player. He helped me to switch over to bass and learn to sing and play at the same time. We played together for over 20 years. I love to play and have never stopped.”

“When I was five years old, I copied the Campbell Soup song (M'm M’m Good) on the piano,” said Kekligian. “My father, who was a Portsmouth High School music teacher in the ’60s, noticed I had an ear for music. My parents asked me if I wanted to take dance or piano lessons, and I chose piano, taking classical piano in second grade. I quit my classical lessons in ninth grade because I wanted to play Lynyrd Skynyrd. But I was too shy to play back then. When my dad passed away, it changed me. I said to myself ‘I can’t take my talent with me.’ It was then that I got over my shyness to play in public.”

“I’m from Portsmouth but lived in Sacramento, Calif., for 32 years,” said Kekligian. “I was a working mom but I also played in a classic rock band out there. When I moved back home, in 2019, my sister told me that Bill Szczepaniak, a guy I went to school with years before, was looking to form a band.”

“Bill, a drummer, was a mutual friend of ours,” said both. “He’d lead a couple of local bands in Portsmouth and was starting a brand new one.”

Kekligian collaborated with Bill to help create his new fledgling musical project. In a strange twist of fate, she remembered seeing Pedro play a gig with Bill at Newport Jai Alai a few years earlier.

“We needed to find a bass player, and I said to Bill, ‘Where is that woman with the sculpted arms - that bad-ass bass player you used to have?’ ” said Kekligian.

Following Kekligians’ inquiry, Pedro was reached out to and eventually joined the group.

“One day Liz and I were at my cottage practicing,” said Kekligian. “We were rehearsing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ for the band. Liz sees a Bee Gees music book that I had and she asked, ‘Do you like the Bee Gee’s?’ and I said, yes, I do, let’s try it. After we worked the Bee Gees’ song out, Liz said, “Why don’t we go out on our own? — We sound amazing.”

Consequently, The Girls started to feel that they weren’t connecting with the bands’ choice of songs. Due to that eventuality, discontentment began to creep in.

“We weren’t quite happy with the way the band was forming. It just wasn’t our type of music. It was more like male-oriented, harder rock,” said Pedro.

At that exact moment, Covid struck, bringing the band to an end. However, during the long period of uncertainty and lockdown, Pedro and Kekligian continued to meet, rehearsing their personally chosen material together. By the time the pandemic subsided, The Girls were well-practiced, polished, and prepared to launch their new musical venture.

A career in Yacht Rock

“Our first gig was a benefit for a friend, Barbara, who organized workshops for grieving parents. Then we played what was then the 110 Grill at the Harbor Mall. Pretty soon the gigs started to come in,” said both.

These days the girls perform steadily at The Lobster Pot in Bristol, Sunset Cove in Portsmouth, Tremblays in Portsmouth, The Galley Grille in Westport and The Elks Club in Bristol, as well as private functions.

“We have our regular places that we play now, and what’s really nice is that we play the older songs that we liked when we were young. Somehow, even kids know the songs, which is great for us,” said Pedro.

“We try really hard to read the audience,” said Kekligian. “If the majority of the crowd is older, we might do some Elvis and things from the 50’s and 60’s. And if we notice some young kids all in black in the crowd, we might play some Nirvana.”

What is now known as Yacht Rock features prominently in The Girls’ performance lineup. This genre was largely developed between 1976 and 1984. It features artists like Christopher Cross, the Doobie Brothers, Toto, and The Little River Band. Yacht Rock is recognized for a smooth melodic sound, with Sirius radio dedicating an entire channel exclusively to this musical style.

“For fun, we do like to wear our yacht hats when we do the Margaritaville stuff, ‘The Tide is High,’ that sort of material. We try to package ourselves as Yacht Rock and people seem to love it,” said Kekligian.

The Girls’ song selections, however, are not limited to YR. Their sets are diverse and wide in scope. While attending one of their local shows, I was amazed to hear them play both Herman’s Hermits’ “Kind of Hush” and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” in the same set.

I wanted to know what The Girls thought was their best gig to date.

“Last Sunday at the Lobster Pot!” exclaimed both. “We kept saying it feels like a party, like New Year’s Eve, like a house party. People were dancing and requesting songs. Every now and again you just get one of those gigs. What’s nice about the Pot is that everyone knows us and we have  a camaraderie with the audience there.”

I wondered about the weirdest gig The Girls had ever done, and they both laughed out loud saying, “the one with the girl with the shoes.”

“We were playing at the Galley Grille and we had just taken a break and this girl came up to us and said, ‘oh you girls are really good, I love your music, that kind of stuff,’ ” said Pedro. “So, we got talking and Suzanne said to the girl, ‘I love your shoes,’ so the girl took her shoes off her feet and handed them to Suzanne and said – ‘Here, take them!”

“It was so funny because I really loved the shoes and they fit me perfectly. The girl was all alone. She was young, beautiful and left the gig barefoot,” laughed Kekligian. “I still have the shoes. I still love them, and I still wear them.”

A magical chemistry

What’s the magic between the two of you that makes this thing work?

“We respect each other’s talents. We both love the same kind of music and the same songs. There have been times, and we’ve worked it out I think, that we are like sisters disagreeing, where there’s a song where I say, “I do that song,” and Liz will say, “That’s my song, don’t touch it,” chuckled Kekligian.

“Suzanne always sings so well. She and I can hold harmonies together. Lots of people can’t do that. If they sing harmony, sometimes they’ll drift into the other person’s part, but we can always fall into place. When you sing harmonies well, it’s sounds like more than it is,” said Pedro.

What drives you both to keep at it?

“It’s like this. We want to go in and create a space for people to just enjoy themselves and forget about their troubles. That’s our biggest thing really. We want to play music and have a good time, and at the same time we’re doing the same thing for ourselves because we all have things in our lives that we’re dealing with, and life can be hard. We have a phrase on our social media, ‘Let the Music Lift You.’ ”

What’s the best musical advice you ever received?

“Practice,” said both.

What advice would you give to people who want to play?

“Well, first it has to be fun. But also, when you’re looking for gigs, I would say try to visit as many venues and restaurants as you can. And sit down and eat, don’t just show up and give your business card and leave. Become a regular. And while you’re there, you can see what kind of place and atmosphere it is, to see if you fit or not.” 

“People come up and say to us, ‘You girls look like you’re having such a good time,’ and we really are. We truly feel blessed to still be able to play music and work together. We are very comfortable with each other,” said both. “We are very happy to still be playing music.”

The Girls can be found Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Michael Khouri is a Barrington resident writing occasionally about the Rhode Island music scene. Reach him at mkhouri@cox.net.