On tour, The Senators share old tunes for the first time

Despite this whirlwind of new beginnings, The Senators stayed busy and their creativity never wavered throughout. They signed with the Phoenix-based Fervor Records in late 2019, giving them constant access to a recording studio and the space to think and create freely, resulting in a collaboration with folk icon Simone Felice and the recording of their 2020 album, “Wild Wide Open.”

Teer started the band with his brother, Adam, while enrolled in a microbiology program at ASU in 2013. While Adam no longer plays with the band, the 38-year-old Jesse expanded the band’s roster through playing shows. Scully, 24, is a Flagstaff native and Northern Arizona University grad. He’s a staple in Flagstaff’s music scene, playing with Dew West, Sci-Fi Country and, now, The Senators.

Multi-instrumentalist Chuck Linton, an Arizona native, has been with the band since it formed. The group is rounded out by drummer Jason Yee, who has played with The Senators since 2013 as well.

The band has snaked their way throughout the American Southwest, making several stops in Flagstaff over the years from NAU’s Prochnow Auditorium to the Orpheum Theater and Firecreek Coffee Co.

After years of hard work, The Senators are beginning to see the fruits of their dedication and labor.

The band sent a demo tape to folk icon Simone Felice of the Felice Brothers. Felice, who is based in Upstate New York, is credited with producing and writing for hit acts like The Lumineers and Bat for Lashes.

Teer compared sending the email containing the demo to throwing a dart in the dark. It was nothing fancy — a hope.

“I think it was weeks and weeks before we heard anything,” Teer said. “I was on a family vacation and I had just stopped checking emails at that point. This is an industry where you get 99 no’s and one yes, so needless to say, I was excited. We were up in Breckenridge on a family vacation and I just ran out of the bathroom like, ‘Woah!’”

Felice invited Teer and company to come record at Felice’s Sugar Mountain Studios in the Catskill Mountains.

“I wanted to barf,” Teer jokingly said about initially interacting with Felice. “We met for breakfast, then drove uphill to the studio, which made me a bit car-sick. By the time we got there, it was just nerves.”

Felice’s studio is located in an old barn. Tractors are still stored in the converted recording space, Teer said, but the wood walls are lined with guitars and records. For months, the band often worked from sun-up to sundown with a fire burning inside the old wood structure to stay warm on cold winter mornings.

Along with getting an opportunity to work with Felice (whom Teer calls a master of his craft) The Senators took a valuable piece of advice away from those recording sessions in the Catskill Mountains — keep it simple.

“I think that works well for my general life, too,” Teer said. “Focus on a few really good elements and make real quality out of minimalism. When you can focus on a few great elements, they just sound really good together and you can make a song sound full, with less.”

A WILD BALANCE

Teer is the band’s primary songwriter and vocalist, but Linton and Scully also contribute in that area. The band often has often had to schedule rehearsal and recording times well in advance as the bandmates have been scattered across the state over the years. Scully, a Flagstaff native, just moved to Tucson.

Teer, like other members of the band, have families and young children, which Teer said can sometimes make it difficult to tour and consistently get into the recording studio.

Teer, who has a 4-year-old and 10-month-old, said fatherhood has had a huge influence on his work. “Wild Wide Open,” the namesake single off The Senators’ latest 10-track album, is all about expecting his youngest child. Linton, the song’s co-writer, was also awaiting his child’s birth when the pair wrote the song.

The album, which was released Oct. 28, 2020, is tight with a 33-minute runtime — truly keeping it simple as Felice suggested. It’s open and honest, as one might assume based on the title. “Scars I’d Never Let You See,” the album’s lead single and the third track, is buttery-smooth with vulnerable lyrics, but the following track is “Grindstone,” an uptempo head-nodder made for singing aloud on road trips with friends

“Whatever we’re experiencing, we try to internalize, then generalize, to where [the subject matter] is not super specific and it’s not going to hit you over the head as a listener, but so maybe some of those emotions can translate,” Teer said. “The great thing is most of the players have gone through the same thing through the pandemic. We were all having kids, starting families — they're continuing families. And so we're kind of in this weird boat of dads who try to tour and make music. It's a wild balance.”

Scully said the current touring schedule consists of shorter three to four-day spans with the band then returning to Phoenix for a few days so everyone can be with their families. Teer, who was married in Flagstaff and often writes songs in his Flagstaff cabin, said the region is like a second home to him and the band.

And Flagstaff is home for Scully. His father used to own Orpheum Theater, and he’d often be sleeping backstage at concerts and sound checks as young as 6. He moved to Tucson earlier this year, which he said is his first time living away from his hometown.

Scully met Teer and The Senators after opening a show for them in 2017, performing with his since-discontinued band, Quinn & the Confluence.

The pair are now on tour, packing their equipment into Scully’s Toyota Prius and playing shows throughout Arizona, Colorado and California to close out their fall 2021 tour. They will return to Flagstaff on Dec. 6 for their final show of the year at the Coconino Center for the Arts.

“I think I’ve driven 2,000 miles from the time I left Tucson to go to Denver,” Scully said. “I’ve actually done so many crazier things in that Prius than these two-person runs. We used to do like three people, along with a drum kit and [a public address system] packed in the back.”

Scully graduated from NAU in 2015 with a degree in public relations, which he said he wanted to use for musical purposes. Having once booked an entire tour during a public relations course at NAU, Scully knew he wanted to pursue music after college. Scully was not a part of the recording process of “Wild Wide Open,” but tours with the band as a performer. However, all members are involved in the current creative process, which includes songwriting, recording and bouncing ideas off one another.

The Senators first played at Flagstaff’s Monte Vista Cocktail Lounge in 2013. Teer said the band likes to return because of the tight-knit and supportive atmosphere Flagstaff provides. They, like so many other bands, were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic and returning to the stage has been like coming home.

“While these songs are years old, we really haven't played them live,” Teer said. “So they're kind of existing and reiterated in our minds after a few years and now, finally being shared. We definitely have some deep ties up north, this is a great community. It’s something that I wish Phoenix had more of, a centralized music community — and we’re getting there — but in Flagstaff, there are folks that come and support in a different way.” 

The Senators will play Coconino Center for the Arts Dec. 4, the eighth of 10 shows on the band’s fall 2021 tour. Flagstaff’s Adam Bruce will open the show alongside Phoenix’s Dani Durack. Tickets are available now at for $21 or $26 at the door. Students can get discounted tickets for $18 in advance and $26 the day of the show. Masks are required. Attendees 16 and older must also provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72-hours of the event.