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Husband and wife duo Geoff Schroeder and Laura Hoch formed Second Hands 10 years ago on the North Fork. (Credit: David Benthal)

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Husband and wife duo Geoff Schroeder and Laura Hoch began writing and performing their own brand of personal and poetic songs shortly after meeting on the North Fork in 2009. Characterized by warm vocals and deceptively simple folk melodies, Schroeder and Hoch combined their diverse musical backgrounds to form The Second Hands. 

Schroeder, who pursued songwriting in Nashville, and Hoch, who attended Purchase College for music composition and toured Europe, Canada and the U.S. under the pseudonym John Courage and with the band Herman Dune, were an instant fit both musically and romantically. 

“Vocal harmonies are a big part of what we do,” Schroeder said. “Our voices seem to blend well together. When we perform, it’s usually just two guitars and us singing.” 

They bonded over a shared admiration for the same musical artists and a respect for each other’s original songs. Schroeder and Hoch started out locally performing their songs at open mic nights and went on to record a soulful collection of songs both old and new for their 2011 self-titled debut album.

In their words:

“We both like gritty, lyrically forward simple songs. Simplicity is something I think we embrace. Most times when a song is good, you can get that through to your audience with just a guitar and a singer’s voice.”

Musical influences:

Male/female duos, such as Emmy Lou Harris and Gram Parsons and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings 

See them this month:

Monday, July 15

Brix and Rye 

308A Main Street, Greenport

For additional show times, visit thesecondhandsmusic.com

Previous Musician Profiles: 

The Sound of the North Fork: Rob Europe

The Sound of the North Fork: Julia King

Music on the North Fork: Local artists worth checking out

 

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