The Weepies: Deb and Steve - Fans of Each Other!

Often times, musical artists come together to create music together. They collaborate on a few songs, and perhaps play a few shows. But how often does it happen that two solo artists, both fans of each other, meet at a show and immediately click? That is what happened for Deb Talan and Steve Tannen.

Deb Talan is a singer/songwriter from the Boston area. Through word of mouth, she found her modest sized fan base growing with each show she played. She released a solo album, Something Burning, and was playing shows to promote it. She decided to drop into a club in Boston called, Club Passim - a gig that she's played any times before. She was there, that night, to see a guy named Steve Tannen, as she had become part of his modest fan base.

Steve Tannen is from New York City. That night, at Club Passim, he was playing a show to promote his solo album, Big Señ iorita. As soon as he spotted her in the crowd, he says, he got nervous as he was a fan of hers as well. After he finished up his show, they gravitated towards each other and began talking. They spent that first night playing and writing together with a single acoustic guitar being passed back and forth between them in a small apartment in Boston. They clicked, just like that, and soon afterwards, they formed The Weepies.

With each of their fan bases backing them up, they wrote their first album and released it in 2003. Despite the connotations with the name of their band, they named the album, Happiness. The album, featuring eight original songs, was written and recorded quickly and independently, but earned high reviews among critics and fans. As the group gained more recognition, they were noticed by record executives at Nettwerk Music Group when they were playing a sold-out show at NYC's The Living Room. A couple months later, they were signed to the label and preparing their second album as The Weepies, Say I Am You, in 2005. They traveled far from home to record this one in a rented cottage in Pasadena, California. With this album, they have gained even more recognition. The third track on the album, "The World Spins Madly On," opens the Jennifer Aniston flick, Friends With Money.

This duo has a bright future ahead of them, with their growing fan base and passion for the music. Many musicians are satisfied with collaborations, but these two were lucky enough to be able to build a lasting friendship and working relationship. "That night has lasted four years so far," Tannen said of their first night playing music together in a tiny apartment in Boston.