doubleVee launched in 2012 when it became clear how Allan and Barb Vest’s musical backgrounds complemented each other and how well the two worked together in the studio.
Allan was the primary songwriter, lead vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist for indie/orchestral pop band Starlight Mints, having produced and released four albums between 2000 and 2009, with legendary producer Dave Sardy co-producing the critically acclaimed debut album, The Dream that Stuff was Made Of. Major motion pictures and television series have utilized his music, with TV shows including Malcolm in the Middle, Californication, One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl and movies including Barnyard, Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Tajand The Art of Getting By. The BBC mini-series Demons effectively used “Eyes of the Night” off the 2006 album Drowaton as the series’ theme song. The Mints toured and played multiple shows with bands and artists including The White Stripes, Violent Femmes, Grandaddy, Chainsaw Kittens, Polyphonic Spree, Liz Phair, Flaming Lips and Blake Babies.
Allan’s instrumental scores have been featured in Disney animated shorts, writer/director Mickey Reece’s movies Seducers Club and Punch Cowboy, and in several features helmed by award-winning director Bradley Beesley and projects by Canada-based writer/director Erahm Christopher, among other productions. Allan has produced and arranged music for clients including Skating Polly, Student Film and Bishop Allen.
Barb’s diverse background includes sixteen years in public radio where her achievements included writing, hosting, and producing Filmscapes, a nationally syndicated film music program. Filmscapes gave her the opportunity to interview some of her favorite renowned artists including Danny Elfman and Philip Glass. She edited a music webzine for several years and marketed and produced eight Rock ‘n Roll Garage Sale and Shows featuring local Oklahoma bands and merchants. While Barb’s vocal music history includes appearing in shows produced by the Mix Tape Club and providing backing vocals on recordings for local bands, her love of music began with her family, with her grandmother regularly putting a tape recorder on her piano bench and singing along to her original compositions, before she passed away in 1986 after a sudden heart attack at the age of 57.
The pair have been married since October of 2015. doubleVee’s debut album The Moonlit Fables of Jack the Rider was released in 2017 and Songs for Birds and Bats was released April 12th.
Glide is proud to premiere the official video for “Map the Channels” – an electrifying piece of work animated by acclaimed artist Grant Fuhst. doubleVee delivers an indie power pop flavor that vividly reflects the harmonious fuel of The New Pornographers and the experimentalism of Broken Social Scene.
“It’s a song sung from the perspective of birds and bats flying above humanity, seeing that future mankind can heal itself if they choose the right paths,” says the Vests. “The birds and bats have a better plan for the future than the humans, as they fly along in the same skies despite their differences as they glide through the celestial sphere day and night.”
