Sisters Terry and the Rolling Papers

My Father, James O. Terry, was in the Navy from 1961 to 1963. After leaving the navy, he worked as a Pepsi truck driver, and married my, then, 18-year-old mother, Evette Willa Couveau. On September 11, 1964, I came along; their firstborn daughter; Bridgette Marie Terry.

When I was young my Mother would sing songs to me; songs like; Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender,” “Don't Be Cruel”, and Peter Paul and Mary's, “ Leaving On A Jet Plane,” or the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love, “I want to Hold Your Hand”, as well as artists, such as Billy Holiday, Lena Horn, Big Bopper, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jim Croce, and Bob Dylan, along with some gospel songs.

My Mother and Father were both inspirational in influencing me to become the professional singer and percussionist I am today. My father played guitar and he would put my hands on the guitar strings as he strummed, I was truly AMAZED! The vibrations and the sound moved thru my body, was forever, "soul-changing".

On May 12, 1965, one year and 8 months after my birth, my little sister, Regina Terry was born. Life in the 60s was challenging, our parents fell on hard times and got divorced. Our father was given full custody of me and my sister, and the three of us moved to our grandpa’s small milking cow and bull ranch in Michigan. This is where I had my first audience, 10-Holstein cows. I played for them on my dad's old guitar, even though it was missing a few strings. I sang songs like, “I Fall To Pieces”, “Walking After Midnight”, Patsy Cline, and “Crazy” Willy Nelson, along with some Loretta Lynn, and more.

A very bad storm nearly buried us alive in our single wide mobile home. We had to dig ourselves out of snow and then melt the snow to water the cows because we were locked out of Grandpa’s well. It was a hard year, Regina and I almost died from freezing. In 1971, deciding to leave this climate behind, Our Dad packed us up and moved Regina and me to Ettersburg, Humboldt County, California, to build our own home. We had 20 acres that we shared with my Dad's best friend, Jack Yampolsky. We had no car, no house, or tent, so Dad built a lean-to with tree trunks, tree limbs, tree branches, a tarp, some rope, a sleeping bag, and made us a home, on our land. Important things were: Water jug, a flashlight, dry matches, a shovel, toilet paper, any kind of paper, dry grass, sticks to start fires, an old oven grate we got from the dump to use for our fire pit, a pot, a pan, kerosene lamp, washcloth, towels, ice chest for food and of course Dad's Guitar.

We learned where our drinking water comes from, we had to use jugs to go collect all the water for everything we needed to cook, clean, and live “off the grid" on the land. Growing our food, raising chickens, ducks, geese, cats, dogs, a horse named Zipper, and a pony named Bingo. The three of us in "Humboldt County FAMILY LOVE", living off the land, we were free to “just BE”. The Mattole River and the Mattole Canyon Creek, “The Terryville Ranch” is still the lifeline location of, me and Regina.

During our one-hour bus ride to school, I would sing songs like Linda Ronstadt's, “Love Is A Rose,” and "Faithless Love”, into my hairbrush, while trying to get everyone else to sing along. In high school, I sang madrigals, high school choir, Mad-Jazz. In my senior year, I performed along with my sister Regina and my Father, doing one of my father's original songs at the Riverwood Inn, in Phillipsville. In my final Highschool performance, with the High School band backing me up. I sang “Say you Love Me” by Fleetwood Mac, and“Gloria” by Laura Branigan.

Other influences included Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, The Judds, Pat Benatar, Fleetwood Mac, Bonnie Raitt, Amy Grant, Jewell, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Christine Aguilera, Cheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Janis Joplin, Journey, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rick Derringer, .38 Special, Van Halen, Foreigner, Eagles, Heart, and Night Ranger. If it was music I loved it.

In College, I took many music-major classes: voice, choir, piano, music theory, guitar, percussion. I also studied the arts of photography, drawing, and painting.

Through my musical journey, I sang with a band called “Mirage”(1985), “911”(w/Bishop Mayfield 1987-89), “John Newdo and the Crossover Duo”(1992), and “X” band (14 yrs). With Karie Hillery, Over an eight year-span, we recorded 3 CDs, including an original song called “Who Do You Love?”. Through the collaboration with Karie I met Marcia Mendels, who wrote a song called “Sail On” and inspired the formation of the band Nighthawk. I performed for 20 years with Nighthawk which performs top 40 music all over the North coast. Marcia and I coauthored a song called “One More Kiss”, for Nighthawk, who didn't want to perform it. So, Marcia and I formed a band called “SoHum Girls”. Marcia and I collaborated on “Are You Into Me” and “I'm Just Sayin'” and I wrote an original song called “Don't Give Up”. During Covid2020 SoHum Girls did a live show on Instagram, Facebook, and is archived on YouTube as “SoHum girls Arcata 4/10/21”.

Music is not just my life's passion, music is also my therapy, my love, and my survival. Learning to play guitar and sing has been wonderful. I am so grateful to play music and create a legacy of my father's original songs. I, along with my sister, Regina, formed a band, collaborating with Wes Edwards, Carl Hansen, Bill Moehnke, and Cherie Edwards. The band is called, “Sister's Terry and the Rolling Papers”, and was formed to celebrate my father's songs and the original works of the band. May the music shared bring joy, love, and happiness into your lives! Thank you, I am living my dream! Singing, healing hearts, supportive hugs, and kisses! Brigette Marie Terry.

I was born in Hollywood California where my father was attending college studying writing and filmmaking. It was his dream to be a writer. It was 1966 and the country was changing fast with the human rights movement. It was a time of peace, not war, flower power, and free love, a young generation breaking away from the old and creating something new. Our father went into the Hippie movement all the way, taking us my sister, and I to peaceful protest until they became too violent, freedom of speech was met with force. to be a real hippie meant that you were hip to what was going on in the world, to have the knowledge and the personal power to stand for what you believe in, equality at the forefront of every conversation, the knowledge that all men are created equal. As the country divided so did our parents and my sister and I remained with our father. I was a crazy horse-loving kid from the moment I can remember, most likely because our father was in love with the old western’s films. He loved the whole idea of living off the land, homesteading so we left Hollywood for the country life but he actually, knew nothing about homesteading or livestock he was learning as he went along. I finally got the horses I wanted so badly when I was seven. He bought an x racehorse named ZIPPER who was a runaway and a pony named BINGO who would bite, buck, and run us under branches, he was a little shit, but we loved him dearly. After countless times falling off Zipper Dad finally gave up on riding horses and bought a car.

I never understood our father's philosophy of less is more until much later on in my life. when I was young, I wanted to a have nice house with electricity and a color TV.

My mom married a retired policeman in Oregon when I was in sixth grade, I went to live with them. I was very little when our parents split, and it was important for me to connect with my mom. She gave me a new perspective that I needed. I was a tomboy I had no need for dresses or girly things, if it didn’t have to do with horses, I had no interest at all. I needed the structure they provided. I flip-flopped back and forth from Humboldt to Oregon throughout my Jr-high and high school years.

I married the local Deputy Sheriff in Humboldt and had two beautiful children, a girl, and a boy 21 months apart. After about ten years in Humboldt, we moved to Butte County where I started my horse training business. I was living my dream qualified and competed at the AQHA World Show in Reining and then helped develop the Northern California Reined Cow Horses Association. After 14 years of marriage, we split, and the kids stayed with me. I was living my dream, but I was falling apart, something was missing, an empty feeling I couldn’t fill. Music helped me find my place It felt right. I joined my first band when I was 33 as a singer in a band called Partners in Crime, I wrote my first song when I was 34 and got my first guitar when I was 35, I found my happy place. Music and the good friends I found, definitely helped me through the rough patches.

In 2009 our father passed away. The shock of losing someone so dear to me profoundly changed me, everything that seemed important no longer was. I started to play his songs instead of my own songs. I was finding his songs spoke to my heart, comforted me. His voice, his words, the meanings of the words he wrote left me pieces to a puzzle that was becoming so clear in my head. I was no longer ashamed of my hippie upbringing I was proud. I finally got it. Old memories of happy days came flooding back. I no longer saw my childhood through the eyes of a child but through the eyes of a mother and I understood what he was showing me Less is more because the value is time, time to do what you want. He gave me his time; time together was so simple and precious. Yes, we had to walk a lot, but we had each other along the way. He would sing and play games that made the time pass and before we knew it we would catch a ride with a neighbor. The community of back to the landers in Southern Humboldt was tight back then, much more open and friendly in the ’70s before weed became a cash crop. I remember the love between the people back then and the fun we had in our little shack on the hill. A home full of love, music, storytelling, and community.

The biggest musical influences are definitely my parents, both very talented. My mom has a voice like an angel and writes amazing poetry. I am super excited to embark on this adventure with these wonderful band members of SistersTerry and the Rolling Papers. It has been a great experience developing these songs, creating with my sister is coming full circle for me and it feels good. SistersTerry and the Rolling Papers

Best, Regina

I have loved the guitar since I was a young man. My father didn’t want me to pursue music and I understand why. He was born in hard times, the market crash in the 20s was a big one. He said you need skills that can get you, work. I think there is a balance between your likes and the discipline required to gain an education.

I started playing the guitar in my 20s and have never put it down for very long. I spent some time at the Family Light School of Music in Sausalito, CA, that training taught me how to play with others. I have been in several bands prior to, The Sisters Terry project, none of these prior associations came close to the joy I feel playing with Brigette, Regina, Bill, and Carl. it’s a family.

My influences include Mark Knopfler, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jonny Lang, BB King, Buddy Guy, and Ottmar Liebert to name most of my favs.

My guitars include; Steinberger, Fender Tele, Fender Strat, Guild, Moonstone, and Yamaha. My amps are Mesa Boogie tube amps, Boss, and DigiTech effects.