Notable Exceptions

by Rodney Harwood staff writer

Jennifer Epps was already here in Washington. Her playing partner Judy Coder was in Kansas. Even before the pandemic, the distance made it difficult to get anything done musically.

“We decided it would work better if we were both in the same state, so we picked Ellensburg. I told her, if I’m going to relocate, it has to be somewhere with more sunshine than here,” Coder said in a telephone interview somewhere on the road in Mississippi.

The wind was just an added bonus.

Coder made her way to the Pacific Northwest, and Ellensburg has been the home base since 2014, even though they’re on the road more than sitting on the front porch at home.

Coder and Epps, who first played together in the Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band, are known in the world of western music for their finely crafted vocal harmony. Their original music is lighthearted and conversational. Coder’s rhythm guitar is the foundation the music is built on. Epps sweetens the sound with bits of harmonica, rhythm instruments, Native flutes and whistles. The end result is a bold, fresh taste of Americana.

But it is the two-part harmony that brings it all together, Epps said.

“We harmonize. One is singing the melody and the other is singing the harmony,” she said. “Sometimes we change up who sings which part. Our songs are about places we’ve been or about our travels being out there on the road.”

Notable Exceptions Western Folk duo Judy Coder, sitting, and Jennifer Epps are out there somewhere on the road on their Coast-to-Coast Quarantine Tour.

Notable Exceptions was part of the virtual musical entertainment at the Gallery One Visual Arts Center fundraiser back in February, joining forces with a musical lineup that included singer/song writer Mark Pickerel and gospel singer Melanie Peterson. Coder and Epps brought it full circle on a night where creative minds raised money for the downtown art gallery.

“We actually did our virtual performance from the living room of our house,” Coder said with a laugh. “It was really a fun evening. We were able to interact with the people that were chatting through the internet.

“Audience interaction is what we miss most about not performing. That audience energy plays a big part and we hope to get back to that, The audience is our favorite part of playing.”

They have been on the road ever since.

Notable Exceptions loaded up the Rolling Quarantine Machine (NoRMa) for a Coast-to-Coast Quarantine Tour. Like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Review, it’s a no rules, no schedule tour that takes them every which way the wind blows with a series of flash-mob-style shows, spontaneous outdoor mini-concerts, from parking lots to campgrounds, house concerts to concert halls.

Fans can travel along virtually, with exclusive online content and prizes for paid subscribers through their website. They are quite literally on the road again, Coder said.

“Our mission is to make the world a better place, so we keep it light,” she said. “We were talking to a couple in the campground the other night and they were worried about a storm coming in and tornado reports, so we played them a song to make them feel better.

“Sometimes it’s two people, sometimes it’s 50. The world needs happy songs right now and that’s what we’re doing with this tour – a smile for every mile.”

They have been recognized by the International Western Music Association with the 2017 song “Marilyn Tuttle,” which won the “Best of the Best” Harmony Award, and the 2015 Harmony Duo of the Year Award.

Notable Exceptions is driven by a commitment to spreading joy and laughter through song. Friends and fans can follow their adventures on Facebook. •

Judy Coder, left, and Jennifer Epps formulate the Ellensburg Western Folk duo Notable Exceptions