‘So Long Solo’ visits MHCC, with tea

As a habitual, crappy black coffee drinker and avid metal fan, I was pleasantly surprised with the tea sampler/live acoustic music duo that is “So Long Solo,” which visited Mt. Hood on Thursday in the Student Union.

The event was organized by Seth Albert, Associated Student Government health and wellness director, who said it was basically “to unwind before finals.” Albert met Mark and Heather Miller at a convention earlier in the year and thought they fit with what he’s trying to do for students.

The tea-toting duo from Kansas City certainly seemed to embody this mentality, too.

“I feel like oftentimes in life, we’re just so busy, we’re like, ‘Okay, what’s the next thing?’ And just by adding the tea (to their performance) it makes people think ‘Okay, what else can I expect today that’s different,’ ” said Mark while juggling his eight-month-old son, Rockwell, on his lap.

Inspiration comes in many forms the couple said, citing a story they heard from a pastor they stayed with in Uganda (the basis of the song “Under the Bridge In Uganda”). The song is about two teenage girls who fell in love with much older taxi drivers, only to be deserted once the men found out the girls were pregnant.

A lot of their songs are about their relationship “because I feel like a lot of people really don’t get to experience loving relationships,” said Mark. The Millers first met in 2009, introduced by mutual friends. They made plans to jam together, which fell through. Four months later they bumped into each other again at a local coffee shop, “and wound up jamming until like 3:45 in the morning,” they said.

And they’re still jamming. So Long Solo tours every year from mid-January to early May, and again from late August until Thanksgiving. The couple said they don’t really get stressed while touring anymore, and it shows.

I definitely left more relaxed, and most students I talked to felt at ease, too.