Really, there is nothing all that waif-like about the members of the Aussie folk-pop group the Waifs. Oh, they are youthfully thin enough, but delicate? Hardly.
The three (sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson, and guitar-slinging partner Josh Cunningham) are a powerful force in their native Australia, where they got their start and built a devoted following with live shows filled with sweet harmonies and self-described "wholemeal," earthy music.
Once they took Australia with their charming sound, they came to conquer America and Canada as well.
The group plays the Ogden Nature Center's summer concert series on Thursday, its second show in Ogden.
When the Waifs played their first show here, in September 2002, Thorn left with more than good memories of a fine performance in support of their breakthrough album "Sink or Swim." She got a husband in the deal.
"I had actually met him in Indonesia previously," said Thorn, who now lives in Torrey, Utah. "So when I saw him again in Ogden, after the show, I thought, 'Hmmm ... he's familiar, and awful cute.' And it went well from there."
Thorn laughed. "So I have very good memories of Ogden, and we are excited to come back. We are going to have so many friends and family at that show, it is going to feel like a garden party."
Traveling
Thorn and her sister were not from a musical family, although their father and grandfather had lovely singing voices.
"So I think in some way that may have influenced us," said Thorn. "But it was not an overtly musical family. There were no professionals before us."
Nevertheless, Thorn and Simpson hit the trail when the former was all of 17 years old, and the latter, 21.
"We really just wanted to travel around, and we thought music would be a good way to fund us as we went," said Thorn. "It wasn't like we had big dreams of making this big band. But we're all happy it turned out that way."
While on the road, the Simpson sisters met Cunningham. They were playing the front, acoustic part of a local bar, and Cunningham was playing in back with a rock outfit.
"Well, basically, we heard him play and said, 'We want you in our band,' " said Thorn. "And from then on out, he pretty much was. We kept traveling and eventually went on to Melbourne, which is kind of the music center of Australia. With constant touring, we started to have some real success there. But you know, it is a relatively small country with only so many places to play. Eventually, to grow our careers, we decided to come to America."
New tunes
All three Waifs now live stateside, though they are rather spread out across the country. Simpson bases out of the Midwest and Cunningham, out of California.
"It's really not that bad," said Thorn, "We have to get together a couple of weeks before the tour stars. We use that time to rehearse, and get sharp. We're feeling excited to get out and go on a road trip."
Thorn also said there is a lot of new material in the works.
"These are songs have been sort of flying back and forth, getting fine-tuned on the stage. We want to record something new next year. But don't worry. You'll still get some of your old favorites, too."
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