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If there is a dearth of merchandise at the Weepies' show at The State Room on Saturday, Oct. 23, there might be a good reason.
The duo said they've had to curtail the amount of merch they can sell, because they had to make room on their tour bus for baby toys.
Of course. Such is the life of a married couple touring with a 5-month-old and a 3-year-old. The happy — but sleep-deprived — husband-and-wife team of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen are promoting their new album, "Be My Thrill," 14 songs of folk-pop featuring whimsical stories and gently strummed melodies.
The increase in popularity for the Weepies comes hand-in-hand with the increase of family members. "In 2006, it was just Deb and myself in an old van with 100 T-shirts," Tannen said. In contrast, their current tour sounds like a miniature version of the Partridge Family. "It's a huge tour for us," Talan said in a dual interview.
"Mistakes will be made," Tannen warned. "But whatever goes wrong goes wrong."
Little has gone wrong this year for the Weepies. Besides a new member of the family, "Be My Thrill" was chosen as the first album ever streamed on Whole Story, the official Whole Foods Market blog.
Whole Foods, in a music partnership launched last month, promotes one new release monthly. "Be My Thrill" was chosen as the first "recommended release," displayed at checkout counters through the end of October.
It was great news for a family that needs to go the market frequently. "We were weirdly psyched," said Tannen. "We go to Whole Foods like three times a week. We're not sure 100 percent how that happened."
The Weepies began when Talan and Tannen were little-known singer-songwriters living on the East Coast who became admirers of one another's music. Talan was living in Boston, and when she heard that Tannen was traveling from New York City to perform a show, she persuaded her girlfriends to accompany her to check out his music. After the show, Talan and Tannen connected, and despite awkward moments when each was "cautious," according to Tannen, that meeting grew into a musical and personal duo.
Their previous album, 2008's "Hideaway," was "very much a pregnant album," Tannen said.
This will be the Weepies' first Utah tour stop, and the band is eager to show off the state's natural beauty and museums to their children. (Performers traveling with kids, such as Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, have been known to stop at Discovery Gateway.) "We'll get to rest when they go to college," Tannen said.
Love and marriage, song and marriage
P The Weepies perform, with Joe Pug opening.
When • Saturday, Oct. 23, at 9 p.m.
Where • The State Room, 638 S. State St., Salt Lake City
Tickets • Sold out.