Meet Sarah Bills, Union, and Alison Hillhouse, Virginia—Tri Delta sisters, neighbors and co-founders of Mom Band, a group born in Alison’s garage who now play live shows and inspire women everywhere. In an episode hosted by Lexi Leggs, Millikin, they share how Tri Delta shaped their confidence and what it’s like to balance careers, kids and music, as well as the story behind their first single, “This Is Not a Midlife Crisis.”
What happens when two Tri Delta sisters discover that they’re neighbors, both musically talented and both craving a creative outlet? You get Mom Band—a garage-born, all-woman powerhouse proving it’s never too late to chase your dreams.
Sarah Bills, Union, and Alison Hillhouse, Virginia, talk about everything from their college days and Tri Delta memories to balancing their day jobs with family life and music rehearsals.
You’ll hear how Mom Band came together, the inspiration behind their first single, “This Is Not a Midlife Crisis,” and how this journey has been a confidence-building adventure that inspires their kids—and everyone who sees them perform. Plus, Sarah and Alison share their favorite covers to play (yes, including Tri Delta favorites like “Closer to Fine”), their plans for the band’s future and why it’s okay to go after the things you’ve always dreamed of, no matter your age.
BONUS: The band’s dream is to play at The Bitter End in New York City. Listen to their single, post to social media and tag them @TheBitterEndNYC! Let’s see if we can go viral and make their dream come true!
Listen:
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[Mom Band Transcript]
This transcript was created using automated technologies and may contain errors.
Welcome back to our Let's Talk Tri Delta podcast. My name is Lexi Leggs and I am
Tri Delta's new chapter success manager for operations, which is a fancy title for
someone who supports our chapter officers and all things operations, whether it's
officer training and development, Slating and onboarding, and I also have the pleasure
of supervising our lovely team of chapter development consultants, but today I am
back and serving as your podcast host and I am so excited to be back here. When
Sarah Bills from our chapter at Union College and move next door to
Allison Hill House from our Beta Sigma chapter at the University of Virginia and
Sleepy Hollow New York, the two became fast friends. They discovered that they were
not only Tri Delta sisters, but that they were also both musically talented. Together
with four other local moms, they started the Mom Band in Allison's garage, proving
that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. And today we are so excited to
have Sarah and Allison here with us on the podcast to share a little bit about
your journey. So please help me to welcome them to the podcast. Welcome Sarah and
Allison. How are you all today? Thank you. - Happy to be here, thanks for having
us. - So it is so great to have a chance to talk to you all and learn a little
bit more about this band that you formed in your garage. We'll get back to a
little bit of that in just a second, but we actually wanna start off with your
journey. So talking about how you chose to attend the institutions that you did and
what brought you to Tri Delta. Would you share a little bit about those experiences?
- Sure, So I went to the University of Virginia. Who are you, by the way? Oh, I
need to start with my name. Just so you know what you're doing. Yes. Hi, I'm
Allison Hillhouse. I went to the University of Virginia. I'm originally from St.
Louis, and I think I chose UVA because it was a gorgeous campus. It was fun.
It was full of smart people, and it had an active Greek life, Greek life, which is
something that interested me. And I chose Tri Delta because when I went through
Rush, they were the girls who were the most down -to -earth, fun and funny. They had
a really good sense of humor, and that made me feel like that was the place I
wanted to call home. I love that. Yeah. Well, I'm Sarah Bills, so yes,
I grew up in Connecticut, and I chose Union College because It was a driving
distance from where I grew up and I wanted kind of a small liberal arts
environment. And so it was funny, Greek life really wasn't much on my radar,
but as soon as I got on campus, I saw how important it was to not only kind of
like the social scene, but also I saw all the great work they were doing kind of
as far as like philanthropy and just like being out and about on campus. And our
recruitment wasn't until sophomore warrior. So I actually got to know a lot of the
Tri Delta's as a freshman. And once I did, I knew that's exactly the house I wanted
to be in. Oh, I love that. Absolutely. I have this vintage cup from 1998 that I
brought out for the occasion from a Tri Delta sorority. So hopefully if any of my
sisters are watching, they will appreciate this. I love the memorabilia. Thank you so
much for sharing a little bit about your stories and What brought you to Tri Delta?
I think I love the most, Sarah, as that you shared that it wasn't something that
was really on your radar. I think I kind of also had a similar experience, but
seeing how big Tri Delta is in my life and now yours and seeing those connections,
it's just so-- so I'll inspire you just to see that come together in full circle
and see that lifetime engagement there. So let's talk about how you all met and
what it was like discovering that you had a shared to connection. Can you talk a
little bit about that? Well, so we met just right before the pandemic in the
streets of Sleepy Hollow, New York. We kept running into each other on walks, and
soon our kids became friends, and we're just practically next door neighbors from
each other.
And I don't know when we discovered that we were trying to assist each other. I
don't know, but as as we did it like made sense I was like oh okay this actually
because we had just like a connection off the bat and then we did when we found
out we're like oh of course like that totally makes sense so yeah absolutely I love
that and then so then how did you find out about the shared musical experience and
about your music backgrounds how did we get to that so I had studied like music in
college and I was in an acapella group for many years in New York City and I just
had always been looking for an outlet and so I think in one of the times that
we've been chatting just like watching our kids play in the streets she'd mentioned
she'd played guitar and I was like oh well I sing and I know Allison had always
had aspirations to be in a band so I think we just kind of started talking about
music in that way um and then I think you were the one who really had the idea.
When I first moved to the neighborhood so a little bit about my background in
guitar I learned to play acoustic guitar in college. And one of my first
performances was Pref, Prefs Night at, at In Tri Delta at UVA.
And we had this tradition. So I used to sit around and sing with my sorority
sisters all the time, I'd play guitar, and they'd sing because we like didn't have
cell phones, and we didn't have anything else to do. So that was kind of a hobby
of ours before we go out at night. And so for Prefs Night, there was a tradition
in our house of always performing like closer to fine by the Indigo Girls and
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac and just like having this really like emotional moment
with all the girls who were going through Rush. So that was where I started playing
guitar. I kind of let it slip for like a decade or so. And then when I moved out
to the suburbs from New York City, I was like, I'm gonna start a band. I've always
wanted to start a band. I'm gonna start a Mom Band. And I tried to recruit people
for like I don't know two years until I met Sarah and then I learned she could
actually sing and she wanted to do it and we like did like a little test run
where we went to her house like in like the depths of winter we were like hovered
by a fire like strumming on a guitar I was like really pretty mediocre guitar at
that point um I've improved a lot since then but we played for like I don't know
30 minutes and then I'm like - Okay, I think we can start a band. We know what
we're doing. - Yeah, exactly. So it's definitely like jumping in kind of, what's the
phrase, beat first? - Yeah, head first. - Head first, head first. - Head first, yeah.
- It's a lot, apparently. - Yeah. - So, but it was great. And I think for me too,
having had all that background and music, and I'd done like the evening division at
Juilliard when I was in the city, like I didn't have that outlet in Sleepy Hollow.
And so I was really hungry to like, you know, just be able to be participating in
music again. And this was a great way to do it, like in the community too, which
was really important to us. Yeah, absolutely. I definitely agree. And it's just
something about being able to get back to your passion and where you find yourself
connecting with those around you. And a fun fact, I really have to say, totally, I
was actually the music chair at Tri Delta, my junior year. So I was definitely
something that, you know, I really carried kind of throughout that journey. And it
was really fun to have that kind of foundation at Tri Delta. Then I think that was
something we also connected over. Yes, I love that music is so integral in Tri Delta.
I was looking through our archives and just seeing how far we've come. I mean, it
was so interwoven into our events, like convention and the convention choir and
things of that nature. So it's so cool to see how it's come. I don't know if you
all know, but we don't have a music chair anymore.
They can appoint them at the chapter once to select their own, but now it's just
kind of a part of one of the roles.
That's probably honestly what they might have is a TikTok coordinating chair,
honestly, but it makes sense. It's so cool to hear a little bit about Chara's
experience with music in the background. So Alice and you'd already shared that you
kind of tried to start to recruit to form a band prior to and then once you all
connected, we started to make the music together. Tell us about how you started to
form the band and gather other local moms to join. What was that like? Sure.
So after I found Sarah, we kind of put the word out. We found somebody in the
neighborhood who was like a classically trained pianist like played Mozart and she's
like, "Sure, I'll do it." And then we convinced two other women that we were
starting to become friends with that had never played the bass or never played the
drums before that they could learn. I like Google how to play the bass and I'm
like, "You can learn in six weeks, Alexia." So our friend learned in six weeks. She
had a violin background. So she'd had some like straight background but - Brand new
to the bass. - Yeah, and the drummer had never played an instrument, but she just
had good rhythm. And so we started these like adult music lessons where we all got
together to band and we had a coach who kind of helped us figure out how to play
songs together. And then a little bit later, we had our second singer join us.
We recruited her just to build out the band more.
I think we, at first we like really didn't know what we were doing. We had like a
show within a year, within a couple months, sorry, it was a couple months, we were
playing at like our local river club on the Hudson River. And I feel like we were
so nervous, we had no idea what we were doing, and we just got up there and did
it. And I think part of our motto is it's never too late in life to just like do
what you want to do and just to like get out there and do it. and don't let
perfect be the enemy of the good.
And we just did it. And what else about the forming of the band? - Yeah, I think
that was the big stuff. I will say, I think it's never too late.
And I will say the coolest thing now is like seeing other people who are watching
us play. And they're like, it's so amazing you did this. Like it's just kind of
gives, especially like women who, you know, we're in our 40s and, you know, we've
got kids and careers. It's definitely, I think, inspiring for them to see us and
say like, oh, they didn't know how to play, but they went and they just learned
that just gives people the confidence of like, you can still try something new. You
can still do something that puts you outside your comfort zone. It really is never
too late. - Yes, I love that. And I love how we're talking about, it doesn't need
to be perfect to start to. And I think that's, your story kind of has that perfect
land of kind of just going for it but also you were strategic in some ways right
like we weren't just relying on just the youtube videos you brought in a coach to
support you but also you just you went with what was passionate and I think that
speaks volumes on just anybody starting a project whether it's a band or anything
just going for it when you have that that even just the willpower to want to do
it even if you don't have all of the steps planned out you see the first step and
you just take it and I love how that's come to fruition for you all here. So we
first formed in March of 2022, you had your first performance in July of 2022,
which is a pretty quick turnaround, like you shared. Can you tell us a little bit
more about your journey to that first performance in Beyond, to see your performances
after that? - Oh, well, we've definitely evolved since then. So that was like kind
of like a friendly, it was like friends are just getting up there trying our best,
but now I guess we're three years later like we're but there's like a in Sleepy
Hollow where we live is obviously a really big Halloween community so we're like
headlining a really big street fair where we're gonna be performing for thousands of
people we've also had the experience of doing some fundraisers locally for the
performing arts in the Sleepy Hollow school district which has been really exciting
to kind of you know do something we love, but also gives back to the schools. But
then we've also just kind of done fun little things, like down at the local kind
of bar restaurant scene, just being able to play out and about. So it's really been
a mix, but it's exciting to have gone from kind of novices as a band to getting
paid to play some of these performances. - Absolutely, I love that, getting to that
professional status, absolutely. We've all been taking, I mean, not singers as much,
but all of us who are new to the instruments are just like evolving or have been
taking lessons to get to get better along the way. Yeah. Yeah. I love that.
Gotta perfect that craft. I absolutely agree with that. I'm also a musician by
trade. I should have told you all that as well as a high school choir teacher. So
I also studied music and undergrad. So I'm just like, if I understand, but
approaching a new instrument as an adult is already one thing, but to see how you
all have culminated that experience and allow folks to learn those new instruments
and now perform and do it at a professional level is so inspiring. So I think one
of the coolest things too is like when we do these performances like we'll perform
at our local farmers market and you see the kids like up front dancing and
especially you see like little girls and I think so often they're like oh I didn't
know I could be in a band. Like, I think it's like a really cool way to show
that like, not only is your mom, someone who's cool or someone who has like
interest in life of their own, but someone that it's like, oh, like, this is a
possibility, like I could do this. It's been fun to kind of see that, you know,
inspiring some of the younger generation too. - Yeah, it's a lot of little kids -
- It's a lot of little kids - - Through everyone. - A lot of little kids are like,
mom is my favorite band because we're the only band they've ever seen. So and we
play like a lot of songs from the radio, you know, they for Pink Pony Club or
like Appatay. And so it's kind of, you know, just we play a lot of like, big
covers that everyone knows and wants to sing in dance along to. Yeah, absolutely. It
sounds like a cool band. I have to come and check y 'all out at some point when
you're out about. Yeah, so I have to come out there and see you all. So,
of course, we've got the Mom Band, but you also have day jobs, so to speak. Can
you all tell us a little bit about what you will do full time? Sure, I can jump
in. So, I work in marketing, I work at HBO Max, the app.
I started when it was HBO, and I've been through the big evolution to streaming, so
it's been really exciting to be along for you know, that's also like a bit of a
creative outlet, obviously being able to talk about like the great shows that we're
bringing to life on HBO. But also, it's been really fun to have like my own
creative outlet outside. So it's, you know, it's, it's, it's a busy job.
It's a big job, but I love it. And I feel like this is nice to have separate and
apart. So I can focus on that. But I have another outlet, I know that's coming
like with the band that I know that, okay, if it's been a big week, I know I've
got the band to look forward to. Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Allison? Yeah,
so I worked in, I'm a freelancer right now, and my background is in consumer
insights and culture and trends. So I write culture and trends reports for content
providers. So I could be writing about Gen Z and some like bigger thoughts about
like the generation or I could be writing about, you know, TikTok trends. It's kind
of a mix of interesting things that can feed into like show development. And I've
found that, yeah, it's just great to have this as a balance in life. And I look
forward to it every week and I'm like chronically late for everything except for Mom
Band. Like make my husband put the kids to bed and I'm like running out the door
to band because I'm so excited to do it. I love that that it's just that it still
gives that excitement and that creativity too, right? It keeps that passion going for
you all. How would you say that your journey with Mom Band has inspired you either
personally or professionally or even both? Yeah, I think it's been a big confidence
builder. You know, I think it's funny where I was like, was we we were reflecting
about Tri Delta and everything. I feel like us, from the beginning, be able to just
get out there and try something new really speaks the fact that we're all really
confident people. We still have fears and anxieties like anyone else, but I also
think having had that foundation too at Tri Delta, I actually think that was really
important to build that foundation of community and support and confidence. I actually
was the president of our chapter of my last year. So I think like just those
leadership skills and all of that really fit into, you know, now with the band,
feeling like we can get up on stages that seem scary, but I do feel like it's
inspired me to continue to push myself to see like what else I can do. So like I
said, it's also been great to see how it inspires others. So it's kind of It's
been great. - Yeah. I love that. - Allison? - I kind of echo all of that. That's
kind of what it was like too. Yeah, it's given me a lot of confidence that I can
do anything. - And trying out. - I like that it like shows my kids too that you
can just get out there and do something that you want, start something you want to
do. - Well, and resiliency too, because there's definitely some performances. I'll go
up the stage and I was like, ooh, I did not sound good on that song. Or I messed
up that part or whatever and you know you get in your head and you get critical
and it's a good way to be like you know what like I did my best I have some
learnings I'll take those learnings and I'll apply those learnings um and then the
next time you go in feeling even more confident so I think it's a good exercise
and like picking yourself back up too because we're never going to be perfect every
every show and it has you tend to magnify your mistakes and then your friends
you've seen this show are like, what? You said it great. Didn't notice the things.
So it's a good lesson and just like not being so hard on yourself because nobody
else is. - Yes, yes. I think as musicians we can often be our own worst critics.
I mean, women, musicians, people honestly can be. So I love how this has instilled
so much confidence in you and the people around you too as well. I think it's
great. So getting a little bit back more into the band, you all released your first
single, This Is Not A Midlife Crisis. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind
your song, its message? And what was the process like for releasing it? Sure.
So This Is Not A Midlife Crisis is available on all major streaming platforms like
Spotify and Apple Music.
So I don't know, we all were kind of hovering around writing songs. And then I
just had this line that kept sticking in sticking in my head, this is not a
midlife crisis. And I guess it's kind of obviously about starting a ban.
This is not a midlife crisis. But anything in life that you're doing or seizing or
deciding that you want to do midlife is just part of your journey. And it's
realizing the dreams that you've always had and that you should just go for it and
not worry about what other people think and it's um kind of a little tongue -in
-cheek like this is not a midlife crisis and we have one line in it that's like uh
I like I don't feel that too like um I don't it's my I don't give a 40 something
era which is you know kind of tongue -in -cheek, but it's like, I'm 40, and I'm
just doing what I wanna do and living life. - Yeah, and it was Allison's brainchild.
So she wrote it and it was fun to like work on arrangements for it. And then to
really get into a studio, like something really done, like I had done some acapella
recording, which was a very different experience than doing it with a band. So I
think it was just exciting for us to like, again, check another new thing kind of
off the list, but get into a room and like, get more experimental and have fun
with it. And then to hear it come together and then to hear, like, I don't know,
again, people just like it bringing them such joy, like kids were saying, that's my
favorite song, or my kids be like, Alexa, play this is not a midlife crisis.
Like, it's really fun just to like have it out in the world. And, you know, just
if nothing else like have it be like a little snapshot in time for all of us
where this has meant so much and it's just fun to be able to share it with others
who might be able to relate. Yeah, that sounds like it's such a rewarding experience
and you've got so many fans already playing your jams out so that's really cool to
hear how you all develop that and gotten to the studio with it as well. So, Sarah,
you kind of already started to allude to this, and one of your answers earlier
about some of the skills that you would gain through Tri Delta and how that would
set you up to this point. But I wonder if you all would want to kind of elaborate
just a little bit more about what else did Tri Delta teach you that you're still
using today in your careers and in the band? Yeah, so we talked a lot about
confidence, that was definitely one. I think also being able to like just navigate
kind of collaboration, like there's a big group of women who have very diverse ideas
and viewpoints. And like, again, we're trying, these are people that we really looked
up to and we're very bright and smart. So just how do we use all of that, you
know, harness all these different opinions to find like a common path together. So I
think that especially in business is so important. Like how can you make sure you're
listening, taking feedback, making informed decisions that are going to benefit like
the greater organization. That's I use that every day. So I think I really kind of
flex those muscles back in Tri Delta. You know, conflict resolution, you know,
being able to work through some of those tougher moments. But that prepares you for
life because that's exactly what you're doing on the day to day. So I'd say those
are probably my biggest examples. Yeah, I mean, I think you said all mine,
I was kind of shy in high school and I think like being in the sorority really
kind of helped build my confidence and I was the VP of finance and treasure I
don't know it's in all these like financial roles because it's in business school.
And I think like that just gave me a lot of confidence to be able to manage like
the budget of the house and I sat on the committee where we manage conflicts and
talked through situations and and our vision and our plans and all those things like
really translated into business. Yeah absolutely thank you so much for sharing and
for our listeners out there especially our collegiate listeners you're hearing here
how important it is to develop those skills of compromise and collaboration and
confidence in the experiences that you're having in your collegiate experience because
you never know you might end up using them later on down the line. So what is
next for the Mom Band. What do we have in the horizon for the group? - Madison
Square Garden. No, I feel like, you know, gotta think bae, but I don't know,
for me, I think it's been fun to just have like a cadence of performances coming
up, but it would be great to record more songs to have like a full EP would be
really cool. 'Cause I think there's some like, you know, competitions that exist
locally or in New York City, that would be fun just to like, you know, enter in
and see if we can build our audience. But, you know, it's just fun to continuously
have that kind of like, potential gigs coming down the pike.
So I think we've got some venues we've got our eye on. And I don't know, for me,
that's, that's what I'd like to focus on. We really want to play in New York City.
I know, I think it would be, yeah. Yeah, a dream spot would be New York City. Any
specific venue or just in the city? Just, there's a very famous place that I feel
like we should play at called The Bitter End. That's, you know, it's a smaller
venue, but like, you know, back old folk singers saying there, Lady Gaga is saying
there when she was really up and coming. So I do feel like that would be a really
fun. So, you know, if you're You can put us there, we're available,
but it'll be fun. So I think we're also figuring out the best way to package up
kind of Mom Band, like all the materials and everything so that we can have like a
proper pitch to all the different venues. Yeah, as we continue to play around with
this. - Yeah, absolutely. Well, I know we've got some resources here. I'm not gonna
put my colleagues up on the spot, but I know we've got some amazing folks over at
Brandon Vance. I might be able to help you market yourselves a little bit more.
Where can our listeners find you if they want to listen to your music? I know you
said that this is not a mid -life crisis, it's on all streaming platforms. But where
else can they find you if they want to get connected or just follow along with
what you all have going on with the Mom Band? - I think you could follow us
@themomband on Instagram. That's probably the best place. And there's like also a
link tree where you can get to all of the different streaming platforms. You know,
we got to build into TikTok. That's aspirational. We're on our way again. We're in
our 40s. So, you know, we're figuring that out. But I do think there's, you know,
we're gonna hopefully get some more content. Like we said, we're a big Halloween
town, we have a bunch of shows coming up. So we'll continue to kind of put clips
from the shows out there.
- Yeah, exactly how you would think it's spelled. Very simple, very easy. Awesome.
Well, thank you so much, Sarah and Allison. It has been great learning a little bit
about you all's journey to found the Mom Band, to instill confidence in yourselves,
the women around you, and instilling confidence back in our Tri Delta Sisters and
bringing some of the lessons that you've learned in Tri Delta along the way. It has
been so inspiring to hear from you all today. It's just fun to hang out and chat
a little bit. I want to thank her. Yes, of course. Thank you. I want to thank all
of our listeners today for tuning in today. Are you connected to Tri Delta? Do you
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much for joining us, and until next time, Delta Love.