Lovebirds Veronica May and Lindsay White

“Pretty little harmonies with a pretty little lady,” is how Veronica May describes the music of the Lovebirds, her new performance duo with Lindsay White. May — whose parents fronted the 1970s band the Flatlanders — has been playing piano for over 20 years, percussion for over a decade, and guitar for several years. A 2008 San Diego Music Award winner for Best Acoustic, May also plays with White in the Forget Me Nots, a 1940s-inspired ensemble.

“The Forget Me Nots sound is throwback Americana jazz, blues, and even some country, with rich four-part vocals,” says White, who got her start playing open mics at venues like Lestat’s Coffee House. “We make the new, original songs sound like antiques. My solo music is very soft and folksy but with potent lyrics. The Lovebirds is sort of a mix of all that.”

The Lovebirds appear Saturday, February 19, at a grand-opening party for the new ArtLab Studios creative co-op at 3536 Adams Avenue.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Lindsay White:

1) Brenda Xu, Losing the Moment. “This is one of the best local recordings I’ve heard. Her style is simultaneously gentle and stern, and that’s hard to pull off in a way that works.”

2) Gregory Page, Bird in a Cage. “I truly believe with all my heart that if they played Gregory Page through Main Street speakers across the land we would be that much closer to world peace.”

3) The Black Keys, Brothers. “I love duos. This CD makes me sad because it details a breakup very similar to one I went through — and I’m the culprit, not the victim, in that story. They say artists like to torture themselves; this is my torture device.”

4) Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. “This album makes my soul smile. I’m pretty sure it will be in rotation till the day I die.”

Veronica May:

1) Danielle Ate the Sandwich. “A great artist from Colorado, who I worked with in Fort Collins, where I went to college.”

2) Kaki King, Junior. “Nuff said.”

3) Ani DiFranco, self-titled. “Cuz I’m gay like that. Her lyrics are absolutely the best. Such a wordsmith.”

4) Harold and Maude, original soundtrack. “The soundtrack was so infused with Cat Stevens music, which is part reason why Harold and Maude is truly my favorite movie.”

WHERE DO YOU TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS?

May:

1) “Jitters on Park, a most-fantastic coffeeshop.”

2) “Hamilton’s Tavern in South Park has yummy beer.”

BRUSH WITH FAME?

White: “I was in Los Angeles, telling my friend how weird it was that I lived there four years and never saw a celebrity. Five minutes later, Courteney Cox walks in and eats at the booth behind ours.”

BEST VOICES IN SAN DIEGO?

White: “Tori Roze and Steph Johnson are right up there.”

May: “Allegra Barley for the amazing voice tricks, Jeffrey Joe Morin for the genuine care of what he’s telling you, and Gregory Page for the...oh, Gregory, you amaze me in too many ways.”

MUSIC YOU’RE EMBARRASSED TO LIKE?

White: “I’m strangely in love with old-school jams, like Lighter Shade of Brown’s ‘On a Sunday Afternoon’ and Lisa Lisa’s ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home.’ You can’t be from the Central Valley without having an appreciation of those songs.”

May: “Anything by Barry Manilow.”

DUES PAID?

White: “Just like every other artist, I’ve played for empty rooms with broken sound systems. Being ripped off for money is probably the worst pill to swallow, but it happens to all of us at one point or another.”

May: “Right now I have a library bill due to be paid that’s almost $250. I don’t know how I get into this.”

WHO SHOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE?

White: “Suri Cruise. It’s creepy how much that kid looks like I did as a child. Only difference is, she’s sporting fur coats.”

May: “Robert Downey Jr. I think he could really pull it off.”

THREE THINGS WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

White:

1) “If my mind is a mess, I will organize my closet.”

2) “It’s my goal to get a song placed in a television drama during some big moment, like right before the two main characters finally have sex.”

3)“I can say the alphabet backwards.”

May:

1) “I grew up on a farm in Byers, Colorado, where I went to a K-12 school and graduated with 21 people, 15 of whom I was probably related to.”

2) “I’m a certified neurologic music therapist.”

3) “I just got a job offer as the new glee club director at Clairemont High School.” ■