Headless Owl Archives - Kreative Kontrol

Nick Ferrio is a heartfelt singer and songwriter based in Peterborough, Ontario. A member of the humourous and wise folk-rock band the Burning Hell, Ferrio has emerged as an artistic force in his own right, releasing two seven-inch singles and now two full-length albums that have each been acclaimed by critics, as vibrant contributions to folk and country music in Canada. His latest album is entitled Amongst the Coyotes and Birdsongs, it’s out now via Headless Owl and Shuffling Feet Records, and has prompted Ferrio to play select tour dates, including one at the Hillside Festival in Guelph on the weekend of July 24. Here, Nick and I chat about sweating in Peterborough, touring with the Burning Hell, European trains versus Canadian trains, Mike O’Neill and Go Trains, the ferociousness of love, relationships, what’s going on on Amongst the Coyotes and Birdsongs, Steven Lambke’s songwriting, Mathias Kom and the Silver Hearts and the Burning Hell, country music as a fashionable state of mind, Geoff Berner’s song “Phony Drawl,” growing up in Sutton, Ontario, Nevermind and The Lion King, seeing Dinosaur Jr. opening up for Alanis Morrissette, Wayne Regretzky, the Great One’s cottage, why he’s no longer the Artistic Director of the Peterborough Folk Festival, The Burning Hell getting snubbed in Peterborough, playing the Hillside Festival, the new Burning Hell record, the song “At My Window,” and then Nick stopped loving Vish today.

Related links: nickferrio.com hillsidefestival.ca vishkhanna.com

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Michael Feuerstack is a well-respected, sophisticated and possibly underrated singer, songwriter, and musician who is based in Montreal. For many years he played in a Ottawa band called Wooden Stars and also nurtured his own project, Snailhouse. Last year he released an LP called Tambourine Death Bed, his first record under his own name, and he’s due to release a new, collaborative effort as Michael Feuerstack & Associates on April 19 called Singer Songer (Forward/Headless Owl). He’s scheduled to play Kazoo! Fest in Guelph (April 9-13) with more tour dates to follow. Here, Mike and I discuss doing this episode in my living room, weird weather, true facts, purple seagulls, tasty coffee, celebratory enthusiasm, the musical shift between Snailhouse and Michael Feuerstack, home recording, my lack of preparation for this interview, Mike’s relationship with the press and his interest in how he’s perceived, antagonism vs. cynicism, Mike’s hardcore punk past in Moncton in the band the Underdogs with Rick White of Eric’s Trip, my son’s blue puck, Mike’s musical origins and early collaborations with White and Julie Doiron, how Wooden Stars began, what punk rock means, and why the gruelling lifestyle of lowly rock bands makes it tricky to keep them together, the intermingling of earnestness and irreverence, how Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are really funny, and the connection between music and comedy, how working as ‘Michael Feuerstack’ might be a confluence of every kind of music he’s ever made, my desire to get everyone to say they’ll “Yahoo! it” instead of “Google it,” some details about his forthcoming album Singer Songer, which includes vocals by the likes of Mathias Kom, Devon Sproule, Bry Webb, Leif Vollebekk, John K. Samson, Jessie Stein, Jim Bryson, Angela Desveaux, and Little Scream, the song “Leave Me Alone,” and more.

Related links: michaelfeuerstack.com vishkhanna.com

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