Exclusive Interview: Tennessee-Raised Troubador Ferraby Lionheart
- Author: Min-Q Kim
- Posted on: Thursday June 17, 2010 at 1:00 PM
- Filed under: music, ferraby lionheart, folk, jack of hearts, interview, exclusive
Photo by Lucy Hamblin / lucyhamblin.com
On August 3rd, L.A.-born, Tennessee–raised troubadour Ferraby Lionheart puts out his sophomore album, Jack of Hearts. (Need we remind you Justin is from Tennesse?) If you have not yet heard of Ferraby Lionheart, don't worry; he's hard to forget and not just because of his name. (that's his real birth name, mind you...) His lyrically rich, wholesome folk ballads are worthy of a long hard listen- preferably while lounging on a porch on a quiet road in the middle of nowhere or dreaming of such. He points toward a simpler place and time – when prices were reasonable and politicians were noble, to borrow a phrase – a sepia-colored era that may or may not have ever existed, but feels, thanks to songs like these, like it must have. He sings of a weathered old champ looking for a fight, cornbread and tea, handwritten letters, and a thin-legged girl with a voice like the autumn wind. He tries more than once to leave town but never does, and why should he… His world is so damn lovely.
Jack of Hearts is dripping with the musicality of its author, as evidenced by subtle songwriting elements, like the use of counterpoint to build tension in the hook of Harry and Bess. The chords rise while the melody gently falls, like paper in a light wind that eventually comes to rest, resolving it all into a phrase of utter delight.
Speaking of Harry and Bess, this is the bright shining star in this collection: written about Harry Houdini and his wife Bess. “The story goes that Bess Houdini passed a key to Harry in a kiss (after an hour of struggling at a widely publicized 1904 escape).” Play the record and you’ll be whisked away to a tender exchange between a man and his wife, a century old, and privy to a secret that could have been their ruin. You’ll smile, probably the same knowing smile they must have shared. It is, of course, an allegory for the notion that a kiss, with all its gooey trappings, can set you free.
Below, an interview with Ferraby Lionheart, in which he talks about being a wanderlust, the songwriting process, and finding inspiration in a batch of love letters from a bygone era.
JT.com: Born in Los Angeles, raised in Tennessee. Which do you identify with more? That is to say, when people ask you where you're from, what do you say?
FL: I guess they are both home. It feels that way. Right now I pretty much live between the two, but I mainly identify with moving around. I like switching up the scenery. Eatin' breakfast in a new place and seeing God's country.
JT.com: You can see, or rather hear, why people immediately assume that you must be from Nashville...
FL: I was there age 5 to 18, but it's hard to say whether my music sounds like it all. I wasn't ever part of a Nashville tradition or anything. My folks aren't music types, so I've just found it through whatever records or movies are on.
JT.com: You've said that you listened to musicals growing up. You do love to tell a good story in your songs, which is one of the things I love about your music...
FL: The older I get, the more important lyrics become. As a listener, I can rarely get into a song unless the words are moving me in some way. But yeah, I like songs that tell stories. I guess my favorite songwriters tend to do that. Thanks for the compliment.
JT.com: And so much melody. It's something alot of singer-songwriters struggle with, balancing lyrics and music, but it seems like it comes so easily to you. Does it? Or do you really toil and torture yourself to get em just so?
FL: Melody is one thing that comes easy i suppose. I don't remember writing any melodies, they just come out spontaneously. And so the work comes with putting words to it. I pick up an instrument most days and fiddle around.. see if anything is wanting to come out. Good melodies don't always come. But when they do, I don't remember finding it. It was just there.
JT.com: "Harry and Bess" is really a stunner, I just wanted to say that. When you have a song like that, are you aware that you've really nailed it? Like, do you get that sense?
FL: Hmm.. Well thanks, I'm glad that you like it. Um, I guess there's a certain sense. I mean I try to nail every song, but yeah when I first started the basic music idea for that one I got particularly excited. It made me want to dance a lot, and I suspected that it had a lot of potential. But.. we'll see I guess, right?
JT.com: This album has a lot of heartbreak in it -- and your heroes are constantly trying to leave town... Is this album personal? Is it you in these songs or do you kind of remove yourself by creating these characters and their stories?
FL: Sometimes I make a personal song, but even then it gets extras and whatever to make it a song I wanna sing you know? Then other times I'll just be telling a story I heard, and trying to imagine or create the emotions that could have possibly existed.
JT.com: Have to ask: Who is Corinne?
FL: Yeah, well she's a character from these letters I was given. She's real, and a man named Eugene King was writing to her back in the 20's and 30's. I made out what I could from the letters and then turned it into my own story. There's a song called "Eugene King" as well but I didn't put it on the album.
JT.com: What kind of songs do you listen to when you're not writing?
FL: Usually American. Recorded sometime between 1960 and 1980, but I don't restrict it to that..
JT.com: Any tour plans?
FL: Yep, I better. Think we're heading out in late July for a bit.. Then not sure, but the idea is to be out as much as I can. We got an album to break.
Bonus Video: Ferraby performing "Dear Corinne" from Jack of Hearts. The man can sing heartbreak.
Visit Ferraby on the interweb or on Myspace.
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