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We're definitely interested in that whole world. We weren't carneys growing up but we grew up outside of society, in a way, poor and screwing around in the woods and committing small acts of vandalism and misdemeanors – a few felonies but nothing serious. -James Felice |
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There's a cinematic bent to The Felice Brothers' work. They really paint a scene, where you smell the hops and fresh blood, feel the shaky floor under you as you twirl with a gal three times too lovely for the likes of you, just thrilled to graze her pearlescent skin and carry the scent of her expensive perfume home on your sleeve. Their people, like our people, are hungry for experience and pleasure, and the movie inside the fifteen tracks on their latest release is moving and gallows funny, black mooded and happier than the morning sun - in short, shoehorned with wonderful contradictions. They take us to speakeasies and shady rendezvous, which distract from the daily grind as well as comment on it.
 The Felice Brothers |
"I'm not a lyric guy so I try to paint with the music. In film there's dialogue, but in a truly great film the composition of a scene will tell you what to feel and think," observes James. In many respects, their music could be an alternate score to Terence Malick's 1978 masterpiece, Days of Heaven. Strip away the vocals and the tunes capture the lonely sweep of man's vagabond soul, traveling under a merciless, noonday sky that yields to sunset's welcome exhale. As fine as their lyrics are, the whole package resonates with dramatic and comic depth. "Terence Malick is my favorite director. He's made four films and I love them all."
One song that exemplifies their serious-as-a-heart-attack craftsmanship is "Helen Fry," where nothing in the opening moments hints at where the track goes. There's an internal logic that makes the seemingly disparate elements blend – a delightfully oddball swing that infuses much of their catalog.
"That's a testament to our producer/engineer Jeremy Backofen, who helps facilitate that sort of thing. When we first started to record we didn't know anything! I'd never been in a studio before," says James. "He's helped us with arrangements, and he's really good at finding the sonic character of a song. 'Helen Fry' is a good example, where it's dirty and grungy, and that's all him."
Another new track, "Goddamn You, Jim," makes you lean in to pick up James' just-above-a-whisper singing and then drops what sounds like the most mic'd marching band drum ever into the quietude. "That drum sound is cool. It's only two mics and a room mic but the gain is turned up all the way," James says. "Simone just tapped very gently on the bass drum and snare, then we ran it through a reverb bank. That booming sound is just the mics being set so high."
"When we're in the studio, we're up for 19-20 hours a day for a month. Our whole world is that. We don't go home or hang out with girls or anything. We'll take a day off if we're about to stab each other with pens or crack accordions over each other's head," laughs James. "I'd rather do no work than bad work. If I'm gonna do it then it has to be good. We're just a bunch of guys in a room trying to figure out the songs we've written. All we've got is our music. It's all we do. We worked long and hard on the self-titled record – the sequencing and everything. This is what we're about. This is the music we love to play."
 The Felice Brothers |
The multitude of ear-catching voices in this band is but one of many clues that there's a whole lot more to come, and each new chapter will be delivered by beautifully human singers whose words ring out with the scabby feel of real living.
"Simone, Ian and I all sing; Ian sings the most. It helps the music, especially on record, to change up the voices. I liken it to not using the same guitar sound on each song. And live it helps give each other a break. We get at it pretty hard and I don't think one man could sing the whole show," says James. "None of us are great singers and none of us are trained. You listen to records and sing along, and eventually you sing your own stuff."
The right folks are listening, too. Besides a steady, almost universally enthusiastic buzz in the music press on both sides of the Atlantic, the Brothers have caught the attention of The Band's Levon Helm, who invited them to play one of his increasingly legendary Midnight Rambles.
"That was one of the only times I've ever been nervous onstage," recalls James. "First off, Levon is there and other great musicians like Jimmy Vivino, plus all the people who've driven two hours to get there. It was just awesome. It's got pews almost and looks like it could be the church in an old western town, and Levon is the preacher. He's 70-years-old and he has eternal joy. You can just see it in his eyes. It's indestructible."
The conversation turns to the financial screwing everyone except Robbie Robertson got after The Band broke up.
"Garth Hudson still struggles to this day. Those guys shouldn't have to work. It's kinda crazy but that's what happens when money gets involved with music," observes James. "I have no big ideas. For us, it's about having enough to eat and not having a real job [laughs]. Do what you love. You only have a little time to do it."
Ooh, happy days are here
It's a perfect summer night and moonlight's shining clear
Put your pistol in your purse 'cause we are going to Gettysburg
To the stands of the greatest show on earth
The Felice Brothers are on tour now, dates available here.
Here's an intimate, impromptu performance of "Her Eyes Dart Round" from the 2007 Cornbury Festival.
And here's the boys in all their ramshackle glory on "Frankie's Gun" at this year's Clearwater Music Festival.
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