The Lovely Feathers Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 23rd 2010 11:15AM by Sarah Mullally
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The Lovely Feathers, Canada's next big breakthrough band, already have critics around the world praising their frantic and captivating singalongs. Current band members Mark Kupfert, Ted Suss, Mark Shortt and David Buzaglo of the Montreal group are ready to hit both mainstream and underground by storm by the conclusion of 2010, beginning with several appearances at SXSW 2010.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Eccentric pop. It's stuff you may have heard on the mainstream radio, but it's a bit more complex -- there is more going on. I love to think people might appreciate more complicated music. We're rock in the general sense.

How did your band form?

Mark Kupfert got us together initially for jamming sessions. We pretty much just love to jam and decided our stuff was pretty good, so let's take it outside the walls of this apartment. We started with gigs at McGill University, gained fans, then started around the Montreal music scene going to various venues and playing quite a bit. We just jam and groove so well together. One time during a groove session, Richard just started singing, "Pope John Paul died," which later became the recorded lyrics.

What are your musical influences?

As a drummer I look to Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and the classic rock from the '60s and early '70s. It's all in the tone of the guitar. Songwriting is about discovery. It's a lot of discovery, and as a band we all come from similar musical backgrounds. I suppose Mark likes more indie rock. As a band, I suppose we jive like Bob Dylan, and I listen to the Beatles and the Stones.

Beatles or the Stones?

Definitely Beatles.

How did you come up with the band's name, the Lovely Feathers?

Mark got it from his subconscious, like how we jam and groove and songwrite. It just came to him one day. It's not like we were sitting around thinking, 'What should we name the band?' It just came to him one day, and it took.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure?

Like what?

Like, Miley Cyrus?

[Laughs] I have a love/hate relationship with '80s music. I was born in 1985, so there were five years left in the '80s music revolution. I feel like I recognize and appreciate much of what the '80s did, but at the same time, can't always appreciate it to the fullest.

What is your biggest vice, Ted?

Espresso.

What is the craziest thing that has happened to the band while on tour?

One day in Phoenix, we had the day off. We went hiking, the four of us, in some desert mountain area. Hours later, we realize Mark [Shortt] isn't with our group anymore. We thought maybe he had joined up with a random group of people we'd seen earlier. All of a sudden, when we are heading toward the car, we see this group of people -- and Mark -- on top of a really steep and small cliff! This random group of people -- and Mark -- climbed up a cliff and literally had to be rescued by a helicopter to get down. Mark had front-door service at our gig that night by the fire marshall.

How does the Montreal music scene differ from others around the world?

Montreal is like the melting pot of artists in Canada. It's like an incestual family of musicians.

What's in your festival survival kit for the band during SXSW?

A bag with all our wallets and passports, water, Jack Daniel's and clean underwear.

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