The Wild Feathers Prepare for Birmingham's Avondale Brewery
November 6, 2020 17:22
Photo by Rachel Moore
Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen
Nashville's The Wild Feathersare gearing up for a big return to Avondale Brewing Company on Friday, November 13th. This band is certainly no stranger to the Birmingham, as their extensive history has led them to just about every stage the city has to offer over the past ten years. This particular show is presented by none other than Big Friendly Productions, so you can rest assured that this will be a top notch occasion in every aspect.
Having shared the stage with musical icons such as Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, and Bob Segar, The Wild Feathers are guaranteed to deliver a dynamic performance for the Birmingham faithful. With indoor shows being few and far between, as well as cold weather right around the corner, music fans don't want to miss this opportunity for one more outdoor show.
As we look ahead this one, we caught up with Joel King (bass/vocals) to learn a little more about how the band has been fighting their way through the pandemic, a new album due out later this month, and much more. Check out the full conversation below, and make sure to click here to secure your tickets while supplies last.
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Let's start off with some general background info on the band. You guys have been at it for about ten years now, right?
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Joel: Yeah. We've been on the streets for about ten years. Well, we started around 2010 with me, Ricky (Young), and Taylor (Burns) writing a lot of the songs that came out on the first record. We kind of got together just to write songs and see if we could do this thing. You know, multiple singers, kind of like The Band or Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. It's progressed from there, and the band has definitely evolved. The sound has changed a little here and there, but it's pretty much all rock and roll.
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Very cool. So, you got started in 2010. You guys are based out of Nashville, right?
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Joel: Yeah.
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Was it soon thereafter that the band started expanding beyond the Nashville scene and hitting all of the Southeastern markets?
Joel: Yeah man. When we first started, we had a production deal in LA. So, we flew out there and cut a bunch of songs. We get back here, and decide we aren't going to tour like we did with our old bands. I'll be damned if that's exactly what we did. (laughs). Our booking agent gave us some really great advice to do a residency tour. Every Monday, we played Memphis. On Tuesday, we were in Nashville. Wednesday would be Birmingham. I think we played The Nick about 1000 times. Thursday would be Atlanta.
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We had a routine where we did it for a little over a month. We were playing every day of the week with maybe one day off. We did this residency tour for a month or so, just to be out there. Playing as much as we could. That was really when we started "touring" a lot. We did some runs here and there, but once we did that, things started happening.
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We got on a few other awesome tours, and the rest is history. Paul Simon asked us to come open for him for maybe six or seven dates. That was a real dream come true. After that, we signed a record deal and all of that other stuff.
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Wow. What point in time were the Paul Simon shows?
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Joel: I think that was 2012? It was 2011 or 2012. I can't remember which. It was one of the two.
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I can only imagine how big of a deal that was.
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Joel: Oh yeah, man. It was pretty crazy. That was obviously a major boost. We had to price match our CDs with his. We only had a four-song EP, which we recorded ourselves, at the time. We had to sell them for like $20, because that's what he sold his albums for. (laughs). And ours were burned CDs from our own computer. So, it was pretty interesting. It really set us on course though.
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We ended up playing with so many legacies. We played a bunch of times with Willie (Nelson), Bob Dylan, and as of last year, the last tour we did was with Bob Segar about a year ago. So, we've kind of been in that legacy mode ever since the beginning. Maybe that's because it's a throwback sound or whatever. I don't really want to call it a throwback. I'd probably call it a "bring back." It's just guitars, drums, singing, and what I call "regular music." (laughs).
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Well, you guys were obviously doing something right from the get go. Finding yourselves in an opportunity to support so many long-standing musical icons. Not many bands can say that. That's amazing.
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Joel: Oh yeah, man. We got to meet many of our heroes.
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I wanted to ask you specifically about this year. It's obviously been a tremendous challenge for all of us, with the music industry being no exception. Tell me about where you guys were and how did COVID-19 affect the band early on. How have you managed to navigate through it thus far?
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Joel: At the time, we weren't really doing much. We were planning the "Spirit of the South" tour with Blackberry Smoke, The Allman Betts Band, and a few others. There was gonna be a big jam at the end. It was gonna be a really cool, amphitheater-type tour. Even The Big House in Macon was planning to have a museum exhibit. It was shaping up to be a big, summer-long tour.It was scheduled for about two months. We were so stoked to do that. It was going to be a whole bunch of fun.
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We were doing some recording and a bunch of other prep stuff when COVID hit. We couldn't really go in the studio and weren't really trying to be around anyone, so that's when we decided to compile the rarities and B-sides record. The tour got rescheduled for 2021, so it's still going to happen. We had contemplated this record for a long time. We're no longer with Warner Brothers, so we kind of do whatever we want, which is really great. For each record, we'll write 30 or 40 songs and narrow it down to 15 or 16. Then, we end up cutting and releasing maybe 12.
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So, we have a few extra for placements and all of that. Every record has a couple of extra songs. We have a few of the covers we have done. We have maybe three songs that we had already done in the studio and produced ourselves. We decided we could put a cap on this, ten years in, and call it Medium Rarities. It's kind of like of Nirvana has Incesticide. Every band tends to have "that record," with a lot of B-sides.
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We decided, "why not us?" That's kind of how we remedied the COVID situation. We knew we needed to release something, but we couldn't really get in to record. We could have probably started recording, but we wouldn't have been ready to release it by now. So, we got everything mastered and put the whole package together. It was pretty cool to see it come together.
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The first track is from 2010, when we recorded a demo for Interscope Records, which signed us and dropped us within six months. That was a cover of "Blue" by The Jayhawks. That's one of our favorite songs. We recorded it at Sound City Studios out in Los Angeles. It was awesome, but we never had a chance to release it. We got to a point where it felt like it was too old.
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Until the rarities thing came along. We thought it was kind of cool for everyone to hear all of this unreleased stuff. Some friends of ours asked us, "Why didn't you just release this as a regular record?" We like to make records that flow and have an identity. We felt like we should preface it by calling it Medium Rarities.
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Listen to The Wild Feather's latest single, "My Truth," here:
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What a neat way to dig back in the archives and find a way to utilize material that already existed that just hadn't found its way out to public yet.
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Joel: It's kind of like doing your homework early. You have all of the songs in the back of your head, and you felt like they were good. It's not like the B-sides were crappy tunes. Actually, it's because if we have two or three songs that sound similar, in the same meter, we'll end up going with the ones that fit with the flow of the record.
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With this record, it's not like, "Well, here's the crappiest songs we've got." We're pretty proud of them.It's nice to finish them and get them out, because they're always in the back of your mind. "We should release that one day." And then, you just never do it. You know? That's been a pretty cool sense of accomplishment.
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I'm sure. You've got to find some silver linings somewhere during such a challenging year. It seems like 2020 provided the proper avenue to finally share this music with the world.
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Joel: Absolutely. We're trying to look at the bright side there. Also, before this, we never thought anyone could take away our ability to play live. We thought, "We'll always be able to play live." Then all of this happens and just like that, the live show is gone. It'll be back though.
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It will be back. It's been great to see certain outdoor venues adapt for socially distanced shows. On that note, you guys obviously have a show coming up at Birmingham's Avondale Brewing Company on Friday, November 13th. They're really doing a phenomenal job of creating a safe environment for artists and fans alike. It's definitely a reduced capacity, but it's allowing so many people the chance to work again.
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Joel: Oh, I know, man. That's a blessing. The Blackberry Smoke guys took us out for a run of shows a few weeks ago. Most of them were ballparks with spray painted circles and all of that. I'll take anything. If I saw some people at the park, I'd be ok with setting up and playing, as long as everyone is spread out and doing their thing. It's not like Beatlemania when we play (laughs).
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Speaking of the Birmingham show, I know you mentioned playing The Nick early on. I was curious to hear more about the band's history in the market.
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Joel: Birmingham has been great to us. I think last time we played Saturn, which is an amazing venue. That place is great. We've played Avondale two or three times, which was awesome. Weather permitting, always. We've also played Iron City and WorkPlay. We've really played all over Birmingham. It's also so close to home. We always joke that we never get to stay in Birmingham and hang out. We're always headed to the next city, or it's the day before we're getting home to Nashville. They've got Hattie B's down there too now. (laughs).
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That's true. The city has really blown up in recent years. The music scene is really thriving. They have some of the best restaurants in the southeast. While this year has been especially tough on the entertainment and hospitality industries, we just have to remain confident that we'll all get through it on the other side.
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Joel: Yeah I know. One thing about it is that some bands don't want to take the risk of playing any shows at all, while others aren't as concerned. We're just evaluating each opportunity as we get them. Once it gets too cold to play outside, packing into a venue just isn't an option right now. We've got to play these socially distant, outdoor shows while we can.
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That's a great point. We're getting close to that point. Before we wrap up, I was hoping you could share what's on the horizon for the band, aside from the new album and the rescheduled tour dates.
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Joel: I think what we're gonna do during all of this off time is haul up in a cabin and record a record out there. Just totally vibe out and make a vibey record. I think all of our records have been very well thought out. We usually go out to a cabin beforehand, hammer out all of the details, then head to a studio. We're thinking, since we don't have anywhere to be, maybe we'll just get a whole bunch of recording gear, head out to a cabin, capture a bunch of video footage, and make a record while we have the time. Gotta live the dream.
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That sounds like a great idea. Put yourself in the right atmosphere and tap into those creative channels. See what happens.
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Joel: That's right. Let ourselves be positive and productive with all of the rigamarole going on. (laughs)