>>PREVIEW
LOVELY FEATHERS
Friday, November 3
Broken City
Mark Kupfert, vocalist and guitarist with the Lovely Feathers, is so exuberant as he speaks on the phone from the band’s practice space in Montreal it's hard to keep up with the guy. He's candid and friendly, chatting a mile a minute about everything from parental pressures to snotty scenesters. Much like Kupfert's contagious zeal, the Lovely Feathers music is quick, seductive, addictive even. It's like crack cocaine without the hazards.
Coming to Calgary at the beginning of an exhaustive North American tour in support of their sophomore album Hind Hind Legs, Kupfert and bandmates Ted Suss (drummer), Daniel Suss (keyboards/vocals) and Richard Yanofsky (guitar/vocals) are just hoping for some good food and good times. The high cost of hotels and restaurants spurred bassist Noah Bermanoff to book a "ghetto" RV and the quintet are planning to eat properly on this tour, munching on tuna sandwiches instead of drive-thru grease fests.
"Partying like a rock star entails having the means to live that life," Kupfert says. "People always assume that's the way we live. In the ’70s, they did party like rock stars. These women-mongering, partying superstars were real. At the time, they were selling obscene amounts of records and everyone would go to their shows. They were making millions," he says, adding the instant access of music through MySpace and video television has had a deep impact on how people seek out and enjoy music.
"What amazes me is how quick it (MySpace) took off. For a band, it's addictive because you can check the numbers of people listening to your songs. It interacts with you, but in a (good) way. No one goes to websites anymore. It's love/hate because you're accepting the system.
"It's limiting, but it's extremely efficient. There's so much more creative room with websites," he says, adding his attitude towards the business of music is constantly evolving to adapt with the ever-changing culture.
"It's different now. We're not so much in it for the money as the moment. We all have crappy day jobs and we just graduated from university, except for Ted. It's a weird ‘hobby’ (quotations his) because you have to drop everything else in your life to do it. It's a strange dynamic."
For anyone who missed the band when they opened for Metric at MacEwan Hall last year, he says to expect high-energy rock with some surprises thrown in. He hints at some performance art, but he's not revealing what that means just yet.
"When I watch a band, I need to forget I'm standing. It's hard on the back and legs after a while. If you're noticing that, you're not having a good time. Hopefully, everyone will forget they're standing and enjoy themselves," he says.
While Montreal has been spawning some amazing bands of late, earning a reputation as the centre of the music universe in Canada, Kupfert says it isn't necessarily a big love fest and everyone has their own tastes.
"The scene is pretty big and pretty supportive. There's different layers. There's this hipster elite that only like certain bands. But then there's those just out for a good time who get our kind of escapist rock," he explains.
"We can be pretty polarizing," he says, but insists the differing opinions don't matter so much, he's just here for the rock. "I don't really give a fuck. I'm just concerned about having a good time and sharing that with people who want to have a good time, too." |
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