FOR THE RECORD
WHALE FERAL / RED VELVET FRIED CHICKEN WHALE FERAL / RED VELVET FRIED CHICKEN ECLECTIC AMERICANA SOUNDS LIKE / ALABAMA SHAKES, CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, & YOUNG INSPIRATION / THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, GRATEFUL DEAD, THE MARCUS KING BAND RELEASED / TBD EARLY 2018 RECORDED IN / BLACK BEAR STUDIO KEY TRACKS / "THE 13TH", "OUT HERE IN THE COLD" WHERE TO GET IT / SOUNDCLOUD.COM/ WHALEFERAL UPCOMING SHOWS / NOVEMBER 18TH @ HIGH DIVE INSTRUMENTS / MATT URBAN (LEAD GUITAR), RICKY CAGNO (RHYTHM GUITAR), WILL BETHEA (BASS), DAVID HAVENS (DRUMS)
SUNDAY AT FIRST MAGNITUDE BREWERY, rock band Whale Feral plays live music. Their raspy vocals and wavy electric guitar make for easy listening. But if you catch them at the High Dive, you might question if they’re even the same band. Teetering from crisp and calculated to a roar of distortion and rock n roll, Whale Feral’s eccentricity invites you in and takes grip. Whale Feral’s kaleidoscopic blend of genres reflects the variety of influences the band stems
THE FORUM / RAIN SHADE THE FORUM / RAIN/SHADE BROODING BOYBAND SOUNDS LIKE / THE STROKES INSPIRATION: SMASHING PUMPKINS, JIMMY EAT WORLD, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE RELEASED / 2016 RECORDED IN / GOLDENTONE STUDIO IN GAINESVILLE KEY TRACKS / "SUMMER"," THE STRANGERS" WHERE TO GET IT / SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC UPCOMING SHOWS / OCTOBER 10TH @ HIGH DIVE INSTRUMENTS / MICHAEL HIGGINS (SINGER), NICK WHEELER (GUITAR), JACOB FARRELL (BASE), ALEX KLAUSNER (DRUMS)
CRAIGSLIST MIGHT BE A BAD PLACE TO DO BUSINESS, but for The Forum, a local alternative band, there was no missed connection. In 2015, guitarist Nick Wheeler posted an ad on Craigslist looking for “like minded musicians to start a band.” Bassist Jacob Farrell also posted an ad independently of Wheeler—by luck, they found each other. After playing together, they realized they fit. “That’s how we got our name,” Higgins said. A forum, like Craigslist, is a place where people can meet and collaborate.
from and just how smoothly they can flip the script. Ricky Cagno and Matt Urban, the band’s respective acoustic and electric guitarists, will bounce impromptu melodies off each other creating a haze of psychedelic soul, and immediately afterwards the bassist, Ricky Cagno will begin rapping “Clint Eastwood” to a backdrop of drums. “So many jam bands are from an era that emulates a lot of music from [the’60s and ‘70s],” Havens said. “But today’s music is changing. Why not jam with that mentality when all of it rocks? [We’re] adding it to the melting pot that is our sound.” Though Whale Feral prefers to play live, the band is currently working on a studio album due out in early 2018. The name—Red Velvet Fried Chicken—reflects their delicious blend of quirk and compatibility. A neo-folk collective one night and progressive rock group the next, Whale Feral plays to the atmosphere of the audience. “We just want you to feel like you’re sitting on a beach drinking a beer,” Bethea said. •
BY ALCINO N. DONADEL
This collaborative ethos guides the “brooding” band, from their creative process to their name. Singer Michael Higgins writes the lyrics, while the other members put his words to music. “I try to play as close to like an idea or a feeling that I have,” Wheeler said. “... From the beginning it has to be something genuine or else I can’t pursue it.” This can be heard in “Summer,” where Higgins sings that the season used to be a “carefree, free time,” but now it’s just a period to work and be uncomfortable. His voice, monotone, is accompanied by the strum of a melancholic guitar. The band is releasing a new EP in the upcoming year, but the future is uncertain. “A year from now we don't know what it's going to be like, we don't know how we’re going to feel about it,” Wheeler said. “As long as we’re as honest to ourselves at that point as we are right now, we’ll be exactly who we are as a band.” •
BY MAEGAN DURAN Fall 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 11