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Ferraby Lionheart

MusicBlog

Website: http://www.ferrabylionheart.com/

Bio: Ferraby Lionheart is not the protagonist in a limerick by Edward Lear, nor is it the title of a short story by Shel Silverstein. Ferraby ... (more) Lionheart is also not the name of the old man in the park who sells balloons next to the carousel for twenty-five cents apiece…although it could be.

Ferraby Lionheart is a thin, young man with a straw hat who lives on a wide street with tall skinny palm trees that stretch up to the sky. He used to own a car, but he got rid of it a while ago, so when he needs to get from here to there, he rides around town on an old, orange bicycle. On days that he doesn't have any particular place to be, Ferraby likes to ride in the hills or hike up small mountains. And since he can't have a garden and doesn't own any chickens-even though he'd like to-he spends a lot of time at the store shopping for groceries and spices. But more than anything, Ferraby loves to pick up his guitar or sit down at his piano and write songs about things that are important to him-things that might make people think differently about the world they live in, or the other people around them. But if not, that's okay. Maybe they'll just make people smile.

Ferraby was born in Los Angeles, raised in Nashville, studied art and sang to Chet Baker records in Chicago, and finally moved back to Los Angeles, where he got a job serving pizzas on Fairfax Avenue until 4 o' clock in the morning. After work, he'd walk the empty streets back to his apartment and record music until the sun came up. His songs were inspired by the quizzical, comical world in which he lived-colorful songs about beautiful girls in coffee shops, ghosts and Ouija boards, and his struggle to stop fighting with a world that always wanted to fight with him. At times it sounded like folk music. Other times it came out more like country or bluegrass. But each and every time, his friendly voice sang with the all the romantic eloquence and simplicity of an old time vaudevillian performer. All throughout the night, alone in his room, he plucked and picked and banged and strummed his ideas into a small computer, and in the end, came out with six songs that other people seemed to enjoy just as much as he did. So he took his straw hat and his bike and his guitar (and sometimes a harmonica), and traveled around the city playing his music for everyone who wanted to hear it, which included big important record label people, famous musician people, and plain old regular people.

On stage, all Ferraby's influences came to life, from show tunes and old jazz standards to the showmanship of Sammy Davis Jr. and the poetry of Bob Dylan. He even performed songs he didn't write, but that he loved very much. Songs like Charlie Chaplain's "Smile," "Pure Imagination" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a slow folk version of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U," which all the girls liked. Pretty soon, a local record label asked him if he'd like to record more music, to which he replied yes. So with the help of some friends, an engineer named Dan, and a few more instruments like trumpets, toy pianos, and violins, Ferraby set out to record an entire record, which he decided to call Catch The Brass Ring.

When you listen to it a few times, you'll start to learn a little more about Ferraby Lionheart. You'll find out that he's a romantic type of fellow, and that he really likes it when people care about other people. If you listen to "The Car Maker," you'll also learn that he cares about the planet he lives on, which is part of the reason why he rides around town on an old, orange bicycle. Even though it doesn't have anything to do with monsters and sounds like a big brass band from New Orleans, "Young Frankenstein" will probably make you think of Gene Wilder, who is someone Ferraby wouldn't mind being more like. He also wishes he could tap dance, but you won't find any songs about that. And if you listen to a song called "Put Me In Your Play," you might learn that Ferraby has made some mistakes along the way, but he's trying hard to be the best person he can be.

If Ferraby comes to your town to play music, he might come with a bunch of other people, or he could just come by himself. Some of his songs will make you want to dance, while others will make you a bit sad. But at the end of the night, you'll learn that Ferraby Lionheart has a lot of important things to say, and this album is just the beginning. (less)