Blog Archives

ORIGINS

8/29/2011

People sometimes ask us where “The Ruffled Feathers” name comes from. Charley, our piano player, explains:

“The name for The Ruffled Feathers came from the original title of our song now known as Home. The piano part was thought up during a hot summer rainstorm in Shanghai (the city where I was born), while the lyrics were written in Vancouver (the city that me and the band call home). If you listen closely to the words, it is about walking down Granville St. at night, past all the clubs and bars downtown, and witnessing the carnival that takes place there. Crowds of well-dressed people juxtaposed with penniless bottle collectors, united in their drunkenness, but living in such alien worlds. Some of the richest people in the world come to drink and debauch in Vancouver, just around the corner from what is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in N. America.

The notion of having “ruffled feathers” comes from a very particular feeling of being upset. It is a paltry, unimportant type of upset. It’s about recognizing that sometimes your own problems are completely insignificant in a larger context. What are the petty dramas and minute tragedies of the Granville St. crowd compared to those of someone abandoned by the world, begging on the street corner? Nothing more than a few ruffled feathers. And know that eventually, all ruffled feathers are smoothed by the wind.”

With all this talk of debauchery, here’s a GIF of us busking on Granville St. Earlier in the year, we picked a particularly volatile spring day where it rained, hailed, then was sunny all in one hour. Vancouver is a sensitive but beautiful young woman!

- Andrew

THE FINAL FRONTIER – KICKSTARTER UPDATE

8/23/2011

Since recording our first full length album in Oregon, we have been overwhelmed with how much support we have received for our Kickstarter project (click here to see our video!). So far, our fans have pledged money for rewards such as a set of mugs hand made by our lead singer Gina (sold out!), having their name included in our liner notes, limited edition t-shirts and exclusive posters, and physical/digital copies of our CD before it’s released. If any of these things interest you, I ask you to please visit our Kickstarter page.

It’s just like buying our CD at a show, except you just have to trust that the album is going to be amazing (and it WILL be amazing). The unmixed tracks already sound stellar, and that’s a really great sign.

Again, we HAVE to make it to at least our $3,500 goal, otherwise all the money is given back to our very generous supporters. That’s the catch! I should note that any amount over $3,500 will be put towards touring with our album to a city near you. We’re already starting the planning stages of our tour, so please stay in touch.

Thank you again for pledging, reading, and spreading the word about our Kickstarter Project.

Love,

The Ruffled Feathers

3D WIGGLEPICS

8/21/2011

In the beginning of August, we recorded all the tracks for our upcoming full-length album “Oracles” on a horse farm in Wilsonville Oregon. It was a romantic and all-american reverie.

One by one, we took to the microphones. Matty’s friend James Umber helped us out by filming our Kickstarter video (have you seen it yet?), and he just sent us some really cool things that he calls “3D Wigglepics”. Check these out!

Here’s me noodling around on the trumpet.

And Sam looking at his drums – his babies.

Charley tuning up.

And finally the back of Matty’s creepy head in the control room.

We still haven’t met our Kickstarter project goal of $3500, but we still need help. If you’ve already donated – thank you thank you so much. If you help spread the word, that’s just as valuable. Here’s the link to the video: http://kck.st/r9eRzW . If you know anyone who would like our music, please pass it along.

Thanks again,

Andrew and The Ruffled Feathers

KICKSTARTER UPDATE & THE BILTMORE CABARET

8/12/2011

August 12, 2011KICKSTARTER UPDATE & THE BILTMORE CABARETThanks so much to everyone who has supported us financially – and also promotionally – by helping us spread the word about our Kickstarter project. This is really the only way an emerging band like us can fund professional mixing.

In my last Kickstarter update, I showed our progress in terms of how much lava was in a volcano. Dev commented, suggesting that we represent our current status with the layers of a rainforest!

So here it is! We’ve raised $1600 of our $3500 goal. Remember, we can’t get any money unless we reach our goal!

And if we don’t reach our goal, rainforest species will begin to go extinct. Do you want that? Didn’t think so. (I feel guilty about saying that, so here’s a bit of info about the Amazon rainforest from WWF. Any suggestions for how I should depict our Kickstarter progress next? Comment below, I’d love to colour in drawings for you!

Also, you should come and check us out at The Biltmore Cabaret on this Saturday, August 13. It’s an early show right before Glory Days starts (a hip dance party), and it’s only $8. We have been practicing for this show, and I’ve got some exciting maracas moves for you. Other bands include Rags to Radio and a debut live performance by Mercy Years.

The music will be so good that you’ll have the instant urge to straddle the arm of a couch like our bandcat Chester here.

-Andrew

PS I just heard that we were played on CBC radio again this week! Who wants to do shots?

KICKSTARTER – VOLCANO CHART

8/9/2011

I was brainstorming with my friend Kirk of the blog 3AM Revelations about how to creatively represent the progress of our Kickstarter project while conveying our utter excitement and amazement with our generous supporters in this first day. So I came up with this idea. Why not update everyone on the status of our project while teaching them a thing or two about science?

Every time I make an update, I’m going to be representing the “funding thermometer” concept with different science-y things. This post is all about VOLCANOES.

As you can see, our generous supporters filled up the magma chamber and filled up even past the rock layers of the Earth’s crust. We just started shooting up the conduit. I’m lookin’ at that branch pipe with envy, though. We are so overwhelmed by the support of generous people in the past day, but just to reiterate – we need the full $3,500 in order for the Kickstarter project to go through! That’s just the way it works!

As I myself am a poor starving student, I understand that we’re kind of like the kid from Oliver Twist being all “please sir may I have some more” and the guy is like “c’mon kid, I don’t have any left, srsly. Plz leave me alone.”

If this is the case, we would love it if you could post the link to our kickstarter page on your facebook. Kirk from 3AM Revelations and Dylan from the music blog More Than a Feelingposted some really sweet words and we really appreciate that! Also our friends from The Belle Game gave us a little lot of band love.

Does anybody have any suggestions for next post’s science fund-o-meter? I’m thinking the next one should be “energy states of an electron in an atom”… what do you think?

-Andrew

THE FINAL WAFFLE

8/7/2011

Rise and shine sleepy heads! Last morning in Oregon and the only ones that have come to greet me have been the dogs, Hollywood and Cinderella.

Yesterday morning we wrapped up with the final edits and overdubs, then off took in search of food and hipsters riding fixies in the beautiful city of Portland.

First stop: Waffle Window

Never have waffles been so delicious. We had sweet. We had savory, and we topped it all of with a glass of mint, ginger, green tea lemonade at a picnic table in the sunshine.

We wandered the streets noted the aromas evolving from each food cart we passed in the streets. We visited Artichoke Music and played some matchstick guitars. i also had my first experience with a banjolele. Pretty sweet, but too much ukulele and not quite enough banjo twang for me.

Later we visited a couple music stores and Andrew got a new loop pedal and I (Gina) got myself a pretty sweet guitar. There is more music to come. Get ready!

Goodbye Oregon!

- G

AMERICAN IN A CANADIAN TUXEDO

8/7/2011

While we identify as a Vancouver band, The Ruffled Feathers are actually a mix of Canadians and Americans. Gina grew up in big city Arizona. Matty grew up where we are now, in small town Oregon. Charley and I grew up in suburbia Toronto and Vancouver, respectively. Sam hails from the bustling metropolis of Nelson, BC.

During this trip, we embraced our American roots. Nothing embodies our Canadian-American mash-up quite like this picture of Charley.

First, note the Canadian tuxedo he’s wearing – Denim on denim. A plaid shirt for that rustic lumberjack look. Add a black cowboy hat, B.B. gun, and a wily squint and there you have it: an American in a Canadian tuxedo.

There was some slight inter-species miscommunication at first, but Charley got the hang of riding Lorica.

Also, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. Waffle Window. That is all.

Love,

Andrew

ALMOST THERE!

8/6/2011

We’ve approached our final day of recording! The whole crew woke up an hour early to get started so we can have a full day tomorrow to hang out in Portland. We poured the coffee, and let the sound of Sam’s drums march through the hallways by 8 AM . One more song, then an afternoon of edits ahead of us. We’re excited, and exhausted, and hearing phantom click tracks even after the day is done. This week has been amazing!

Over the past two days we’ve been tackling our newest songs that haven’t yet become a part of our live show. It has been particularly exciting watching these songs unfold. For example, I (Gina) have had the luxury this week of getting to play and experiment with a gallery of different guitars and sounds, which is extra exciting for a modest nylon string kinda girl like myself. During one of Charley’s new songs not only did I get to wail on the strat, but I also got to fine tune my whammy skillz. Not bad if I do say so myself. Yesterday, Andrew insisted Matty pull out the wha pedal and Sam and I pretty much fell over laughing as Matty’s telecaster sexed it up. Thursday as we got into one of Andrew’s new songs and Sam broke out the pots and pans in the living room. It’s going to be sweet.

After two very busy days, last night we got a chance to wind down as Matty’s mom prepared a full on Mexican feast equipped with tacos, beans, guacamole, and homemade margaritas. As an inexperienced margarita maker myself, I didn’t blink at the mug full of tequila Jenny poured into the blender. Two margaritas and my tongue was happily numb. We capped the night off with a jam on Rosin and Horsehair in which Matty got to break out his new baritone guitar. Let’s just say, Matty and the rest of the band would make excellent cowboys.

- G

STIR-CRAZY

8/6/2011

As we realize that we’ve spent a solid week with each other, we start to get our feathers ruffled (we don’t usually make bad puns, but when we do it includes our band name).

Tensions between band members have actually been civil, and we all easily laugh off arguments after a minute or two. I’ll be honest, I sometimes enjoy pushing buttons, but it’s pretty easy to stay positive when there’s an adorable, freshly groomed, ladylike poodle winking at you (her name’s Cinderella).

…except when you catch her licking her genitals with shameless vigour.

As we progress through the day listening to the same song over and over and over, it gets harder to take life srsly. One ongoing joke that I will not miss when it is gone is our cover band Nickelfeathers. We pretty much just sing our songs with a Chad Kroeger feel, and replace the last word of every lyric with an obnoxious “yeeeahhh”.

Sam, our drummer, mentioned how there are hardly any pictures of him. As he says that, he’s sitting in the control room wearing a robe (fastened by a black belt) and a paperboy hat speaking with a British accent.

I wonder why the camera isn’t always his bff. Here’s a good gif of him though. Now don’t say we never get you nice things.

- Andrew

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

8/3/2011

Yesterday, Matty (our bass player) declared that we would not work past 6PM, on account of his birthday party. Just as we finished up the vocals on Charley’s song “Lead me to Destruction”, Matty’s relatives arrived one by one, smothering him in grandma lipstick kisses.

It had been a while since any of us had been at a family party where kids make so much raucous. Alex, a sassy middle child, had something brazen to say about everything. Her younger sister Kylie (see below) was the facepaint artist of the night. When I asked if she was still in business she replied “Yes, I’m still in business.”

I never got a chance to take a picture of Gina’s octopus painting, but here are some of Kylie’s other works:

With everyone watching him, Matty opened his presents and last but not least he unveiled a new guitar from his parents: a Dan Electro baritone guitar!

The best thing about this guitar is the sticker on the body.

If our moms are reading this, any photo or info requests? Let me know if you want to know more about what The Ruffled Feathers are doing while we record in Oregon!

- Andrew