Gunplay and whiskey; smoky piano bars and tough,
vulnerable women with sad smiles and too much mascara; prizefighters,
junkies, and carnival light romances: These are the subjects of many a
cheap dime-store paperback as well as gritty and great stories by both
Burroughs and Bukowski.
The romanticized story of the sorry failure of the
American Dream has also been fodder for songwriters going all the way
back to the early bluesmen of the 1920s and 1930s. Great songwriters of
the last century have realized the necessity to relate to their
audience; to embrace the struggle for respect, the workingman’s dream,
the misfortunes of one’s past and the inevitability of his future.
The Felice Brothers are the future of 21st century
Americana and they will be playing Belly Up Aspen on Friday, Feb. 15,
alongside The Drive-By Truckers.
Raised in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New
York, The Felice Brothers - Ian, James and Simone - play music similar
in style to that of such luminaries as Bob Dylan, The Band, Woodie
Guthrie, even a young Bruce Springsteen. They sing songs that are
visual and literary without the pretentious art-house vibe perpetrated
by lesser talents.
Accompanying the brothers on bass is a former
dice-throwing runaway (seriously) who goes by the name Christmas.
Rounding out the quintet is fiddle/washboard player Greg Farley. Farley
is the most recent “brother” to join the band.
Early on the brothers moved their act from the
mountains of the Hudson River Valley to the somewhat less majestic
surroundings of the New York City subway system.
They would play their old time nostalgic brand of
folk for bums and burglars, Wall Street traders and traitorous wives;
anyone who might show an interest.
The gamble paid off in 2006 while playing a gig at a
farmers market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It was a serendipitous moment
to be sure. A writer just happened to be in the vicinity when he heard
the brothers playing. He approached them and said he knew some guys in
England that knew Tom Bridgewater, owner of Loose Records. A few days
later they were flown out to the U.K. where they ended up signing a
contract and eventually recording their first album, “Tonight at the
Arizona.”
“Arizona” is a dusty, back-road joyride of a disc
that somehow finds its way into the sleazy side streets of mid-20th
century urban immorality. One is never quite sure if the streets lead
back to country roads or if they dead-end in a beggar’s alley.
Martin Scorsese or the Coen brothers could write
whole movies on the subject of any number of The Felice Brothers songs.
Take “Rockefeller Druglaw Blues” for example. Here’s a song about an
unfortunate fellow whose brother is shot dead in the street leaving an
orphan son. If that isn’t enough, his mother has taken sick and needs
medicine, so he quits his job at the dollar store and begins selling
drugs to support her. Needless to say he winds up getting 15 years to
life in Attica.
“On the Ballad of Lou the Welterweight” - a title
Ernest Hemingway would surely have approved of - Ian Felice sings of a
washed-up boxer named Lou who should have hung up his gloves a long
time ago. In the ballad Lou takes on an unknown by the name of Joey,
“some big dumb kid from Flushing” who has “a face like an ugly boy
always pouting.” Poor Lou underestimates the newcomer and things go
terribly awry in the eighth round. As a matter of fact things tend to
go terribly awry in many of The Felice Bros. songs.
Not all of the songs on “Tonight at the Arizona” are
of the tragic kind, however. The live track “Take This Hammer,” which
was written in honor of the brothers’ dad, a lifelong carpenter who
worked everyday of his life since the first of the seven Felice
children was born. Much like the Johnny Paycheck song “Take This Job
And Shove It,” “Take This Hammer” is a glorious, uplifting song about
the happiness of telling your boss just what you think of him right
before you head forever in the opposite direction.
The Felice Brothers recently signed to Bright Eyes’
(Connor Oberst) Team Love label. Bright Eyes has also joined them on
stage for a song or two of late; an honor that can only give them a
boost in popularity.
On March 4 The Felice Brothers will release their
self-titled second album. Four selections from the disc are featured on
their Web site: www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers.
To anyone unacquainted with The Felice Brothers,
don’t miss the chance to see them open for The Drive-By Truckers.
Sometimes regret lasts forever.
hood@aspendailynews.com
