Felice Brothers brings their roots music to the ValleyDate: 8/23/2022 HOLYOKE – With their raw, working-class approach to roots music, the Felice Brothers helped to pioneer the eclectic genre that became known as Americana. “There was a resurgence in roots music and we were one of those bands, but we weren’t the first,” recalled multi-instrumentalist/vocalist James Felice.
“There were bands, like Old Crow Medicine Show, that we looked up to, but we were more connected to the previous generation – Bob Dylan, The Band. There weren’t many contemporary comparisons.”
The Felice Brothers, who are set to perform at Race Street Live, in Holyoke, on Sept. 19, rose from very modest beginnings. “My brother [chief songwriter/lead singer Ian] and I started out busking, playing in the subways and farmers’ markets, anywhere we could practice,” Felice remembered “That’s all we wanted to do. We weren’t very good. We were also completely broke, so we figured we could practice and make money playing music for people. We didn’t do it for long, a year or so, but that’s where we developed our sound, our attitude and our vibe.”
At the time, James was 20, Ian 23. “We weren’t doing anything,” said Felice. “We had no jobs. I never went to college. Ian had just gotten done with college and was living in a tent in the woods in the Catskills. We had no direction. All we knew was that we loved playing music together.”
The hard work paid off. “A guy we met while we were busking knew a guy who owned a small label in London called Loose Music,” Felice recalled. “He sent our independent CD, ‘Through These Rems and Gone,’ to him and the label sent some guys to see our show in a tiny room in New York. They signed us. The first time I was on an airplane, I was on my way to play a show in London. We went from playing local shows to flying halfway around the world, playing in a country we had never been to before, and people were there. When we came back to the states, there was a buzz. We played shows with [indie rock band] Bright Eyes and that really broke us as a real band. We started doing well.”
James and Ian Felice grew up in the small town of Palenville, 120 miles north of New York City. “Our father’s a carpenter,” Felice said, “and there’s no music in the family, but, we listened to the radio all of the time. Later on, our palette expanded. We had friends who were into old blues – John Hurt, Skip James and guys like that. That’s where we got inspired. Every generation, kids discover that incredible music and decide they want to pick up a guitar too.”
There was music coming out of Woodstock, 20 minutes from Palenville, but “that was a bigger influence on my brother Simon, who’s 10 years older than me,” said Felice. “I lived in New Paltz for 15 years and there was a scene there – mostly college kids – but we were pretty isolated. I think that was on purpose. We were touring so much we didn’t feel like part of the local community.”
The Felice Brothers grew with the addition of Jesske Hume (bass), Will Lawrence (drums), Mike Magis (Pedal Steel), and Nathaniel Wolcott (trumpet). “Playing with the band is so amazing,” said Felice. “Our rhythm section is so good. It takes all the pressure off. It’s more fun and relaxed. The communication, energy, ability to make a lot of noise, dynamics and tension of every song, I really enjoy all of it.”
During the Felice Brothers’ 2008 Newport Folk Festival appearance, a storm knocked out the electrical system. Undeterred, they played an un-amplified hour-long set. “A few days earlier,” recalled Felice, “the same thing happened to us. We were at a smaller festival and the power went off. We just played without electricity. It happened again a few weeks after Newport.“
When we spoke, Felice was concluding a national tour with songwriter/guitarist Al Olender. “We play solo and support each other,” he said. “There’s a beauty to it, but I really enjoy being in a band and being loud. It’s a whole different world. It takes longer to set up, and the soundchecks take longer, but once the show starts, it’s so much fun.”
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