Old Feather Q&A

After forming recently by chance and a mutual understanding for their sound, Old Feather are set to play Bell Street Fiesta. Also from around the area, it’s an event that they enjoy just as much as locals as they would being on stage.
So we saw you recently played at Veeped Lives down at Barwon Club, which we’ve heard have been quite crazy, how was it? 
Yeah it’s always fun playing at a Veeped gig.  We had a full set-up for that one and an enthusiastic crowd which made it good.  We play at another Veeped gig at the end of last year, so we know how good they are.
In general how has the gigging been going around the place? 
We’ve had some great gigs in Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club playing with Whitaker and at the Shebeen bar earlier in the year, as well as some others around Geelong and in Melbourne.  We haven’t been too focussed on gigs but it’s always good getting out and playing a few shows.
For our readers who aren’t familiar with Old Feather, how did the band come to be? 
I guess it all started with very informal jams to get us through the winter down here on the Surf Coast with minimal expectations.  We had all been in different bands of different genres but seemed to find some common ground quite quickly.  Pretty soon it became a regular session, just enjoying the music and messing about with the collection of instruments we’ve got going.
We love the addition of the mandolin, harmonica and violin, were they easy instruments to incorporate into your sound?
A folky undertone was something that we were interested in and Bill rocked up to the first jam with the mandolin in hand – straight away we loved it. The edge that it provides makes it one of the key aspects of our sound. The violin and harmonica add the depth to a lot of our melodies and they were never an issue incorporating as the writing process occurred with the violin already on board
As you are a relatively new band (forming last year) how has the dynamic been working over the past year or so?  
To be able to jam together, record and play a few shows around the place has been great.  It can take some organising for us all to get together, but it’s always about the love of music more than anything else.  We will be recording a new EP prior to the summer, so that will be exciting.
You’re set to perform at the Bell Street Fiesta in the next few weeks, is it nice to be playing somewhere so close to home? 
Yeah as most of us are from the Surf Coast it will be fun to play just around the corner.
Have you had the chance to check out the event in past years, love the idea? 
A few of us headed down last year; it’s a great community event.  Any chance to support local businesses and venues down here is a good move. Katrina White knows how to throw a community event so you know all bases will be covered.  Having the two stages was great, as there is such a rich music community down here on the coast.
Thanks again for taking the time to chat with Forte, is there anything you’d like to add?  
Hopefully we will see you at the Bell Street Fiesta.  Check out our Facebook (www.facebook.com/oldfeather/) & Soundcloud (soundcloud.com/old-feather).
When & Where: Bell Street Fiesta, Torquay – October 11