The Lovely Feathers: CMW '09 Special

03/09/09 5:21pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

The Lovely Feathers released their Hind Hind Legs album to great acclaim in 2006, but the Montreal-based quintet disappeared from the indie rock radar after a few short tours.

Three years on, they have a new album called Scherezadian ready for release, and they're gearing up for some "respectful and pleasant" touring. Mark Kupfert talked with CHARTattack about the fringe benefits of life on the road with Metric.

Hometown: Montreal

Members:
Mark Kupfert (guitar, vocals)
Richard Yanofsky (guitar, vocals)
Ted Suss (drums)
David Buzaglo (keyboards, vocals)
Mark Shortt (bass)

Official Website: www.thelovelyfeathers.com

CHARTattack: So, you're about to play the big industry event that is Canadian Music Week. What's the most shameless thing you've ever done to promote your band?
Mark Kupfert: We put our logo on girls' underwear. That was pretty shameless. I'm sure there's worse, though.

What's the hardest part about being an up-and-coming band?
I think the hardest part is that you always have to be ready to tour, but you're never sure when that's going to be. You never get to pick your tours or pick your opportunities. You can't really commit to a stable job... It's almost necessary that you have to take flexible jobs, which usually end up being in the service industry. I've been working some pretty shitty jobs lately.

How important is it for your band members to circulate and flirt with the audience before or after the show?
For three of us, it's very important. For two of us, less so. It has to do with the fact that some of us have girlfriends and some of us don't. Our drummer Ted definitely likes to do the rounds. Ted, how important is it for you to flirt with audiences before and after a show?
Ted Suss: Me specifically?
Kupfert: You specifically.
Suss: Well, girls like to be flirted with.
Kupfert: Let's say, "During the show is the most important time."

We like to hang out with the audience — take away that barrier between performer and audience. The weirdest thing is when people come up to us and act as if we're, like, something. We're really not that special.

Have you ever stolen from someone else's rider? If so, who was it and what did you take?
We were on tour with Metric, and they would get these sick riders. We kinda realized that they wouldn't always eat all their cheese, and we all love cheese. We weren't stealing their Maker's Mark or anything, but we had a lot of good pieces of cheese on that tour.

Have you ever been graded before according to CHARTattack.com's Rock 'N' Roll Report Cards?
Yeah, I think we've been graded a few times. I think we did pretty well.

Have you done anything new or interesting this week?
Mark [Shortt] went contra dancing and he thought it was really awesome... Today was a really nice day. That felt new and exciting because it was the first full-out sunny weekend day, so Richard [Yanofsky] took a walk.

The Lovely Feathers play the Horseshoe Tavern on March 12 at 8:30 p.m. as part of the annual CHARTattack/Horseshoe/Canadian Music Week showcase.

Check out CHARTattack's official CMW microsite here.