Talking to Nick Ferrio before In the Dead of Winter is a no brainer. The Peterborough based songwriter plays a solo show at the festival on Thursday (Jan. 21) at the Bus Stop Theatre. The next day (Jan. 22) he’s back at the same venue playing as a member of The Burning Hell. Ferrio’s latest album features collaborations with Steven Lambke and Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station) and, you guessed it, both artists play at IDOW 2016 as well. After an eight month tour with a full band, Nick Ferrio will play a more intimate solo set at the festival. The following interview is edited for length and clarity.
For more information on IDOW, read our festival guide including our can’t miss artists performing this year.
With your latest record, All the Coyotes and Birdsongs, there’s a shift towards the folk side of the country-folk genre people associate with you. Did you lean towards the folkier side for any particular reason?
Not really, I love folk music. It was where I was at. I wasn’t playing as much of a country kind of thing. I feel like music, there’s a lot of range. I don’t hear genres as much as other people do. I have trouble delineating when something is indie rock or rock music or folk rock or country rock – it gets murky.
You have a lot of friends who double as collaborators on this album. How do you figure out how to fit people in on the record and make it come together as a cohesive work?
Most of the people on there are songwriters who I admire. They’re people who bring their own amazing music and songwriting ideas. Most of those people, I think of as friends but I also idolize them as musicians. It was a lot of friendships that come together on that record.
How did you meet Steven Lambke?
I was a huge fan of the Constantines growing up, so when I was in high school, they were one of the bands I listened to all the time. Once I got a little bit older, I was playing music and meeting those people. I wanted to introduce myself and say hello. We me at the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon. The Constantines were playing there and so were the Burning Hell. Steve would come to play in Peterburough where I live and I would help him set up shows and we became friends. Then I started playing in his band Baby Eagle and the Proud Mothers.
What does he bring specifically to this record?
Well he’s sort of like The Godfather of Canadian music. His experiences are so gigantic, he’s had so many incredible experiences. You can draw on information from him. The Constantines have opened for all kinds of amazing bands, they’ve done all kinds of amazing things, he runs an amazing record label, he’s one of the best songwriters in Canada. He has so much knowledge and also has a really great ear.
With Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station), how did you meet her and what does she bring to the record?
We first met around 2008. I was in a band called Weird Weather and Tamara was doing the Weather Station and had just started. We did a tour out east. We became friends through that and kept in touch. We played lots of shows back and forth between Toronto or Peterborough. When I first wrote “Hide My Love”, I sent her and Ian Kehoe a demo just to see what they thought of it.
What’s it like doing double duty, playing a solo show and playing with the Burning Hell?
It’s really fun. I love playing in the Burning Hell and it’s going to be really good. I’ve been playing with them for a really long time. We made a new record in England last summer and that’ll be coming out fairly soon. We’re going to be playing some new stuff. It’s kind of nice I get to show both sides of the coin.
Photo: Nick Ferrio (Pigeon Row)
