With Forecastle only a few days away The Wild Feathers are in the middle of a massive tour that dates back to early January. The Wild Feathers have been receiving rave reviews for their live performances and debut album which incorporates five vocalists into a folk-blues-rock sound. They will be playing the WFPK Port stage on Sunday at 1:15pm. Grateful Web spoke with guitar player and vocalist Taylor Burns about the debut album, the Music Festival Culture, and Willie Nelson.
Grateful Web: Thanks for giving us some of your time. We know you’ve been busy this summer.
Taylor Burns: Yeah man, happy to. We’ve been touring nonstop since January with less than a week off at a time to promote our debut album (The Wild Feathers LP). Touring has been very beneficial. I feel like we’ve been gaining some momentum and when the record comes out (August 6th) it’s going to be really good for us.
GW: That’s great. How do fans of live music hear about The Wild Feathers and buy tickets for your show when the album’s not even out for another month?
Burns: We have a really great booking agency and publicist who’ve been helping us to get our name out there. But really, I think just playing as much as we have has helped us; getting in front of as many people as possible night after night.
GW: Well it must be working because I saw you are going to be opening for Willie Nelson later in the summer?!
Burns: (Laughs) Yeah, we are doing ten dates with him along the west coast. We all listened to him growing up. It’s really unbelievable, man. We played two nights with Bob Dylan earlier this year, and you think it can’t get any better than that, and then we get to play ten nights with Willie.
GW: The album has been getting great reviews from major publications like Filter, Magnet and a few other sources. What about this album are you the most proud of?
Burns: We just endured. We started making an album with Interscope and got dropped midway through. But we stuck it out and made the album we wanted to make and it came out the way we wanted it to. Now it’s being vindicated by critics and fans. It’s a really great feeling.
GW: I read that many of the band members were previously working on solo projects before The Wild Feathers were formed. How did everyone in the band come together?
Burns: Preston, the lead guitar player, and I (Taylor) have been in bands together since high school. I met Ricky and Joel from a mutual friend in Austin, Texas. We just started hanging out together and wrote a few songs. Then I got a call from them in Nashville and they asked if I wanted to do this for real and I said, “Fuck Yeah” and went to Nashville to starting working on it.
GW: Nashville seems to have a magnetism that draws in songwriters.
Burns: Yeah, it’s awesome. I think there’s something special in the air.
GW: You’ve done a lot of festivals this summer including Forecastle, Hangout Fest, Sasquatch, Summerset, and Austin City Limits. How does playing a music festival stack up to playing normal show?
Burns: I grew up idolizing music festivals like Woodstock and it seems like they’ve really exploded again in the past five to ten years. The only one I’ve ever attended as a patron was Austin City Limits. I attended it a few times when I was living in Austin and I loved it. I think there’s something very special about seeing so many people and artists in a central location. It creates a culture and atmosphere that is very special.
GW: Anyone you’re excited to see as a patron at Forecastle this year?
Burns: We really love DAWES. We caught some of their show a SXSW and were completely blown away. I am also excited to see Jim James from My Morning Jacket. I’m sure there are others but it will depend on what our schedule allows.
GW: Thanks again for your time and we look forward to seeing you at the festival.
Burns: Likewise, man. Take care.
