Rehab from struggles with alcoholism, jail time inform
potent lyrics on album influenced by many masters. Hear
“Pears and Asian Wine” here.
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Shane O’Malley
Firek of The Ferdy Mayne as photographed by Alexander Harris.
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PLAY, POST
& SHARE
Hear “Pears And
Asian Wine” from the upcoming self-titled debut album by The Ferdy Mayne.
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Daytrotter
session just-posted! Hear several live versions of tunes appearing on the
upcoming debut album by The Ferdy Mayne.
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The story of Shane
O’Malley Firek, the single constant member of The Ferdy Mayne, is one of journeys – physical, spiritual, and a
combination of the two.
“I was going through massive change when I was writing
this material,” Firek explains. His
moves from Detroit to Nashville, then to New York City, and now on the eve of
the release of his self-titled debut album (March 24th, Greater Peaks
Records), to Los Angeles, all inform these songs.
“Los Angeles is a shimmering object at first glance,”
he remembers. “It is unreliable, similar to the unreliable dream of New York
City, but I trust in the truth that you can sharpen the tools you came here
with.”
It’s a lot of movement, the other side of the coin of
confinement, which Firek also knows
something about. It’s likely the same optimism about his first glimpse of Los
Angeles that kept him going before arriving there.
“Before my sobriety, I was completely insane, in and
out of jail, losing friends and putting myself in considerable debt,” he
confesses. “I quit drinking around the time I began to perform in New York, and
I’ve been sober a little over three years now.”
Free of the law, and free of the hold of alcohol, Firek accomplishes on this album what
any artist hopes to who has lived through pretty good and really bad, and that
is to fully inform the work with experience.
Firek is most proud of his lyrics, and unlike some
songwriters, he fights hard for them, sometimes over the course of many years.
“When I write songs, it takes a very long time. Very
rarely do songs come quickly, aside from a few on this record,” he says.
While Firek
has been pulling The Ferdy Mayne
cart since 2008, the upcoming album is his first full-length effort. That said,
the record has the fresh vitality that a first album should, and shows
influences both very obvious and more obscure, from Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed
and Leonard Cohen to Merle Haggard, Wilco, and Lambchop.
“My influences are generally focused on very specific
records and even more so, specific songs,” Firek
says, breaking down the myth, and shedding light on the idea above by
specifying it’s Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Street Hassle, and New
Skin For The Old Ceremony that he’s feeling, along with Pride
In What I Am, A Ghost Is Born, and How I
Quit Smoking.
Firek’s laser-focused love for the specifics of other’s
work also serves to put his own pride in perspective.
“I am in love with this record, and I want people to
love it, too, but if the world doesn’t want it, I definitely have plenty more.”
Firek’s journey continues in 2017. Details of a tour behind
the release of the debut album by The
Ferdy Mayne will be announced shortly. The self-titled debut album by The Ferdy Mayne arrives on March 24th, 2017 via Greater Peaks Records.
Shane O’Malley Firek is available for interviews.
Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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The Ferdy Mayne
S/T
March 24th, 2017
(Greater Peaks Records)
Track Listing:
01. Factory Release
02. Real Shackle
04. Define My Name
05. Roseanna
06. In The Thick Of The Night
07. Slipping On Dimes
08. Heavy Metal Heart
09. Greater Peaks Of Avid Laurel Evenings
10. Moonier
11. Sucker
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The Ferdy Mayne Links
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
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