Saturday, July 20, 2013

FARLEY MOORE

I can’t really speak for the metal or hip hop scenes in Billings, but since the whole diy punk/alternative/indie thing was kicked off here in the 90s, there have been one or two bands per generation that have either gotten the interest and support of a large number of their peers (and greatly influenced them to start their own projects) or whose members went on to form several other bands that became locally well-known or influential in their own right once the initial group disbanded. Spurge was probably the band that had the first (and possibly biggest) effect. Krunk and Not For Sale headed up the generation immediately following Spurge. Coldsnap-9 followed in the late 90s/early 2000s. Being in a band that played regularly during the mid-2000s, I don’t know that I can very objectively say who had the most influence during that time, but in the running are likely ADD/Trace My Veins, among a few others. And now we come to the present: if we’re talking about the late 2000s/early 2010s, for the current generation of kids who are now of late high school or college age, I feel like Farley Moore breaking up marks the end of a time period.
Though they never gained the crowds that a band like Krunk would gather in the Shrine basement or label interest like Coldsnap-9, Farley Moore is like the trunk of a tree whose branches fan out, with former members starting their own groups, including Idaho Green and the short-lived, but quite popular, The Forestry. My guess is that once the band officially calls it quits, the family tree will continue to grow new chutes, with the former members starting new bands. ...And you only have one chance to see them while they are still “current members”...they are playing their final show at Dreyfest 2013. Catch a piece of local music history and say goodbye between rounds in the skank/circle pit.


Who are you, what are you, where are you?
We're the amorphous blob-of-a-ska band that is Farley Moore! We're too many places at once. 

Farley Moore has existed for several years in many different incarnations. Who is the core of the band and how is the current lineup going?
If Farley Moore is an amoeba, Ryan, Nick, and Dan R are the nucleus. Ryan and Nick are where the genes are stored, and Dan R is the extra chromosome. The Dreyfest lineup is going swimmingly! Ryan, Nick, and Dan, plus our friends Julius (assuming he'll be in town), Levi, Ron, and Lucas are gonna be playing Farley Moore's last show at Richard Dreyfest!

How did you become exposed to ska? 
By pretty much every television commercial ever aired. And also Austin Finn (of the Havre, MT band, “Idaho Green”), who was our first guitarist. He showed us “A Message To You Rudy,” as made famous by The Specials, and we decided, “Hey, we wanna play stuff like that!” And we never played a song remotely similar to that one ever again. 

Where did your name come from? 
Julius called Dan R and said we should call the band Goodman Candy! After some deliberation, we decided to go with Farley Moore. No affiliation with Farley and Moore Antiques and Collectibles out of Mount Vernon, OH. Or with Chris Farley or Michael Moore.


The Farley Moore exhibit, Madame Tussauds Billings
When you are ravenously hungry, what is your go-to snack food?
Bananas... we need the potassium! They complement ska-b-q foods perfectly.

Who are you excited to see at Dreyfest? 
All of the beautiful people who are going to come out to see this shit happen! Also, Mr. Dad, The Helligans, Duffy and the Beer Slayers, and The Miller Lite Band. 

Withdraw or act out? 
uhhh..... lynch the landlord, toast to his death with a pizza party, and pass out while playing Mario Kart: Double Dash!!! 

Band plans for the upcoming months? 
We're gonna go to Wal-Mart and take the toasters, some fedoras, and large fishes. Then the reel big fish that come out of the toasters will wear the fedoras and we'll laugh at them. I wish we could make plans, but we’re gonna call it quits after Dreyfest. It’s been an awesome run! Or jog. Or stroll. Or sloth-crawl. 



If that intro to the interview seemed a little serious/ominous, let’s just take a minute to enjoy the fun and irreverence that the band obviously enjoys and promotes. The group may be stopping, but this ain’t gonna be a cryfest; it’ll be a blast!!!

See you at Dreyfest!





1 comment:

  1. It's been a great run. From the first impromptu show during a break in the Warsaw Poland Brothers show at Bones, to an anchor show at the Dreyfest.

    Pleasure knowing and listening to you!

    ReplyDelete