Spirit
Moves
by Fergus Marsh
Released 2004
-LISTEN-
1. "Worthy"
2. "Be
Still "
3. "Shelter"
Fergus Marsh Interview
by Vince Sahr.
My name is Vince Sahr and I have been a fan of Atomic Opera, Frank Hart and FeverDream for several years now. It is a rare thing to find such a wonderful community of musicians with such diversity, compassion and multi-cultural talents. The unique nature of FeverDream, its vision to remove all boundaries from the listener and give us a thoughtful alternative to the status quo is refreshing and a much needed revelation.
When a new member is added to the Feverdream roster, I get excited about it and can't wait to give them a good listen. Fergus Marsh was added to the FeverDream line-up in May of 2004. I was completely submersed into his new solo project, “Spirit Moves” and had to find out more about the man and his music…so I e-mailed Frank. In his infinite wisdom, Frank asked me to interview Fergus for the website and about 3 seconds later, I answered back that it would be an honor. How cool is that? A fan getting to interview the artist! Please take into account that I am in no way, shape or form a professional at this, but Frank's faith in me and the awesome music of Fergus Marsh is all the inspiration needed.
The Fergus Marsh InterviewV: Fergus, how did you become involved with Feverdream?
FM: A college radio station in Long Island, N.Y. was playing my cd and the DJ,
Chris Macintosh sent me a review of the cd. I emailed him back and asked him if he knew of a company that might be interested in picking up the cd. He told me about Fever Dream because he had really enjoyed some other artists on that label and felt it would be a good fit. I looked them up on the web and sure enough it sounded like I belonged there. I got a hold of Frank Hart and he graciously took me on. I've since downloaded some demos from Fever Dream and I feel great about the company I'm keeping with what I've heard so far.
V: Where do you find the inspiration to compose such thoughtful and contemplative songs?
FM: Some of these tunes were started as I was praying for song content. I would just read through Scripture looking for something that would work as a meditation. The tunes ended up with so few lines because I wanted to leave open the thought process of the listener. The tunes are meant to be vehicles for prayer and meditation of a personal nature. There were other times when the music came first, which often suggested a theme to me. The atmosphere created by the music steered me in one direction or another.
V: What type of equipment do you use?
FM: On Spirit Moves, 6 of the eight tunes are with the Chapman Stick and on the 2 others I use an Ashbory bass, which is a little 4 string fretless job with silicone strings. I recorded on my Mac with a combination of Logic Audio and Reason. I use an Alembic pre-amp for both sides of the stick and I run the top end through a Boss SE 70. One of my favorite bottom end effects is the Mooger Fooger envelope filter made by Bob Moog.
V: The Chapman Stick...now there is an instrument! Yet, not many take the time to master such a thing. Could you give us some insight on the Stick, why it has become your instrument of choice and the commitment required to become a virtuoso?
FM: It resembles a two by four with 10 strings. The method of playing is tapping the string as opposed to plucking. This leaves two hands able to play notes, much like a pianist. It's somewhat like playing a bass instrument and a high pitched instrument at the same time. I'm not sure I can claim virtuoso status, as my main thrust on it has been that of a rhythm section player and also as a means of writing music. As a bass player it affords me the chance to expand my harmonic possibilities. Another attraction for me is that it's different.
V: Your career has touched both the Christian and secular communities. Your solo effort, Spirit Moves, comes from within the living text of the Bible. Could you tell us about the mindset that led to Spirit Moves, its conception and the message intended to the listener?
FM: I was looking for a way to make my own cd that reflected who I am musically and spiritually. I was inspired somewhat by the Kansas City House of Prayer to take a small portion of Scripture and repeat it much like a modern day chant. This vehicle seems to lend itself well to allowing me to take the music where I would like while at the same time allowing the listener the opportunity to meditate on the piece of Scripture and go where they want as well. I kinda hope that the cd is just enjoyable to listen to as well! I think there is a lot of good worship music out there today but I also feel that the range of styles is very narrow. I would love to see Christian artists expressing themselves with a wider variety. One of the things I hope to provide is some music that impacts those who don't relate as much with the mainstream Christian music scene. I actually feel that there are many folks out there who are making really cool new music. The problem is there often seems to be a lack of nurturing creativity and experimentation in the Christian mainstream.
V: You have a very unique style. How would you define your sound?
FM: I guess that I'm a sum of all my previous influences, but I'm always at a loss to define it exactly. I tend to like a broad cross section of styles and I love different world beat and ethnic influences. I enjoy a bit of a melting pot, using those influences with each other. For instance one tune on the cd has Congolese singers with a Middle Eastern duduk player mixed with Electronica and Chapman stick.
V: What musicians do you hold in high esteem? If I asked you what band or performer is a must for me to hear today...who would that be and why?
FM: Well, one of my faves has always been Peter Gabriel. I really enjoy Bill Laswell and his "Material” band releases (You never know what you're gonna get with him). I was brought up with Classical music and I still enjoy the many styles that has to offer. It's not exactly new, but there was a cd put out by Richard Souther which was mainly interpretations of Hildegard von Bingen songs called "Illumination" that I love. Afro-Celt is great. Los Lobos is another great band. Mark Isham etc. etc. I think all these artists have some unique perspective on how they communicate, musically speaking. When I listen to a cd I really want to hear something of that person's or band's personality coming out. I can be quite disinterested when I just hear the status quo. I think everyone has something of their own that they bring to their music but some are able to communicate in a deeper way for many different reasons. Making a cd involves so many more things than playing some tunes. Sometimes a cd will impact a person because the artist is a great songwriter, or singer, or instrumentalist, or whatever the main inspiration is. But I think how thoughtfully, artistically, and imaginatively put together the surrounding elements are, (i.e. production, arranging, musicianship, etc.) will also determine the overall impact the music will have.
V: Who is the best Bass player that ever played?
FM: Wow, that's way too hard to answer. Here's a short list: Jaco Pastorious, Eberhard Weber, Larry Graham, Tony Levin, David Piltch and Bill Laswell. I tend to listen to music for the sum of overall result but these players are inovators and just downright musical.
V: How is life in the Great White North? Could you tell us a little about your upbringing and how you became the man you are today?
FM: I was brought up with music (classical violin) I live in Toronto. According to the United Nations, Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in the world. I love that and I think it contributes to the music I enjoy. I became a Christian in my late twenties. My wife (Lynn) is a pastor. My son (Luke) is a boy. I try to eat a bowl of oatmeal everyday.
V: What current projects are you working on?
FM: I recently finished a film score for a short animated film called "Ryan". It just won three awards at Cannes /04 including Best Short Film. I am working on my next cd, I do local gigs, jingles, touring, and I play on other people's cds. For those of you familiar with Kevin Prosch, I'm hoping to record with him in December in Texas. I'm doing a worship gig in Sept. in Europe with Ruth Fazal.
V: Where do you feel most at home, besides home that is…the recording studio or onstage?
FM: I love both.
V: Where do you see yourself in the future? What major goal have you not yet achieved that would be a perfect event in your career?
FM: Spirit Moves is the first cd I've done under my own name. I think it would be great to tour the music with an eclectic bunch of musicians.
V: Tell us about you. Who is Fergus Marsh? What would you like the world to know about...Fergus Marsh?
FM: My middle name is John.
V: What is the most important advice you have received in life that should be shared with everyone you know?
FM: One thing that pops up for me is the issue of communication. I think that communication is one of the prime reasons for existence on this planet. I think one of God's plans is that we learn how to communicate with Him to try to understand His ways as much as we are capable of and then to learn how to communicate with each other (hopefully with some of the same love and wisdom that He teaches us). I think that that is one of His purposes in giving us music as well. I don't think it matters if we play music that is intended for a dozen people or millions of folks. The point is that we are capable of touching someone's life with a couple of chords and a few lyrics.
V: Fergus…Do you know any good jokes?
FM: A duck walks into a stereo store, goes up to the salesman and says " ya got any grapes?" The salesman says, "no, sorry." (duck leaves ). The duck comes back the next day to the same guy and he says, "Ya got any grapes?” The salesman says “No, I'm sorry but we only sell stereos, speakers, amps etc. etc. We don't sell fruit of any kind" (duck leaves).The duck comes back the next day and says, "Ya got any grapes?” The salesman says, " Look, if you show up here one more time asking for grapes, I'm gonna nail your little webbed toes to the floor." (duck leaves). The next day the duck comes back, goes up to the salesman and says, "Ya got any nails?" The salesman says "No". The duck says "Well… ya got any grapes?"
5 point Bonus Question:
V: What is mans purpose on Earth? Why are we here?
FM: No fair, that's 2 questions.
V: I would like to thank Fergus Marsh for his time, his openness and good humor. I would also like to thank Frank Hart for this chance to be apart of his wonderful community and Feverdream for simply being. Thanks for giving us this gift of music, stay the course and I pray that the world comes to know and love you all as much as I do. God bless…
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