A Conversation with Ferraby Lionheart (continued)

PM: So in "Youngest Frankenstein," is that your father you're writing to there, or just a fictional--

FH: It's just a made-up story. It's not about anything literal. It was just one of those spontaneous things. Every once in a while I'll luck out and I'll be coming up with a piece of music and a idea or a piece of lyric will sort of come out with it. And I think that that idea just sort of came out with the music, and it ended up being a Frankenstein kind of song, a little bit like a spiteful kind of song. Maybe it was sort of inspired by a relationship gone bad. But generally, it's fiction.

PM: Right. How about your name, Ferraby--where does that come from, and what's the story around that?

FH: Oh, my grandmother named me. I was named after a man named John Ferraby. He was a prominent Baha'i. I grew up in the Baha'i religion. Have you ever heard of the Baha'i faith?

PM: Yes, I have.

FH: When I was born I was supposed to be named after my father's father, Nicolas. But my mom changed her mind. So I didn't have a name for a few days.

PM: Wow, you started out life without a name for a few days. That's unusual. What about the last name, Lionheart?

FH: That's just a stage name that I acquired somewhere along the way.

PM: It's a beautiful name, though.

FH: It's catchy, yeah. People remark on it a lot. My last name is Lazarga--that may be harder to grab the first time you hear it. I think it's a show business thing, that it's advantageous to have a catchy name.

PM: Absolutely. When I read the lyrics, I realize both how unusual your lyric approach to a song is, but conversely, how natural the unusual lyrics sound with the melodies. I mean, it's really special the way you marry those things.

FH: Oh, well, thanks. I really appreciate that. I'm trying. Yeah, I feel like I'm still learning, but I feel like I'm getting better each year.

PM: It's never easy to talk about songwriting, but if you'd share anything with us about your process or the evolution of your songwriting, I'd love to hear what you'd say about that.

FH: Well, it's not easy--like I said, I feel like I'm still learning how to write songs. But for me it's usually a little bit like getting the lyrics--music is my instinct, I feel like melody is the only gift that I really have, like melodies just come to me very naturally.

PM: I see.

FH: My parents always nurtured the creative side in me; I was always told that I was a creative person. So there's that. But honestly, as the writer of the words, and even within songwriting, it's something that I'm still learning. I'll have a piece of music sitting around sometimes for a couple of months, and I'll be waiting to figure out what it's about. And I might get an idea about a few words, and then I really sit with it and I try to craft it to where the words and music sound good together and it means something to me, because my inspiration comes from poets who write stuff where the words sound good together, like e. e. cummings and Dr. Seuss--those are big inspirations of mine--or like Shel Silverstein. I really love the way that their words kind of flow in a whimsical way. And I'm still learning how to make that work with my thoughts and the things that I have to say. But that's kind of what it's like for me these days.

PM: Wow. Has either Harry Nilsson or Elliot Smith been much of an influence on you?

FH: Yeah. I love those guys' music. I used to listen to Elliot Smith a lot when I lived in Chicago. Not much anymore.

PM: But Nilsson, too, do you like him?

FH: Yeah, I do. I think he's really, really great.

PM: Because I hear the spirit of Nilsson--not the melody, not the words, but just kind of the spirit, somehow, of him in your music. And that's quite a high compliment, I'm sure we'd both agree.

FH: Well, I identify a lot with his spirit, with this sort of uplifting melodious musical style. People draw the comparison a lot. Like maybe they assume that I'm influenced a lot by him. And I actually didn't really cut my teeth on him, so I don't see him as an influence. But I identify with him a lot. I feel like I'm sort of on the same page. I would never compare myself to him or anything like that, because I don't really think of that kind of comparison, but I certainly identify with it.

PM: Maybe you'd tell us a little bit about one of your main cohorts on this album, Laura Steenburg.

FH: I met up with Laura just by chance in L.A. She was in another band that I played a show with. And it was in the very beginning of this process where I was just sort of playing out with a buddy of mine on the drums, it was just me and him. And we just kind of recruited her, a little bit at a time. We said, "Hey, I know we're going to play another show together, maybe you could sit in on a couple of songs." So she came over, and she learned a couple of songs on the upright bass, and little by little she just became a permanent member of the band. She recorded the album with me, and she helped me arrange some parts.

PM: She did a good job on the strings.

FH: Yeah, she's really talented. She's a music student, so she knows what she's doing. I don't know any music theory, so I just kind of fumble my way through, but she kind of shows up and knows just what she's doing. From the first time we played together it was magical.

PM: Wow. Yeah, she did a great job on the string arrangements, I thought. Very, very musical.

FH: Yes.      continue

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