Beyond The Music: Scott of The Feelings Parade

Photo Credit: Bradley Cox

After covering The Feelings Parade latest release ‘Let it Move’,’ I felt it was time to get to know the individuals of the dynamic duo. As such, doing it as only I can, we go beyond the music and inside the group to learn the individual members for who they are and what they represent. Tap in and lets go Beyond The Music with Scott.

• Where are you from?
  • I’m from Sacramento, California– Nisenan, Maidu land, where two rivers converge.
• When did you first fall in love with music?
  • My parents took me to see WAR at the Dixon County Fairgrounds, and that was the first time that music really came for me. I was absolutely transformed by the groove and heart pouring from that stage.
• How long have you been in the industry?
  • In 2012, when my dad was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, I moved back to Sacramento to be with him and the rest of my family. The only way I could make sense of being back there was to commit to being a full-time musician. At different times, I’ve had to take various gigs to make ends meet, but from that moment onward, I started seeing those as the side gigs and music as the main thing.
• Can you tell us about ‘Let is Move You’ and the background/inspirations behind it?
  • We were coming back from a tour in Europe, and on the flight back, we had that 30,000-foot perspective and decided that when we got home, we were going to focus on making an album to capture all the sounds in our heads. It was wild, because all the songs we chose to be on the album ended up preemptively telling the story of what we were about to go through: the pandemic, Morgan’s sudden seizure, and brain surgery, all while between homes.
• What do you think of the state of the industry in 2022 for emerging artists?
  • It’s bizarre– it definitely is an exciting time for the artists who happen to have both strategic/entrepreneurial and creative/artistic leanings, as well as the financial/community privilege to take risks and try out new things. But that’s a really small subset of the artists who deserve to be heard, and so it feels like it really reinforces this new breed of entrepreneurial artists, which aren’t necessarily the ones who have the best things to say–just the ones who are good at the game. Social media has become so central to musicians’ lives, and it’s a really dangerous addiction for musicians because, in the past, a musician could be addicted to a substance and still play their instrument–but you can’t play music while being on social media, and it’s probably the most common addiction in our industry.
• In your opinion, who is the most influential artist at this time and why?
  • I mean, it’d be hard to argue that anyone has more cultural importance than Beyonce. If Beyonce says jump, we’d better have a damn good reason not to jump. I think the ultimate test of a musician is whether they can retail their vitality and creative courage when they have 1,000 people’s input on every decision. It sucks the life from a lot of artists, but Beyonce’s an example of someone who seems to harness that power without losing the essential self-ness of her creations.
• If you could Collab with ANY Artist, Dead or Alive, who would it be and why?
  • Kendrick Lamar. There isn’t any one artist that I hold in as high of a regard as him, and it would just be extraordinary to get to be a part of his process in the studio and have our craft sharpened by the process. I also think that, as different as our aesthetics might be, there’s a shared commitment to vulnerability and truth over comfort. But the collaboration that I think most of our fans would be most pumped to hear would be with Blake Mills.
• How do you think you differ as an individual from others in your genre?
  • I’d say it’s my writing and production–I love my voice and my playing because they allow me to express myself, but I don’t have any fantasies that my voice or playing are exceptional on their own. I do, however, think that my writing and vibe as a producer stand up on their own.
• From your view as a member, how would you say The Feelings Parade separates themselves from others?
  • We run every single word we write through a pretty rigorous test of truthfulness, and I don’t think that’s all that common in our genre. We’d be willing to stand behind the fact that every word we’ve written is the absolute best we were capable of at the time, and there just isn’t any fluff or things that we say to fill space or make a rhyme work.
• Take us back to young Scott Ferreter. What was the first album you purchased?
  • For me, it was Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio. That was the first song that really grabbed my heart and wouldn’t let go.
• What’s your favorite song at the moment?
  • Right now, it’s a tie between “Go Easy Kid” by Monica Martin/James Blake and “Djurkel” by Pino Palladino and Blake Mills.
• What is your favorite saying or Mantra?
  • Probably “Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.” by Prentis Hemphill.
• What other hobbies or interests do you have?
  • My top 10 hobbies as interests are all variations on music, but I recently got into playing tennis, and love swimming, whether in rivers or swimming laps. I like hitting thrift stores and love cooking, especially for large groups.
• Tell us what the fans can expect from you in the coming months.
  • We’ve got the show of a lifetime coming up on September 13th at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. 22 friends will be joining us onstage, and it will be put on by You’re Going to Die–the mortality-centered organization that is responsible for us first meeting. After that, we’ll be releasing some live performance videos of the songs from the album, and touring.
• For others embarking on their artistic journey, what are some words of advice or encouragement you would give them as they take their early steps?
  • At the end of the day, you’ve got to make something that moves you. Your own response–your tears and chills–are the most important gauge you have of whether you’re on track. Don’t bother guessing in advance what people will respond to, but also don’t ignore it when they do respond to something.
• What are your social media handles? @thefeelingsparade