National Rock Review Managing Editor Dave Ball spoke with Zach Ferrin of the slef described “theatrical-scamp-rock” band, Fable Cry, earlier this year.

The Nashville-based group released their first full-length, self-titled album in 2011 and sophomore album, We’ll Show You Where the Monsters Are, in August 2015.

Lead vocalist Zach Ferrin wrote most of the music and lyrics for both Fable Cry and We’ll Show You Where the Monsters Are along with playing a variety of instruments like cello and banjo for the albums. Ferrin described the origins of their staple rich, dark, and circus-like imagery.

“We started the band with the desire to be our own and do the things we want to see and in videos,” said Ferrin. “It’s hard to pinpoint where it comes from. Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Irish music like the Dubliners and Irish punk like Flogging Molly, Tim Burton definitely show through too. Mostly bands that went beyond the album with their theatrics influenced us.”

Fable Cry’s performances go far beyond just theatrical set pieces. Ferrin said that the characters their members play on stage aren’t just an act or mere theatrics.

“It’s an amplification of a part of me. I feel myself, but it’s an exaggeration of that side of me,” said Ferrin. “It’s a caricature of myself. It’s not necessarily an alter ego or character, but an exaggeration of what’s already there and letting that out.”

Ferrin stressed the importance of the theatrics to the musical experience as a whole. Ferrin believes that performance and music go hand-in-hand. The band’s purpose is to bridge the gap between audience and performer.

“A lot of bands don’t require [theatrics], and that’s fantastic and respectable,” said Ferrin. “I do think some bands get lazy with the entertainment aspects of it. You might as well just listen to the album at home if the performance isn’t doing something for me, personally.”

Ferrin said the songs act as characters as well. Either telling a pre-existing story to portray personal experiences or creating their monsters.

“The Good Doctor’ is essentially the Frankenstein tale, but also related to being an artist of any kind,” said Ferrin. “You’re taking this conglomeration of parts and creating this monster, creating this art and hoping it was going to be this profound invention to the world, and you don’t know until you let it loose.”

Fable Cry work to create a personal and theatric experience is only beginning. Ferrin said the band plans to make performances bigger and better when they have the means.

“We have done a lot of horror-circus themed shows and collaborations with circuses, burlesques, and actors on stage,” said Ferrin. “We’d love to have huge puppets, pyrotechnics, hidden doors on the stage, rotating stages, our ideas are endless. It’s going to be far bigger.”

It will be a busy year for Fable Cry. You can catch Ferrin and the rest of the band at New York’s Northside Fest and local Nashville venues this summer. The band plans a short tour from St. Louis to New Orleans this fall and hopes to create new material in the Winter.

“We’re wanting to take the band as far as we can,” said Ferrin. “This is very much our baby and want it to grow as much as it can.”

New drummer, new music, new stage performances, and a revamped website are in store. It looks like Fable Cry fans have a lot to look forward to this year.

Article by Ashlee Krawczyk based on recorded interview by Dave Ball.

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