INTERVIEW: SAVE FERRIS (Punk Rock Holiday 2.5)

 I have been a fan of SAVE FERRIS for so many years, so when I found out they will be playing PRH 2.5 I was out of my mind! I've met them a couple of months before, but now I got the chance to have a real chat with them.

Monique Powell is a real inspiration. She was my inspiration through out the years for sure. If I had to describe her in just one word, it would be UNBREAKABLE!

                          

Hi! I'm so thrilled to do this. Thank you! Can you please introduce yourself?

MONIQUE: Hi, I'm Monique from Save Ferris!

A.J.: And I am A.J. from Save Ferris!

This is your first time playing Punk Rock Holiday? I was so happy when I heard you are playing this year, mainly because you were on my PRH wish list for so long.

MONIQUE: It took a long time but they finally have us now. They heard you... Like, when we were flying in here we were all so emotional because it's just so beautiful.

A.J.: So pretty!

MONIQUE: So pretty! And it's also our first time in Slovenia. So...

You probably heard of Punk Rock Holiday over the years, but what are your thoughts now that you are here, so far?

A.J.: It's amazing!!! No complaints!

MONIQUE: The audience, like, everyone was like drunk, but they were so nice and friendly and funny and I love the audience here. It was so cute! Everyone came up on the stage and started dancing. So many people on stage... unbelievable!

Can we go a bit in the past, like 30 years ago?

MONIQUE: Oh, OK (laughing)

I know that the name SAVE FERRIS is in a connection to the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but what does Save Ferris mean?

MONIQUE: It's a line in a movie. I don't really know if people even remember that line from the movie, but we loved John Hughes films and just thought that'll be a great name for a band. They have it written on a water tower in the film, when Ferris is like pretending to be sick and everybody thinks he's telling the truth and that he's dying so they say "save Ferris". 

Next few questions are for Monique, if A.J. doesn't mind, not because I am a big fan, which I am, but because I think you are an inspiration to all the women and all the people who at some point in life were fucked in some way! The band split up at 2002?

MONIQUE: well, not really, like, some of the members left and I kept the band going for a little while and than stopped.

You actually self financed the tour in 2003?

MONIQUE: Yeah, so, like in 2002, 2003 and end of 2001 I've just started financing Save Ferris tours. And then I had to stop because I wasn't well, like my head wasn't good and my body was broken. So I had to stop, and I stopped for 10 years!

What happened then? What was the deal with the lawsuit?

MONIQUE: Well, you know, some people didn't want me using the name. But obviously... it didn't go their way.

But you fought back! You countersued them?

MONIQUE: History speaks for itself!

You won girl! Yay!

MONIQUE: Obviously! I own the name now and I am the sole owner now.

What made you come back after 10 years?

MONIQUE: Well, I mean, I don't want to bore you, but i just found out I had this like health problems...

With your neck?

MONIQUE: Yeah, you did your homework (laughter) and I appreciate that, but yeah, I got that diagnosis and had some doctors say to me that I want be able to walk anymore if I don't have the surgery. But then the surgery is going to fuck up my voice. So they were like, what do you want to do? Do you want to walk or do you want to sing? And that was fucking scary, because I was like, oh my God, like, the idea of never being able to sing again... And I met people who had that surgery who had beautiful voices prior and who could not sing anymore. Their entire upper register was knocked right out. And at that point I was losing mobility on the right side of my body, and I had, I still have tremor on the right side in my right hand sometimes and in my left foot. But the surgery saved my life and I promised my dad if I wake up and if I can still walk and I can still sing and I can still dance that I'll bring the band back. And when I woke up and my dad was standing there, it was like "I can't lie to my dad"! And it was a good thing that happened, cuz my dad passed soon after, so he got to see that - which is great!

Regarding singing, I know you were an opera major. Did you ever pursue that career as an opera singer?

MONIQUE: I was, yeah, I studied very seriously for 8, 9 years, and I competed and I went to college and studied. I studied as a child, but I always listened to punk and ska because my sister influenced me with her music. She's my older sister, and I just never fit into the scene, but I was accepted to performing arts school and all of that and it really saved my life! You know? Like all of it saved my life! Because if I didn't have that, I never would have found my people, my tribe. I never would have felt safe.

How did you go from opera to ska?

MONIQUE: Haha...it took some adjusting, that's for sure! But, you know, I had to unlearn some stuff and then learn some stuff. If that makes any sense.

It does. But does that formal opera training help you today?

MONIQUE: Oh my God, immensely! Like every good training, right AJ? It allows us, me, to tour 28 shows in 30 days, like we just did.

A.J.: It's very hard to keep up on the road if you don't have any sort of training and stuff, you'll blow it out, you'll blow your throat out real quick.

MONIQUE: Especially the way we sing, you know, like the way we sing.

How did you, AJ, became a Save Ferris?

A.J.: Actually, a really weird story! I was touring with a metal band for like, almost 10 years, and I decided to quit shortly after my son was born, a second kid, and I just... I needed a band that like, I don't know, something to feel right if I was going to leave them, it needed to be something that felt good! And my brother, who actually plays drums with us quite often, was playing drums for Jakob Nowell, and he was on the phone in the van with his manager who happened to be a Monique's manager at the time. And so, it was not a planned thing or anything, but my brother just happened to hear him say: "hey, Save Ferris needs a guitar player. Do You know anyone?", and my brother knew I was in between bands and he was like "Hey, can I give you my brother's email?" I was actually setting up for a gig and I got text from my brother like, hey - here's the email, call them. I emailed them and then Mo texted me the next day, I tried out and that's it! That was October 2023 I think, so... yeah, totally by chance.

MONIQUE: And we're coming on our 100th show together!

How is Mo as a boss?

A.J.: Great! Absolutely!

And how are the guys as the band to you?

MONIQUE: Amazing! What it is is that I had to learn how to be able to run this thing, which I've never wanted to run like business, I've never wanted to run it. I just always wanted to be in a band, like sing in a band and just be creative! The other stuff does not come easily to me. So there's been this intense learning curve, having done this for a really long time, working with musicians for a long time, you know, how do I change from being the creative person to now being the business person? It's not easy. I go through a lot of musicians, a lot of musicians come in and out, some come back, some go away, some then come back... and it's always hard for me! I definitely have a lot to learn still, you know...but every once in a while you need these little gems and AJ is definitely one of them.

A.J.: You got to be, you know, as we get older, the life on the road - it is not for everyone, but I don't want any other job!

You've done some soundtracks also?

MONIQUE: Yeah, there were songs in movies and also we were in "10 things I hate about you" in the 90's. It's a great movie, it really aged surprisingly well, and "Scary movie" also, some songs in "Scary movie", and like bunch of 90's movies.

How did that happen?

MONIQUE: You know, we were assigned to Epic Records and it's subsidiary of Sony, so we got very lucky with that...

So, I have a bit unusual question: If you had the power to bring one musician back to life, who would it be?

A.J.: We were just talking about that a while ago.

MONIQUE: You know who I'm going to say? Joe Strummer. And Freddie Mercury. And Prince!

A.J.: And Ozzy! And I was obsessed with the Avenged Sevenfold drummer

The Rev?

A.J.: Yeah, The Rev! He is my favourite drummer of all time. Such a good drummer and a songwriter. 

MONIQUE: Every time we lose one of ours, it's just so hard! We were just talking about this, like with Freddie Mercury, seeing him perform, old recordings of him on stage and how effortless it was, it was like we'll never see anything like that again...

Who is your favourite band? Who would you love to tour with?

A.J.: Damn...I mean, honestly until you toured with someone... But I have always wanted to tour with Doyle, from the Misfits, he is vegan and a gym guy, so I really want to go work out with him, haha...so that would be my. I want to find out what he's doing.

MONIQUE: I think Green Day and Rancid. Yeah. That would be fun!

Who inspired you growing up?

MONIQUE: For me it was The Selecter, The Specials, The Clash, Devo...

A.J.: So, where I grew up was like a huge punk rock kingdom, and I grew up on it. And, not only because I know their first album front to back, but I started touring because the Pennywise put my band on warp tour so Fletcher and them pretty much got me started and everything. So Pennywise for sure.

You have the day of tomorrow, right? Are you staying here, in Tolmin, at Punk Rock Holiday? Are you going to the beach maybe?

MONIQUE: Yeah, we are staying, and I'm gonna float on the river. But I don't have a floaty so I guess I'll have to take it from someone, like "Give me your floaty!" and then probably get in to a fist fight or something, you know (laughing).

You have 3 singles in 18 months, right?

MONIQUE: Well, the third one was a soft launch, so we haven't technically launched it yet.

Ok, but is there an album coming up? And when?

MONIQUE: Absolutely! I don't know exactly when, but very very soon!

Is it going to be as fun and dancy as the previous ones?

MONIQUE: Those songs will be on there, so yes, it's going to have that vibe.

Can we expect to see you here again?

MONIQUE: Yeah! God! I hope so. We would love to come back!

Thank you guys for the time and the interview. Hope to see you back here soon!

            

                                                                  

                  Written by I.