Marco Dante Ferraris is a rad dude. You’ve seen his handiwork before on spillway, and he’s been playing his leftie guitar for years. For the first time, the Ottawa native has put together an album of original songs that I am suddenly rocking right out to. It’s hit me right in the Valley sensibilities with a rocky, folky vibe that’s an absolute outpouring of joy.
When I asked Dante about why it’s taken so long for him to put out a demo album like this, he gave a typically pragmatic response – it takes time and money to put together even the most simple recording studio. The benefit of waiting is that Autumn Road now has a place to put tracks together anywhere Dante and Robert happen to be hanging out. And since they seem to get along, I’m hoping they put stuff out pretty often.
You can tell that Demonstrations is a debut indie EP–there are plenty of rough spots in the mix, and some of the vocals get muddied in a zealous application of reverb. But Dante’s writing is just the right mix of fresh and familiar, the sound is great–hopeful and confident with an understanding of how to find beauty in tragedy, and Kyle Meyers is a wonderfully solid instrumentalist, making me wish that the EP was more than four original tracks and a Springsteen cover–all of which I dig.
If you like their work, kick them a few bucks — the Demonstrations EP is available on Bandcamp for whatever you think it’s worth. Or leave a comment below to tell them what you think!
Paddle your own canoe, folks.
Trevor
