Bill Million of The Feelies

Interview with Bill Million of The Feelies

Formed in Haledon NJ in the 1970’s, The Feelies have now released six albums including their critically acclaimed and influential debut Crazy Rhythms, which was voted 49 in the top 100 albums of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine and chosen by Spin Magazine as #49 of the best alternative records of all time. Their music has left an indelible mark on the landscape of rock and roll. Supporting the release of their first four albums the band appeared on the The Late Show With David Letterman and in concerts with The Patti Smith Group, R.E.M., and Bob Dylan as well as touring with Lou Reed. In 2008, the Feelies ended a 17-year sabbatical as a group to open for long-time admirers Sonic Youth at Battery Park and then resurrected their tradition of playing low key gigs at strategic intervals throughout the year rather than doing lengthy tours. In 2009, they were invited by R.E.M. to perform at Carnegie Hall in “The Music of REM” charity concert benefitting music education programs for underprivileged youth, then by the artist Dan Graham to play an acoustic set at the opening of his first American retrospective, held at the Whitney Museum: Dan Graham: Beyond at the Whitney Museum of American Art. That same year Bar/None re-issued Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth, this being the first band-sanctioned CD release of the former. In 2011, they released a new studio album Here Before of which England’s The Wire enthused, “Here Before picks up as though they’d never left. The second line- up is fully present, and the basics of their sound have filtered through so many younger bands (from Yo La Tengo to SF Seals to The Chills) that the music possesses a great kind of faux- familiarity. ‘Time Is Right’ sounds something like The Terminals doing a Stooges tribute tune. It - and some of the Velvets riff - lifts that occur during the album’s later moments- make me remember how nuts this group seemed 30-plus years ago.” In honor of their 40th Anniversary Bar/None Records re-released their third and fourth albums,Only Life and Time for a Witness in early 2015.

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