“All of them will encompass the idea of revolutionary joy,” Michael Farrow tells me when describing Farrow, and their vision of where their music’s been and where their music’s going. It shows and it shines of course, since Farrow has been a staple here in Western NY for the last several years, taking the music scene here by storm, opening for national acts like Portugal the Man.
For the last couple of years, Farrow has also been putting out a series of interconnected EPs, Agitate, Educate, and the third EP of that series, Organize. The latter of which has a release show at the Town Ballroom set for this Friday, the 26th. The release show will not only feature ever-rising acts such as, Sunday Reign and Grosh, but will also be a tribute to their supremely-talented drummer, Tim Webb, who recently passed away.
With fingers unsteady enough to deny me a career as a lead guitarist myself, and enough caffeine to send a bull elephant into a jolt of their own, I was excited, and honored to chat through a labyrinth of DMs with Farrow’s founding member, chief songwriter and vocal lead, Michael Farrow, also known by their stage name, MYQ F, and vocalist for the band, Danielle Johnson, whose also the founding member, and vocal lead of the new Buffalo outfit, Diyené.
Of course I started out trying to get an origin story out of Danielle whose vocals and lyrics on the stage are as a dynamic and standout as her personality off the stage. Her addition to Farrow’s sound is vital, and transcends more from the point of backup vocalist, and has only added to the intense, soulful stylings that comprise Farrow’s vocal thunderstorm.
JB: So before we get into existential deep cuts, I think it would be a good to see how the band brought you in Danielle, as you seem to be an integral member of the band. So how’d this come to be?
DJ: Okay, so maybe about 2 years ago I got a message on Facebook from Michael Farrow asking if i wanted to do background vocals for him in their band. I think at the time I knew that they had a band but I hadn’t heard the music or seen them live. All of my experience knowing Mike was directly in relation to seeing him at karaoke over the course of two or three years and sometimes seeing him in relation to Eve at poetry events. I came to a rehearsal on Andre Pilette’s porch and started just harmonizing to the best of my ability to the songs they were playing and that was kind of that. We start prepping me for the show they were about to do which was at The Tralf and from there I was the background vocalist. My role as background started with me being featured on maybe 5 or 6 songs but the more gigs I was doing the more inconvenient it was to go up and down and up and down off the stage so I started teaching myself other songs that we would perform often, so now after two years I am a co-lead which is great, but I am really just happy to be up there vibing and hanging out.
JB: Are there any personal faves you have? Any songs you particularly love performing live, maybe ones you love recording with the band?
DJ: For me, “Love Me For Me,” and “Steal My Joy” are big message songs that make me feel great. I really attached myself to “Love Me for Me” when I first joined the band.
JB: That’s great! “Love Me for Me,” is also a personal favorite of mine as well. Speaking of co-leads, I see you’re leading your own band now as well of your own, Diyené. Would love to know a little bit more about that project too.
DJ: So Diyené is really interesting, I started writing a song called “Better” very shortly after calling off my engagement in May and I tossed it around to a lot of different musicians and didn’t really focus on it because I couldn’t think of how to finish it or make it sound the way I wanted it to because I don’t play very many instruments or any at all. In early December of 2022 I met Nick Myers in passing who was with me at Snow Jam and he offered to be my bassist and let me know that he was game to make original music and from that moment the ball was rolling. I found Nick in early December, our first meeting we wrote two songs. I already knew I wanted to work with Armani from when I met him at a rehearsal for David Jonathan and the Inner City Bedlam, together we nailed down “Better.” I met Mike Delano right before New Years and together we wrote two songs. And on January 11th I met with the tentative three members of my band just to see if we vibed and Armani brought Isaiah and we all got along so well.
JB: Interesting. Are there any comparisons you have between Diyené’s sound & Farrow’s?
DJ: I think in terms of creating music that lyrically says something strong I think there are similarities, and that even though Farrow’s genre differs, the music continually crosses genres, Diyené does that as well.
I then reached out to Michael, whose been an absolute stalwart to Buffalo’s music community, and spoke to him about Farrow’s sound, the journey of it all, how they are redefining their own influences in order to find their own place beyond the rustbelt, beyond the Niagara frontier, beyond the entire Western NY region.
JB: I must ask about your previous albums listening to it there is a such an interconnection to the lyrical themes bridging the personal and political? You speak about revolutionary joy, and the interconnectedness throughout your current discography. What do these ideals mean to you?
MF: For me, it’s all a feeling that everything seems to be an extension of each other. An example of that personal-to-political bridge “Run Away” is a break up song, but it’s really an expression of my relationship with this country. If any person treated me like this country had, you’d tell them to break up.
JB: Love that song of course, and I can definitely see the political comparison there.
MF: “I know I’ve got a problem trying to figure you out,” which in that translation for I spend way too much time trying to figure out this place when I think I really need to run away. For the song writing process it means that I can’t just stop at the frustration, I have to find a place of interconnectedness which is the central aspect of joy. The thing is, joy isn’t just about happiness, but it’s about connection. Joy is in connection. Joy in nature is connection to nature. So I try and write with communication and connective love in mind. On a different, but still interconnected note, but I have a feeling much of this comes from your own experiences of course, and the tragedies befallen in the Black community, especially in the past few years, but were there also any artists that come to mind as well? I have read many revolutionary texts and examined various revolutionary lives like Huey P. Newton, Paul Robeson, and James Baldwin. Because the topic of systemic social change is heavy and important, there tends to be the overwhelming sense of reverence sadness and anger, rarely joy peace and laughter. Emma Goldman said “I did not believe that a cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from conventions and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy.“ I wanted to have a collection of joyful music that still spoke to the revolutionary spirit. Something I can listen to while I’m going about my day, not intrusive, but a comfort.
JB: Beautiful words spoken by such remarkable voices, especially Emma Goldman, who has her own infamous history here in Buffalo. When looking at the spheres of influence, are there any particular songwriters, or bands, local/national/international that you would say your inspiration draws from? I know this is sort of trite, and overdone question, but I think it’s still an important one in maybe adding to the already powerful context in your music.
MF: So usually when I talk about inspiration I talk about Buffalo native Ani DiFranco, but specifically within the Black community you’re asking a very nuanced and therefore gonna get a “get me in trouble” kind of answer. To begin with, I don’t believe that there is a single monolithic Black community in any given city. The intersectionality of the various identities that we all carry can result in contradictions within our communities, which is why I draw inspiration from a multitude of sources. When it comes to the response of the church-going Black community in the face of tragedy, there is no universal approach. Some may say that “God has a plan,” while others express frustration and lamentation, as seen in the psalms of the Bible. I was surprised to hear a lot of WE PRAISE YOU LORD music at the interfaith service I attended after the 5/14 tragedy. What inspires me the most is the idea of being honest and upfront with God, the community, and authority about how we’ve been wronged. The Bible has plenty of examples of this, and I believe it’s crucial to acknowledge and express our frustrations and sorrow. One important observation I’ve made is that we don’t seem to have a collective secular mourning ritual within the diverse Black American experience. Instead of mourning, many of us tend to distract ourselves with partying and other activities. If we were to truly let our tears flow, the river of injustice would be unceasing, and we would all drown. So, I strive to create a space for mourning and reflection in my work, even if it’s not always comfortable or easy.
JB: That is definitely a concept worth living up to. Saying that, there’s another concept we’ve spoken about in previous conversations on the genre you and the rest of the band classify themselves as, and I’ve been really fascinated by it as of late: neo-classic rock. Could you elaborate on that for me?
MF: Neo-classic rock is something that’s close to my heart because it’s something we’ve kind of been making up. We realize whenever we were asked about what type of music we played the answer was rock, but for us it was from the 60s and 70s and early 80s and the sound we’re making sort of envelopes all of these groups that sound like music from the past but also brought into the present. When I speak of our influence, when I think of the things that revolutionize and shape our sound I think of the revolutionary rockers of the 60s and 70s, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, also blends of black and white groups like Sly & The Family Stone, The Band, etc… A lot of those bands that were singing about things that were a little more revolutionary, a little more political. There’s also the Black influence of rock there too from church and Gospel music which have always played a role in rock music uniting both the secular and religious in music like soul. But were not making soul music were making music that utilizes the sounds of soul. So inventing a genre is beautiful, because of its roots, really the music is a giant family tree where they’re all connected in very strange ways and double back and realign to each other. With neo-classic rock, the sound is really about finding the essence of the old rock music in a new generation of thought. When old rock music using that example with metal.
As Friday approaches, and the release date of Farrow’s third EP draws closer and closer, it seems even more important that the concepts Farrow brings to their music, make their way through the smokescreen of struggle and megaphone the ideals of what it means to turn music into a form of protest, whether that is through addressing a landscape of sound, or one of political unrest. From redefining concepts such as joy, or redefining genre, or scribing lyrics that unapologetically challenge the status quo, Farrow embodies the heartbeat of a generation looking for change. There’s the hard-hitting percussions of Michel Ruopoli and the late great Tim Webb. There’s Corey Clancy’s acid-tongued guitar licks, Andre Pilette’s funkified basslines. There’s the diverse flurry of piano rolls and keyboard strokes from Rufus “Breezy” Cole Jr. There’s, of course, Danielle Johnson, and Michael Farrow, whose vocals are powerful enough to make the angels themselves jealous.
Although with Tim’s recent passing, the release party that is set will be run on more somber terms, the connection Mike speaks of, the comradery Danielle speaks of, the way joy is not just a celebration, but a connection to community. A connection that no amount of death can derail, and no amount of life can overwhelm. Farrow offers in their music something much deeper than hope: truth, which in such essence is a gospel all its own.
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