The online home for Fergus Maximus (both the band and the bloke)
The online home for Fergus Maximus (both the band and the bloke)

Recording

‘Restless Soles’ is in the wild!

After approximately forever, the debut studio album from Fergus Maximus, Restless Soles, was released on Friday, 13 July 2018 to a sold-out crowd at The Wheatsheaf Hotel in Adelaide as part of Music SA’s Umbrella Winter City Sounds Festival and Adelaide Guitar Festival’s Guitars In Bars, ably supported by the wonderful Alison Coppe.

Restless Soles, recorded at Wizard Tone Studios in Adelaide, is an anthology of melodic short stories about people with itchy feet and the road in their eyes; about love, loss and memory and the things we hold on to.
Musically, the album is really varied. There are bouncy pop things, some soulful tracks with a horn section and gospel-inspired backing vocals, some rowdy pop/rock songs, a couple of sparse ballads and a couple of things with strings including one track simply backed by a string quartet.
But how do you get to hear the album? There are SO many ways!

If you want a physical CD, come to a gig some time!.

If you want a physical CD which includes a download go to the Fergus Maximus BandCamp store.

If you just want a download you can get that at BandCamp too or at Amazon, Google Play or iTunes.

Or you can stream it on Spotify or Deezer or Tidal or Apple Music or iHeartRADIO or Napster (apparently that’s still a thing) or in a whole bunch of other places we don’t even know about (we have people for that). If you can’t find your service of choice, just Google it. It’s probably there. If not, let us know and we’ll see if we can hook them up.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a listen. Everyone on the Fergus Maximus team is delighted with how it has turned out

The long-awaited Fergus Maximus album is finally happening!

After approximately forever, the debut Fergus Maximus studio album is almost here. Recorded at Wizard Tone Studios and featuring an array of incredible Adelaide musicians, ‘Restless Soles’ is a collection of melodic stories about people with itchy feet; about love, loss and memory and the things we hold on to. The final mixes sound fantastic and they are now in London being mastered (after which they’ll sound even more amazing).

The album is being launched with a full band show on the 13th of July at The Wheaty in association with Umbrella Festival and Guitars in Bars. The night will kick off with wonderful singer/songwriter/poet Alison Coppe (The Janes) bringing her poignant, passionate songs exploring the vagaries of the human heart and the sights and sounds of Adelaide’s western suburbs.

https://www.facebook.com/events/215463412548217/

Tickets are available at Moshtix (and it’s cheaper to buy online than at on the door!)

http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/fergus-maximus-restless-soles-album-launch/104223

Here’s some photos from the recording sessions to whet your appetite.

Come and join live recording at The Gaslight Tavern (Monday, 10 August 2015)

Yes, as announced at the “Songs & Stories” EP/LP launch in May, Fergus Maximus will be recording live at The Gaslight Tavern. This time it’s the full three-piece experience with Kym on guitars, Jamie on basses and Ferg doing … well, whatever it is he does.

It’s at 7:30 pm on Monday, 10 August 2015 and you are all invited to join us and be part of this historic event.

For the first set, the band will be in lounge mode (in their “Jazz Paper Scissors” guise) doing some favourite jazz standards.

The second set will be ensemble versions of Ferg’s tunes (including a bunch that Ferg hasn’t figured out how to perform solo).

We’d love to see you there!
PS Yes it’s a Monday but it has to wrap up by 10 pm because of noise restrictions

Check out the official event invite on the Book of Faces

Songs & Stories in the wild (and in the media)

It’s interesting what people hear. Fergus Maximus has recently evoked a variety of comparisons from listeners.

“A little like a cross between Darren Hanlon and Angus & Julia Stone.” David, Redwood City, CA, USA

“He reminds me of Things Of Stone And Wood or The Whitlams.” Matthew Jolly, BSide Magazine

“Quite Paul Kellyish in terms of sparse phrases evoking a deep story.” Craig, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Ferg was suitably chuffed by that last one in particular, which relates to his latest song, “Where You Need To Be”; a reflection for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.

But whatever people’s individual musical touchstones might be, the response to the debut Fergus Maximus EP/LP “Songs & Stories” has been overwhelmingly positive, with accolades for both the songcraft and the storytelling.

“Songs & Stories” was recorded live at The Austral Hotel, Adelaide in November 2014. As the title suggests, the album includes both songs and Ferg’s between-song stories that provide context for those songs. But don’t take our word for it. Hear what the the reviewers are saying about “Songs & Stories”:

“I enjoyed listening to this record, it really felt like attending a gig. The stories are an important and essential part of the experience.”
Matthew Jolly, BSide Magazine

“Listeners will get a similar experience to those sitting at the front tables on the night in question.”
David Robinson, The Clothesline

Isn’t it about time you booked yourself a front row seat?

Digital downloads and limited edition physical CDs are available at the Fergus Maximus BandCamp store.

 

“Songs & Stories” is now available

After a fantastic launch show at the Jade Monkey on Friday, 29 May 2015, the “Songs & Stories” EP/LP is now available for purchase. You can try before you buy too — you can listen to the whole of both the EP and LP versions on the Bandcamp site or using their app.

Digital and physical copies of the EP and LP versions are available from the Fergus Maximus Bandcamp store and you can also get hold of digital versions on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, Google Play, Amazon and Tidal (and some absurd number of other places around the web).

“Songs & Stories” comes in two versions. The standard EP has six songs (11 tracks altogether including all the chatterboxing).

Songs-&-Stories---Live-@-The-Austral---Standard-Edition-EP6---Cover

The special edition LP has 12 songs (24 tracks including all the chatterboxery). That’s TWICE as many songs and at least 33% more mistakes!

Songs-&-Stories---Live-@-The-Austral---LP12-cover-800

“Songs & Stories” Launch

After approximately forever, the debut Fergus Maximus album is about to launch (and Ferg is super-stoked to announce that the evening will start with a special guest set by the wonderful Kelly Menhennett).

“Songs & Stories” happened quite accidentally during preparation for the first Fergus Maximus studio album. It was recorded live at Ferg’s first ever solo show — a SCALA set at the Austral Hotel in November 2014. That show proved two things:

1. 20 years as a frontman only goes part way to preparing you for sitting on stage alone with a guitar for the first time (it’s kind of terrifying, apparently)

2. Noni Espinosa is a terrific sound engineer — the live mix went straight to his hard drive and when Ferg heard it back he realised he had accidentally recorded his first album.

The “Songs & Stories” EP has 6 songs, and you can get a taste of it by checking out the first single on the YouTubes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXdStnXZr44

There is also a Special Edition LP which has the whole, hour-long show (that has twice the songs and also includes at least 33% more mistakes).

Since “Songs & Stories” is a solo release, this will be mostly a solo show but don’t be surprised if some special guests pop up.

Quick, put it in your diary now! It’s long enough after the Festival/Fringe madness that you will have caught your breath but before the Cabaret Festival knocks you off-balance again.

Tickets will be $15 ($10 concession) and will be available at the door. Tix are also available for pre-order and the EP/LP will soon be available for pre-order too. Email bookings@fergusmaximus.com for more info.

Fergus-Maximus---Songs-&-Stories-Launch-Flyer-Final

Fergus Maximus’ debut single is now live …

This is a song about a bloke called Derek, written for everyone who has ever lived in a sharehouse. And for all those who wish they had.

‘Derek’ is the first official single release from Fergus Maximus and is the lead single from his forthcoming EP/LP Songs & Stories – Live @ The Austral (launching in May 2015). Derek is available on Kicktone and iTunes and CDBaby and pretty much everywhere you might expect to find such things (Spotify and Pandora coming soon).

It was recorded live at The Austral Hotel in Adelaide, South Australia on Thursday, 13 November 2014 by Noni Espinosa. Noni did the live mix and recorded it straight to disk and then tweaked the levels a bit and, well, that’s pretty much all that happened. It was mastered by Peter Maher in London (because The Internet). Daniel Ralph and his sister Deborah ran cameras that night and then Daniel used magic and electrons to stitch together the video you see before you.

The gig was one of the regular weekly showcases of original music put on by SCALA (the Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists Association). They’ve been putting on such evenings for over 25 years. Go SCALA, you rock! www.facebook.com/scalasongwriters

Ferg says that all the above-mentioned people are awesome and great to work with and you should definitely check them out. We had assumed he includes himself in that statement but when we asked him to clarify, he responded with “No Comment” so you will have to make up your own minds.

The amiable Daniel Ralph can be found at www.PressStopProductions.com.au or via his FB page at www.facebook.com/PressStopProductions

The cheerful Noni Espinosa can be found doing sound at SCALA gigs at The Austral or with his riotously fun band Funk Latin Union www.facebook.com/funklatinunion

The legendary Pete Maher, Master Masterer Extraordinaire, can be found at www.petemaher.com

What We’ve Been Up To All This Time – Summary

Wow, this turned out to be quite an adventure. For handy reference, here is an overview of things that happened in 2014:

Episode 1—rough recordings, arranging, rehearsing and a handful of gigs

Episode 2—saying goodbye to Mike Stewart

Episode 3—singing with Clare Bowditch

Episode 4—Sri Lanka

Episode 5—Walk Together

Episode 6—East Sumba, Indonesia

Episode 7A—So Many Gigs

Episode 7B—Seriously, SO many gigs

Episode 8—Meeting awesome peoples

Episode 9—Ferg’s first solo show

What We’ve Been Up To All This Time – Episode 9

After 20 years as a frontman, Ferg finally took the plunge and signed up to do a solo gig (he blames Ronnie Taheny for bullying him into it but she continues to feign innocence).

After a trial run doing a few tunes at the ARBA Blues Heats at The Gov, Ferg performed at the “Which Fergus is Which?” event at The Austral on Thursday, 13 November 2014:

Ferguses700

 
The photos of the two suspects above are believed to have been taken by forensic photographers Richard Parkhill and Brent Leideritz (respectively).

The event was one of the weekly original music showcases put on by SCALA. According to the promotional blurb:

“Fergus Maximus will be performing a 45 minute solo set at the SCALA Live event at The Austral Hotel.

However, to confuse matters, the mercurial Fergus O’Regan is also performing that night at the same venue. Yes, it’s a double Fergus bill!

It will be easy to tell them apart since they both have beards and long hair and baritone voices and a mild tendency toward silliness and … um …

Hmmm. I guess you’ll just have to come along and figure it out for yourselves (although FM is probably about 100 years older).”

And it went … remarkably, astonishingly well. So well, in fact, that there is a Live EP imminent.

Ferg told stories and sang songs (that were, admittedly, also stories) and that 45 minutes turned into an hour and people laughed at the right moments and stayed engaged the whole time. All being well, the EP should be released some time in March, with a special edition version containing the whole gig to be released a little later in the year.

It feels like the beginning of something new.

Austral

 
Thanks to David Bailey for the photo.

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