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Ferron is a storyteller whose deceptively-simple words form themes as complex as Shakespeare's plays and convey emotion as raw and personal as Nirvana. Somehow, Ferron’s music onomatopœically melds with her phrasings, as if every song were birthed perfect and whole and immediately, grippingly authentic. As one listens, it feels as if Ferron is speaking to you, singing to you, generously revealing her quests and hurts and seekings and discoveries and and longings and triumphs in an intimate conversation, as if she has written her songs specifically for you: sharing her distilled wisdoms, guiding you gently along your life & path from her perspective as the Cree/Ojibwa Elder that she is. Ferron, who attended an alternative high school in Vancouver, left home at 15 and, at the urging of friends, released FERRON (1977) and FERRON BACKED UP (1978) on her own label; the 1000-copy issue of each LP sold out quickly and both discs are now prized collector's items, selling for upward of $500 on eBay. 1980's TESTIMONY (Lucy Records) introduced an ever-growing audience to Ferron’s unique twists of rhyme and profound awarenesses of the inner working of people as they interact with one another. Four years later, Rolling Stone rated SHADOWS ON A DIME (Lucy Records) 4 of 5 stars. Awarded a Canada Arts Council Grant in 1985, Ferron took several years off, returning to the public eye in 1990 with PHANTOM CENTER, from the Chameleon Division of Warner Brothers: brilliantly relevant album despite the artistically stifling relationship. Consequently, Ferron returned to her small island home to ponder and process. The Live at SF’s Great American Music Hall NOT A STILL LIFE (Cherrywood Station, 1992), the instrumental RESTING WITH THE QUESTION (also Cherrywood Station, 1992), and 1994’s magnificent DRIVER (Cherrywood Station) were the product of Ferron’s period of reflection and introspection. Ferron received an OutMusic Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards in 1996, the same year that she gave the jazzy STILL RIOT (Warner Brothers/EarthBeat!). As a benefit for the Institute for Musical Arts, Ferron made INSIDE OUT in 1999, her only release of covers, favorites from her youth. IMPRESSIONISTIC FERRON, from 2002, is a retrospective double disc featuring a generous 24-page autobiographical booklet and some of her earliest, long out-of-print, tunes. In 2002, Ferron was featured in the documentary on Women's Music, RADICAL HARMONIES; Gerry Rogers’ 2009 filmography GIRL ON A ROAD has won numerous awards internationally. TURNING INTO BEAUTIFUL (Ferron’s own Fair an’ Lovin Music, 2005), the Bitch-produced BOULDER (Bitch’s Short Story Records, 2008), and 2011’s GIRL ON A ROAD, a live recording featuring a reunion concert with her long-time touring band, represent the most recent next steps on Ferron’s inspired and inspiring human journey. As part of reclaiming her artistry from industry, Ferron’s PHANTOM CENTER was re-released on EarthBeat! in 1995; TESTIMONY and DRIVER were re-released on Fair an’ Lovin’ Music in 2007; and SHADOWS ON A DIME was re-released on Fair an’ Lovin’ Music in 2008. For more information on Ferron’s master classes in creativity and composition, on her touring schedule, on her books, on her handmade quilts, on her annual fenfest ‘peace and poetry’ festival, and on her 60th birthday party set for August 2012, please check out her website and her Facebook page.Read full review
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