Music

FireFlyForest

eclectic collaborative project releases first album

Lindsey Quinnies |

Steven Hobart, roughly one tenth of FireFlyForest, loves to play his banjo in the windowsill.
 
Steven Hobart, roughly one tenth of
FireFlyForest.
FireFlyForest has an eclectic musical style that “tiptoes the boundaries” of genres and holds influences from folk, classical, and jazz. 

The band, comprised of UWEC graduate Steven Hobart and about 10 other musicians (Kip Jones – violin, Felicia Hobert – vocals, Andy McCormick – saw, Ben Lester – pedal steel, Nick Ball and Tyler Mickelson – guitar, James Kellerman – horns, Jeff Schraw – percussion, Jeremy Boettcher – bass, Sean Carey – drums) has been playing together for about a year and will soon be playing a show in EC to release their first 15-track album, Ballet

“I specifically organized a bunch of great musical personalities who all have a varied background and lots of intuitive/creative abilities, so I knew doing some improvisations might create some really interesting and fun music,” Hobart said.

Some tracks, such as The Song, provide “quirky, whimsical” sounds while others bring forth the feeling of lushness in natural landscapes. The lyrics, meanwhile, intermix “imagery, story-telling, and philosophical concepts,” Hobart says. 

Most of the recording was done at the Wail House with Jaime Hansen, but some sampled songs and real-life noises such as city sounds and Hobart’s nephews talking were added in Minneapolis. 

FireFlyForest’s release will be an outdoor show at 439 Gilbert Ave on April 27. The opener will be Shane Leonard, and will start at 7pm. Feel encouraged to bring lawn chairs and treat this like a music in the park-style event.