In 2012, when Save Ferris frontwoman Monique Powell was diagnosed with a degenerative spine condition, she came to an epiphany.
“I had three doctors say you can sing, or you can walk, you gotta choose. At that point I decided to bring the band back.” Once that decision was made, she says, “Everything else that happened from there has changed me remarkably as a human being.”
Luminaries of the ‘90s ska scene, Save Ferris had a run of popularity that saw them land an appearance in the cult classic film 10 Things I Hate About You. Now, in 2017, Powell and a completely revamped band have their first new release in 18 years, a fan funded EP titled Checkered Past, due out February 10.
While the EP is filled with all the fun and joy Save Ferris is known for, Powell notes there’s something personally moving for her on Checkered Past as well.
“In September we recorded (the song) ‘Goodbye Brother’ on my dad’s birthday,” she explains. “My dad’s a singer, we had him come out and sing backup … on his birthday, September 12. On January 9 my dad died, so all of this is for him. All of it. It’s all for him. Nothing else really matters right now but this band, and making it happen in my dad’s honor, because he loved this band, and everyone in it … He was so happy that we were doing it again.”
With her father in her heart, Powell, and the revamped Save Ferris are about to hit the road for a tour, where they’ll be singing about their Checkered Past, while also cranking out the classics.
Myspace caught up with Powell while she was packing her bags, and she shared some stories about Save Ferris’ ‘90s heyday, meeting David Bowie and why she loved being in a band in the pre-social media era. Hop to the next page to read the interview.
A friend of mine recently noted that she’s never seen someone sad at a ska show. How important is that aspect of ska to you?
That’s a great question. Yeah, I guess it is exactly what I do, just try to make people happy at a show. I just want them to forget about their problems for a few minutes, and skank.
Going back to Save Ferris’ original heyday, what moment represented the height of fame for you back in the ‘90s? Give me a show, a party, or a person you were standing next to, that was just mind blowing?
We played a KROQ festival, and David Bowie was playing, and I got to meet him. That was crazy. I was like, seriously? I’m just in a ska band. What is going on right now? Who messed up and put us on the same show? [laughs]
When you say you met him, did words come out of your mouth, or were you just like holy crap, that’s David Bowie?
He smiled, and we said hello to each other, and he said, “It was nice to meet you,” and that was about it. Then he walked away, and I cried. [laughs] I was like, excuse me, I need a moment.
Having met him, his passing probably hit you a little harder than some of the other artist passings of the past year.
It was a huge loss for me, because musically he was just everything to me. From when I was a child, that was who I listened to because that’s who my sister was listening to, and I fell in love with him then.
How did your sister react when you told her you’d met him?
She totally freaked out.
Staying in that era, if you could bring one thing back from the ‘90s, be it a musical concept, a philosophical concept, or a fashion style, what would it be?
Pre-social media. Oh my goodness, yes. I would go back to pre-social media.
Wouldn’t that severely alter the way you keep in contact with people? You raised all the money for your new EP through a PledgeMusic campaign. Without social media wouldn’t that have been a lot harder?
Well, in those days a record label would have signed us for like a million dollars. They were just signing anybody in those days. I think that’s how we got our deal. They were like, “Oh, you’re in a band, we don’t care how you sound.” No, I’m just kidding.
What about the pre-social media era did you enjoy more than the current social media era?
I do love all of the convenience, obviously, and it’s also much easier for me to keep in touch with people who like the band. That’s really nice, but it’s the scrutiny, and you don’t have to have a face to your words, you can just talk shit and you don’t have to say it to my face. In those days it was like, say it to my face. If you have a problem with me, say it to my face.
You really thought more before you opened you mouth, I think, in those days.
Did you ever have someone say it to your face?
Oh yeah. I said it to a lot of people’s faces, too.
You, along with Letters to Cleo (who we interviewed last year), were featured in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Do you have any memories from your time on set?
Yeah. It was super fun, and I remember Heath Ledger, and I remember there being a buzz about him.
I remember everybody being really nice, and I remember standing on that stage forever, just waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. It’s such a slow process, filming a movie. It takes even longer than recording an album, because there are so many different angles they have to shoot from.
Heath Ledger tragically passed away young, but you’re still here, Letters to Cleo is still here, and Julia Stiles is still here, Have you ever contemplated a 10 Things I Hate About You reunion?
I have never contemplated that, but I would be totally into showing up for something like that. That would be fun.
Save Ferris’ initial run wasn’t the longest run in the world, but you’ve stayed in the minds of fans. You know this because you nearly doubled your PledgeMusic goal. Why do you think the band made such a lasting impact?
We were around for a short period of time, but we played a lot of shows, like A LOT of shows, and our live shows were really fun. I really think that once you connect with a band in that way, like in the way that we connect with our audience, it leaves a lasting impression.
Your new EP is titled Checkered Past. Is the title a bit of a nod to your former bandmates?
[Laughs] I don’t think it really has anything to do with them. It is sort of a nod to the fact that I feel like the past few years I’ve been making amends with a lot of my past, and just trying to come to terms with all that.
I feel like I’m in a really good place. I’ve really done a lot of work, because, yeah, I did have a checkered past. I had a “say it to my face” past.
What did you feel like you had to make amends for?
I think, from a business perspective I don’t feel I burned any bridges, or anything like that, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just did the best that I could. I was just a kid. It’s like that stuff, ex-boyfriends, things that you didn’t exactly do right, that you wish you could have done better.
Did you actually contact ex-boyfriends to make amends, because that seems like something that’s a rarity in life.
I did. Some people never responded. They just weren’t interested.
Does it matter if they respond?
No. It doesn’t matter at that point. The first one that didn’t respond I was sort of hurt by. I really wanted it to go better, but after a while you get over it, and you’re like, OK, I did the best I could, it’s all good.
Musically, when it comes to Checkered Past, how would you say your sound has developed over the years?
I’m a grown up lady now, so definitely there’s a part of me … like I can’t write another “Spam,” it just isn’t gonna happen.
My favorite Save Ferris album was the first EP (Introducing Save Ferris), just because it was like the greatest time in my life, and I loved recording that album, and I loved the way it sounded when we were done with it. It just sounded really raw, and super cool, in my opinion. I still listen to it. I wanted this album to be a nod to that. I also wanted to bring back some of the youthful sound from that album that I loved so much. I wanted to bring a little bit of that back, but I also wanted each song to embody a different side of Save Ferris.
Save Ferris is a little punky, and a little poppy, and a little youthful, and sometimes a little angry.
There’s one song on there that’s really very young sounding, in my opinion, and it’s about my husband. It’s called “Anything,” and it’s about how I feel like a little kid when I think about him. That song has that feeling to it.
I think if you feel that way about your significant other it means you chose well.
I really hope so. As long as you’re having fun in your life with whoever that person is, I think you’ll be OK.
Want more blasts from the past? Check out our #THROWBACKTHURSDAY page.
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