Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers are planning a more stripped down show for the South Country Fair this year when they close off the East Stage on Sunday afternoon.
“This time we’re leaving the drums and the masks at home,” said bassist Lindsey Collins, recovering from volunteering at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The Winnipeg band is known for their rock opera of popular children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are,” during which they sport crazy masks based on the characters from the book and all jump in front of the stage in a massive drum off.
“We’re retiring them for now. We don’t want to be known as a gimmicky band. But we‘re working on something even more theatrical for the future,” he said.
“There’s a lot more room in the van now. We have pictures of it and it was just packed. It was just ridiculous. It was like a giant game of Tetris trying to fit everything in,” he said adding even the 45 some minute set they will be playing at South Country Fair will be enough to get the essence of the band.
“Our music is pretty theatrical on its own,” he said adding they don’t want to be pigeonholed as a gimmick band, nor do they want to bore themselves or their audience.
“Especially for those who have seen us before.”
He noted several of the big acts performing there including the Beauties, Besh O’Drom and Hungarian folk group Tambura Rasa, will be at the fair.
“So I’m looking forward to seeing those bands again,” he said adding a lot of Winnipeg bands will also be playing South Country Fair.
“So there will be a big party on Sunday,” he promised.
They are also looking forward to seeing old friends like Lorinda Peel who helped them get their foot in the door in Lethbridge and Gillian Moranz who booked the east stage.
“It will be great to see friends like that again,” he said.
“We just did the North Country Fair, it was really fun, so now we’re doing the North Country Fair and the South Country Fair back to back, two or three weeks apart,” he said.
He said festival and club gigs are different.
“At the festivals we only have one 45 or 55 minute set. In clubs we do two 45-55 minute sets, so there is more room to expand on what we do,” he said.
While they are retiring the masks and drums for now, he said they have four new songs they have added to their sets.
“We’ll probably release an EP later in the year. Full length albums are expensive. It would be nice to to be in the black and not in debt for $10,000.”
If you miss Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers at the south country Fair they will also be playing the Slice, July 27.
