The story of Shane O’Malley Firek, the single constant member of The Ferdy Mayne, is one of journeys – physical, spiritual, and a combination of the two.
“I was going through massive change when I was writing this material,” Firek explains of his self-titled debut album, out March 24th via Greater Peaks Records. “Before my sobriety, I was completely insane, in and out of jail, losing friends and putting myself in considerable debt,” he confesses. “I quit drinking around the time I began to perform in New York, and I’ve been sober a little over three years now.”
Free of the law, and free of the hold of alcohol, Firek accomplishes on this album what any artist hopes to who has lived through pretty good and really bad, and that is to fully inform the work with experience. Firek is most proud of his lyrics, and unlike some songwriters, he fights hard for them, sometimes over the course of many years.
“This is the single most focused song on the record, lyrically,” Firek explains. “What else can it say? Define my name. Surreal, poignant Ferdy lyrics. This is what I do best.”
It’s a lot of movement, the other side of the coin of confinement, which Firek also knows something about. It’s likely the same optimism about his first glimpse of Los Angeles that kept him going before arriving there.
“Los Angeles is a shimmering object at first glance,” he remembers. “It is unreliable, similar to the unreliable dream of New York City, but I trust in the truth that you can sharpen the tools you came here with.”
Firek’s journey continues in 2017. Details of a tour behind the release of the debut album by The Ferdy Mayne will be announced shortly. The self-titled debut album by The Ferdy Mayne arrives on March 24th, 2017 via Greater Peaks Records.
