Blood Feathers are an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. They were formed in 2005 by

Ben Dickey Ben Dickey (born 1977) is an American actor and musician best known for playing Blaze Foley in the 2018 biographical drama '' Blaze''. For his performance in the film, Dickey won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ach ...

and Drew Mills. The current band consists of Dickey (vocals, guitar, piano) and Mills (vocals, guitar), Clay Simmons (bass guitar), Patrick Marsceill (drums), Sam Murphy (guitar), and Tracy Stanton (saxophone, percussion, keyboard).

Biography

Blood Feathers started as a live performance outlet for songwriters Ben Dickey and Drew Mills to showcase new material they had written. Having met through the Philadelphia music scene in the 1990s, by 2005, both Dickey and Mills' bands (Amen Booze Rooster and

Aspera Aspera may refer to: Music * Aspera (band), an American indie rock band * ''(a)spera'', a 2009 album by Mirah * Above Symmetry, a Norwegian progressive metal band originally known as Aspera * "Aspera", the lead track from ''We Will Become Like Bir ...

, respectively) had broken up. Dickey and Mills started performing new material,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

covers together at local

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

nights under the moniker ''Dickey Mills''. Eventually having an album's worth of material, the two went into studio with local Philadelphia friends, Mickey Walker and Quentin Stoltzfus (''both of the band Mazarin''). With the assistance of Philadelphia producer Brian McTear, the group recorded what would become Blood Feathers debut, ''Curse and Praise''. Walker and Stoltzfus performed as the band's

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

on the recording and would eventually play in a revolving cast of musicians that comprised the early Blood Feathers live show. ''Curse & Praise'' was released on August 8, 2006 on the Philadelphia-based label, Box Theory Records. Magnet Magazine wrote of the album, "Drew Mill's quavering voice -- with its pinch of

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

, gram of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and healthy dose of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

-- immediately conjures

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

fields and starry skies.". Despite gaining favorable editorial reviews, the album failed to elevate the band into the national spotlight. In 2007, after failing to garner national support for their debut, Dickey and Mills planned to take time off from their home town of Philadelphia and relocate to

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

The guitarist-songwriters decided to regroup, seeking a bigger piece of the sky in
Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...
, where they planned to hone their songwriting alliance while working at a restaurant owned by their manager, Newt Lynn. Mills never made it due to personal reasons, but Dickey says he spent a beneficial 18 Southwestern months working in the kitchen by day and as a guitarist in a
Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...
cover band called The Prescott Playboys by night. "I was 30 years younger than everybody else in the band," Dickey, 32, says with a measure of pride. "The guy I replaced played in
Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...
's band. It was great for me as a musician." Dickey wasn't about to give up on Blood Feathers, however. So the
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
native moved back to Fishtown - where he now works as a cook at indie venue/gastropub Johnny Brenda's. He got Blood Feathers back together with Mills, who's originally from Willow Grove and who had taken a job touring with songwriter Benjy Ferree while Dickey was out of town.

Upon Dickey's return from Arizona, Blood Feathers established a full band line up, consisting of Mills and Dickey with the addition of Patrick Marsceill on the drums (formerly of The A-Sides), Tracy Stanton(formerly of Bardo Pond) on the saxophone, percussion, and keyboards, and Sam Murphy on the guitar (an old

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

friend of Dickey's who also plays in the Philadelphia band Pink Skull). On December 8, 2009, Blood Feathers second album, ''Goodness Gracious'', was released digitally on Philebrity Label. Vinyl versions of this album are anticipated to be released in March 2010. Since the album has been available, it has gained national attention by consistent airplay on the nationally syndicated NPR program World Cafe. The first single off ''Goodness Gracious'', "Don't Know You At All" was also featured on an

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...

musical compilation available fro
their website
and on iTunes.

Interviews

(January 2010)

(January 2010)

Discography

*''Curse & Praise'' (

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

) ( CD,

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

) released August 2006 in the USA o
Box Theory Records
*''Goodness Gracious'' (

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

) ( LP, CD,

) released December 2009 digitally (mp3) in the US, in March 2010 on Vinyl in the USA on Philebrity Label.

References

External links

Official Blood Feathers Site

Blood Feathers on Facebook

Blood Feathers on Myspace

Blood Feathers on Twitter

Blood Feathers on Last.FMBlood Feathers Interview on TheWaster.com
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia