Faun Fables is an American band based in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Faun Fables is a concept and vehicle for Dawn McCarthy, who was inspired to write the original material while traveling after leaving the New York City music scene in 1997. Faun Fables also covers 20th century compositions by other songwriters and traditional folk songs. The music on the first album is entirely by McCarthy, as are all lyrics and most of the music on ''Mother Twilight''. All albums except for the first are collaborations with

Nils Frykdahl Nils Frykdahl is an American musician, most known for his work with the bands Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh. He is also a member of the bands Free Salamander Exhibit, Faun Fables, and Darling Freakhead, and used to be a member of Ch ...

, inspired by McCarthy's previous work and "Dawn the Faun" stage

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

Collaborations

Main collaborator Nils Frykdahl is known for his work with

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (often abbreviated to SGM) was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fused classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music. They were known to perform elabo ...

and

Idiot Flesh Idiot Flesh was an American experimental rock band formed in Oakland, California, in 1985, initially working under the name Acid Rain. Their work was characterized by its "rock against rock" slogan, and defied classification with its incorpora ...

. Faun Fables albums and shows also feature collaborations with: * Family members - sister Sheila Bosco ( Autobody; Drumhead; Flaming Fire; zBug), brother Brian McCarthy, and mother Michelina Tyrie; * Matt Waldron of 'irr. app. (ext.)' * Robin Coomer of 'Loop!Station' * Kirana Peyton of Blackbird Stitches; * Isabel Douglass of Rupa & the April Fishes; *

Noe Venable Noe Venable (born April 20, 1976 in San Francisco, California) is an experimental folk/pop singer-songwriter. She has earned a loyal fan base in her native San Francisco, in part through frequently performing in small, intimate venues. Her advo ...

; *

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

; * Dan Rathbun of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (bass guitar)

Performance

McCarthy's performances draw on many influences, including

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

n and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

an music. Her shows often contain elements of theater—dance and puppet shows are common elements. She has covered songs of

Ewa Demarczyk Ewa Maria Demarczyk (16 January 1941 – 14 August 2020) was a Polish singer, generally associated with the sung poetry genre and the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret. Demarczyk was recognized as one of the most talented and charismatic singers in ...

and

Brigitte Fontaine Brigitte Fontaine, (born 24 June 1939) is a singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereolab, ...

, and her music has been compared to neo-psych-folk artists such as Devendra Banhart and

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only cons ...

The Transit Rider

This is an ambitious performance and multimedia documentation of a

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarel ...

entitled ''

The Transit Rider ''The Transit Rider'' is the fourth album by Faun Fables and the theatrical production on which it was based. Track listing # "Birth" – 2:10 # "Transit Theme" – 4:46 # "The House Carpenter" – 5:05 # "In Speed" – 3:51 # "Taki Pejzaz" � ...

''.

Discography

Members

Current

* Dawn McCarthy: composer, vocals, guitars, percussion, stomping, autoharp, gamelan * Nils Frykdahl: composer, guitars, flutes, vocals, percussion, autoharp, broom

Former

* Sheila Bosco: vocals, percussion * Kirana Peyton: bass, vocals, percussion, harmonium * Meredith Yayanos: violin, theremin, vocals, percussion ''The Transit Rider North America Tour 2006:'' * Jenya Chernoff: ''drums, bass guitar, vocals'' *

Matt Lebofsky Matt Lebofsky is an Oakland, California-based multi-instrumentalist and composer. Growing up in New York he studied piano/composition with Arthur Cunningham from 1978-1988. As a performer/composer he is currently active in several bands such as ...

: ''guitar, bass guitar, warr guitar, vocals''

References

External links

Official Faun Fables web site
{{Authority control Drag City (record label) artists Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Oakland, California Psychedelic folk groups Freak folk 1999 establishments in California