Arrah and the Ferns makes their long awaited comeback performing live on stage! Featuring local opening act, Polly Vinylchloryde.
Arrah and the Ferns was born at an open mic in late 2005 in Muncie, Indiana. Three new friends, Carl Stovner, Arrah Fisher, and Dave Segedy (age 20, 20, 18 at the time) got together with an eclectic assortment of instruments – various guitars, sleigh bells, a vintage wurlitzer electric piano, a banjolin (mandolin in a banjo body) – and poof, Arrah and the Ferns began.
Cheeky, whimsical, melodic, catchy, indie-pop/country/folk driven tunes were created, mostly in Dave's parents’ basement, for 6 months before getting signed by Standard Recording. In 2006, their debut album, Evan is a Vegan, was released and the Ferns quickly gained attention and accolades. On early tours, they shared the stage with bands such as Deerhoof, Richard Swift, Danielson, Xiu Xiu, Sunset Rubdown, and more.
In 2007, they began to record their sophomore album, All the Bad in One Place, a darker and deeper dive into their evolving style, and were joined by bassist, Joey Patrick. But before the record was completed, the original Ferns disbanded and scattered and Carl and Arrah made their fateful journey to Philadelphia in 2008.
In Philly, Arrah and Carl found ferns and soon recruited Ryan Belski (guitar), Mike Harkness (drums), and Buddy Szczesniak (bass) to be Arrah and the Ferns 2.0. With their new lineup, the ferns finished All the Bad in One Place, released it, and began to tour nationally. In 2012, they put out their third release, Soldier Ghost, a 6-song EP heavily featuring old country influences, twangy guitars, and ethereal vocals.
In 2012, Carl relocated to NYC and left the Ferns (but always a fern in spirit!). Arrah, Szczesniak, Belski, and Harkness continued to tour and then recorded and released their 4th album, Make Your Mind, in 2013. Shortly after, they disbanded, a (semi) final time. Arrah embarked on a yearlong global trek, Belski moved to Montana, and Szczesniak moved to Scotland. Ferns were and are scattered throughout the country and continent.
Pandemic lockdown hit in 2020 and Arrah, now living in a small northeastern Pennsylvania town and running a community nonprofit organization (The Cooperage Project), reconnected with Carl (still living, working, and making music in Brooklyn) and they began to send demos of new songs they’d written. It was decided that a new record had to be made and the Ferns would again be resurrected. New ferns were born with the addition of guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, Lizzie Connor; bassist, Adam Ravitz; and drummer, Ruben Sindo Acosta. Together, they recorded their fifth and newest Ferns release, That Dog EP, a 7 song collection of new and old sounds, nuances, and influences of the group over the last 15 years. That Dog was recorded over Memorial Day weekend 2022 by Nicky Bedo at The Cooperage Project in Honesdale, PA. The Ferns will digitally release That Dog on November 19, 2022 at their release show, also at The Cooperage Project, followed by another release party in Brooklyn (at Bar Freda) November 20, 2022.
---
Polly Vinylchloryde is the dark queen of psychedelia and a goth-glam fashionista. Composing and performing late-night psychedelic tunes inspired by a broken heart and the demised of her former band, Ruckzuck. Polly's songs are often purely instrumental, with a spacey-fuzzed out guitar taking the lead accompanied by atmospheric synths and robotic vocoder vocals. Drawing much sonic inspiration from vintage legends such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk & CAN, as well as more modern groups like Beach House, PJ Harvey and Khruangbin.