Artist Profile: Feller

Feller, the rock trio based in Chicago, Illinois, has been formulated and shaped through their roots that spread throughout Chicago’s extensive music scene, and, now, as they approach the release of their second project, they have found a new and expansive creative work flow, leaning on each other’s strengths while pushing their work as a whole outside of their collective comfort zone.

Growing up, Feller’s drummer, Ethan Toenjes, always longed to move to Chicago and experience the creative spaces that laid in wait for him there. He was born and raised just outside Belleville, Illinois, where his parents first bought him a drum set in an attempt to quell some of his hyperactivity. Since they lived on a farm, there was no concern of receiving any complaints from neighbors, and, as Toenjes’s taste expanded from Van Halen into various punk and metal acts, his drumming took on a more and more pulsating style.

Yet, despite his growing talent, there were little to no acts available for him to join in his hometown. Therefore, when he finally moved to Chicago to attend college, he threw himself headfirst into the music scene, frequenting shows and, through the haphazardness of the local creative space, jumping between different bands as he attempted to find his footing.

Pete Willson, who is by now a storied member of this same music scene, was the bassist at the time for a group called Cafe Racer, and, when Ethan’s band at the time opened up for them, they almost immediately spotted each other’s talents. Pete found Ethan after the show was over, introduced himself, and, after a couple months went by, the pair met up for a jam session.

“I've never had that kind of sporadic musical chemistry with anyone,” said Toenjes, “The second I started playing with Pete, the way he plays guitar is very gestural and sporadic in the sense that it's almost like he's finishing my sentences, vice versa… I've played in several punk bands in Chicago;  I've played in several indie bands, and so, to get into that room with Pete and just play nonstop for like an hour and a half, that was really cool to just gel off of each other like that.”

Many of the riffs that Willson brought to this first session ultimately became tracks on their first EP, Universal Miracle Worker, as the pair continued to flesh out their experimentations and prepare live shows. Yet, despite the encouraging chemistry forming between the two, they knew something was missing.

Therefore, when they needed a bassist to fill out a couple tracks during their first live show, they called upon their friend: Ramsey Bell, the bassist for The Slaps. Almost immediately, the trio knew that they had found something special. Since Toenjes had already learned to conform his drum patterns around Willson’s vocals and guitar strummings, Bell could flex his muscles almost entirely independently of the two: creating what Toenjes sees as a unique showcase of his talent and ability to adapt to the needs of the group.

“The way he plays bass is different from most of the bass players I've ever seen. Ramsey, the way he writes [bass lines], for lack of a better term, it's just fun to me… It fits in your ear in a weird space where you didn't know it could as a rhythm section, and for me to play alongside him is really fun because it doesn't hit in a conventional way where we are the locked in rhythm section. It truly hits like he's on his own track.”

Universal Miracle Worker, in many ways, displays this budding chemistry between the three musicians. From more mellow songs like “Sand Sandwich” to the cascading distortion of tracks like “Blender”, the band displays a wide range of inspirations, ranging from the more hardcore music of Toenjes’s youth to the folk and singer-songwriter roots from which Willson has sprung forth.

While Bell only played on two tracks on their initial EP due to other commitments he had at the time, he is now a full member of Feller, and, as the trio has worked toward their next EP, these influences have simultaneously continued to expand and also have become more concise in the way they have been harnessed. Now, with the final lineup set and ample time to create with intentionality, the members of Feller are excited about the steps their next release has taken upon their established sound:

“The speed at which we churned out Universal Miracle Worker… we were so excited and did it so fast and we're so proud of it and still are… but whenever we went forward to this next release, we were like, ‘Alright, now we can really take our time to write songs and really let Ramsey sit with these songs and bring his own ideas to the table,’ and that was a game changer for everything.”