"I really did it more as a challenge than anything else," Ferrick said when discussing her decision to record, produce, and engineer the recent project alone. "I think that my stuff now is a lot more organic and less produced than the stuff I made on a major label. Thank God for that."
Though Ferrick was classically trained in music and played the violin, bass and trumpet by the time she was in junior high, it is her mastery of the guitar during her college years and the honesty of her lyrics that have allowed her to thrive as a performer.
When writing her lyrics, Ferrick said that, "as annoying as it is to admit, it's all about wanting to be loved in the truest sense of love, wanting to be fulfilled and never having enough. I like to write about inner struggles, but without sounding like Psych 101."
The use of such personal and universal lyrics gives Ferrick an uncanny ability to deeply connect with the audience, pulling in diverse fans of all ages and backgrounds.
"I think that I play because when I play live it's the only time I'm not thinking ... and the fans really respond to the ego-less-ness of the performance," Ferrick said.
"I listen to music to escape myself when I want to be rid of all my daily grind. To think that what you do gives other people that [feeling] is really trippy and beautiful."
When Ferrick started planning for this tour, she immediately thought to contact her buddies from a former tour, Tegan and Sara Quin, whose new album So Jealous was released Sept. 14. Though perhaps not as well established as Ferrick, Tegan and Sara have had their share of successes by opening for acts such as Hot Hot Heat, Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds.
"We have toured up the East Coast and the northeast so much that it is all starting to feel familiar now," Sara said. "There is always another tour, always another market ... always different people to pick you out."
Though one might think that the twins would be ripping one another's hair out after spending so much time touring and performing together, Sara promised that they generally get along.
"Most people who deal with their brothers and sisters deal with them in a removed sort of way," Sara said. "It generally seems like my relationship with Tegan is incredibly deep, and it's exciting that we get to do so much together."
While Sara said that she and Tegan tend to focus on love when writing their lyrics, they also like to keep their ideas simple.
"I don't think that we are trying to achieve something new or complex," Sara said, as the two instead try to "speak to people across so many borders."
Ferrick seemed to agree on the matter, feeling that it is the simplicity rather than the complexity that draws people in emotionally.
"I'm performing to have a good time," Ferrick explained. "I'm not there to break down walls; I'm there to have a good time with everybody."
Dave Wells, Crowbar operations director, is confident that everyone in the audience will in fact have a good time with Ferrick.
"It's a terrific combination," Wells said. "Anyone who is a Melissa Ferrick fan will definitely enjoy Tegan and Sara, and anyone who is a Tegan and Sara fan will definitely enjoy Melissa."
Wells said he feels that both acts play music that "cuts across a couple of generations," urging everyone to experience it for themselves.
