A Chat with Underdog (05.02.24)
For over 40 years, rockers Scott Ferguson (vocals, guitar, bass and drums) and Bryn Carlson (vocals, lead guitar, bass and drums) have shared their natural musical talent with the world. From Boston bands like The Hackmasters, Secret Word and The Trodds, to the recent foursome Underdog, the pair are inimitable. Formed in 2013 with bassist Aram Heller and drummer Harry MacKenzie, Underdog has received international critical acclaim topping charts, being featured on various publications, podcasts and radio stations. We speak with Scott Ferguson of Underdog about what music means to him, the new album Trans Global Amnesia, advice for new musicians, and much more.
OSR: A rather cliché question but what drew you to music? How did Underdog come together?
Ferguson: Well, Bryn and I have known each other since 1983, and have played in a couple of other bands together over the years. We both grew up playing music and studied various instruments when we were younger. Once he settled into a place where he was able to build AMRD Media Studios at his home, he outfitted it with ProTools and was looking for people to come record in the space. We got together with a couple of friends to jam in early 2013, but they were not able to commit to any sort of regular gathering. He invited me out to demo some of my songs, and we quickly realized that between us that we had all we needed to record finished versions of the songs we had written. He is an amazing drummer in addition to being a very talented guitarist, and I started out playing bass before becoming a guitar player, so it all fell together fairly quickly and naturally. The name came about a bit later, I think around the summer of 2014 and was partly inspired by our situation.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Ferguson: Music is pretty much a part of every facet of our lives. My parents always encouraged music and the arts, so I can’t ever remember a time when it wasn’t a part of my life, and usually the focus. For me, music is one of the most universal ways to express yourself as it transcends so many boundaries like language and culture and is something that can bring people together from a wide variety of backgrounds into a common gathering, both at live concerts and in online forums. For me, there’s a lot of freedom to try new things and ideas, and really experiment with sounds and textures. I’ve often referred to our music as being like sound paintings.
OSR: What can you tell us about your recent album Trans Global Amnesia? Is there a theme or backstory to it?
Ferguson: I don’t think that there is really any sort of central theme connecting the songs as they are pretty diverse in what they are about, and I suppose in some ways that, along with the various styles that we explored on this album, somehow relate to the album title. That idea of not knowing exactly where you are at any particular moment in time.
I first heard about Transient Global Amnesia from a friend whose sister had experienced a bout of it on a business trip and had no idea of where they were, or why they were in a certain place when they woke up. When they were telling me about it, they mistakenly called it “Trans Global Amnesia”, and I thought it was an awesome name for an album. Some of the song selections were consciously made around the title, but many of them were just the new songs that were being written at the time we were making the album.
OSR: What is your creative process?
Ferguson: There’s no single set way for me personally. Most often it starts with a guitar riff, sometimes in conjunction with a lyric or phrase that becomes the foundation of the song. Other times all the lyrics come first, and the music follows, which can be easier as usually the melody is part of the words as I’m writing them down or singing them into a recorder. I can usually hear what the finished song should sound like in my head, even at this early stage, which really helps to guide the process for me. I like to keep pen and paper, and even a pocket recorder handy to capture ideas as they come to me because they can disappear just as quickly as they come, especially if I’m in bed and falling asleep, or I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea and don’t want to lose it.
As the songs become more flushed out the arrangements become part of the process, including the beginnings and endings. I’m not a big fan of fade-outs, especially as you need an ending for playing a song live or a way to medley it into another song.
OSR: If you could change one thing about Trans Global Amnesia, what would it be?
Ferguson: There were a few songs that I had planned on being on the album that didn’t get finished up in time to make it onto the record. I felt that they would have tied into the album title really nicely, but no worries as they will be on future albums.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Ferguson: Well, I think it speaks to a certain segment of the population that really enjoy loud guitar-oriented rock. We know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, as it were, but we hope the listeners appreciate the musicianship and enjoy the songs. There’s serious stuff going on with some of the lyrics, but we also like to inject some humour along the way because we try not to take ourselves too seriously. It would be nice to know that some of that is coming through as well, and hopefully, they are enjoying listening to it.
OSR: What advice do you have for new artists?
Ferguson: Stay true to yourself, and pursue your own vision despite what may be going on around you, especially in mainstream music. Practice every day, even if you only have 30 minutes on some days. Don’t try to force songwriting, it will come naturally over time. And make sure you really like the people you are playing in a band with, and that you have similar goals.
I suppose you should also be ready for letdowns, negative reviews, and all sorts of adversity along the way, but we’ve always found that the good things and good times that have happened to us far outweigh the tough times. So be ready to face some hard situations, but you’ll come out of them a little bit stronger each time.
OSR: If you hadn’t pursued a music career, what was Plan B? What was the second choice regarding careers?
Ferguson: Some sort of artist, which is probably why I ended up going to art school. I’ve always felt that creative people usually have more than one outlet for expressing themselves. Drawing and painting were other things that I enjoyed and was good at as a kid, so it’s nice that I have been able to do what I enjoy the most. Not sure that is something everyone gets to do.
OSR: What do you remember most about your first crush?
Ferguson: That she was a musician too. No big surprise there. I think that goes back to the question about the importance of music in our lives, and how it’s really permeated my life, and that goes way back, even as far as elementary school when I first studied piano. That and she had a great sense of humour, you really want to have that, especially when times get tough.
OSR: What does the future hold for Underdog?
Ferguson: We are already at work on the next record which will feature some of those songs I mentioned before that didn’t make it onto this last one. I think a few of them just need to be mixed at this point. But there are always new songs being written, so it can become a bit of a balancing act trying to capture songs while they are still fresh, and trying to decide which songs currently best represent where we are on our musical journey. Hopefully, there are some live shows in the near future as well.
OSR: Do you have any message for our readers?
Ferguson: Well wishes for everyone in the New Year! Thanks for taking the time to learn more about Underdog, and we hope you enjoy the new album as much as we did making it. Stay tuned for our next album Wonderland which we hope to release later this year. Rock On!
Many thanks to Scott Ferguson for speaking with us. For more from Underdog, check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
