The Grand Rapids band releasing ‘Pollinator’ next week talks about its new project for Local Spins, which also debuted fresh tracks by The War and Treaty, Spencer LaJoye, Crystal Trench & more.
‘Wildly Proud’ of Eclectic New Album: Ficus (Courtesy Photo)
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Describing their band as a “family,” Grand Rapids’ Ficus has refined its musical approach over the past five years and gotten more productive as songwriters – something that’s fueled the captivating and polished nature of their new studio album, “Pollinator.”
“Setting a high bar was our goal with this album,” drummer Nick Johnson said of the project that took several months longer to complete than expected because of the group’s drive for perfection.
“We wanted to challenge ourselves by diving into our established sounds further while also experimenting with new concepts and ideas. Ultimately, (it was) bringing back tastes from the ’60s and ’70s while adding a fresh, original, modern twist to it.”
The psych-rock/prog-rock/stoner rock band – featuring Johnson, bassist Mike Kalinowski, guitarist Benjamin Graham, guitarist Blake McWatters and keyboardist Michael Failing – will perform songs from this milestone album “all the way through” for the first time at its release show at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Oct. 18.
Some of the band’s “dearest friends” also will be on board for the event – Detroit’s Carbon Decoy, Milwaukee’s Fellow Kinsman and Petoskey’s Levitator. Tickets for the all-ages show, $10 in advance, are available online here.
“We love how the community resonates with the heavy, fuzzed-out sound of ‘My Fortune’ (a band single),” said Kalinowski, a graduate of Aquinas College and Grand Rapids West Catholic High School.
“We have played most of the album live at recent shows and people have loved the creative direction, so that is gratifying and reaffirming for us as a band. It’s an eclectic album and we’re wildly proud of it. We’ve been told that we’re a breath of fresh air to some of the current music trends, and as weird as that is to hear, we really appreciate folks’ enthusiasm for our art.”
VIDEO: Ficus, “Resonation Room”
EXPLORING NEW SOUNDS AND HITTING THE ROAD IN 2025
The boundary-pushing nature of the album – recorded in band members’ basements and mastered by Josh Kaufman at Grand Rapids’ Local Legend Recording – epitomizes Ficus’ continual musical evolution.
“Over the next year, we look forward to exploring our sound deeper and seeing where it takes us,” said Johnson, who graduated from Berkley High School and attended Grand Rapids Community College and Kendal College of Art & Design.
“We really want to experiment with the pop/dance realm of psychedelia and challenge ourselves. We have a lot of fun ideas we’re excited to take for a spin. We’re just eager to write any fresh material that pulls from our eclectic musical backgrounds and wade into new waters.”
Ficus: Revving up a bus in 2025. (Courtesy Photo)
Johnson added that the band also hopes “to dabble with learning some covers and seeing how we can make them our own.”
Citing everything from King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Tame Impala and Rush as influences, Ficus also plans to hit the road in 2025, equipped with a revamped bus and a penchant for performing together.
“We’re best friends. We love hanging out together. We’re family,” said Johnson, adding that the bus “will be great for expanding into bigger festivals and venturing further out into the Great Lakes’ surrounding states.”
Added Kalinowski: “I think that’s really the ultimate goal for us. We want to make it, we want to do this music thing as a full-time gig. We’ve done some weekend tours together and we all enjoyed it every single time we’ve done it.”
For this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE – which explores Michigan music at 11 a.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org – Ficus spotlighted the new tracks, “The Great Program” and psychedelia-drenched “Resonator Room,” which also is featured in a new band video released today. (View the video above and read more about Ficus here.)
The radio show also debuted new tracks by Crystal Trench (with Seth Beck), Hunter Noll Bell, Melanie Pierce, Carbon Decoy, Spencer LaJoye, The War and Treaty, Patty PerShayla, The Crane Wives, Eric Nachtrab/Bastard Ideals and Joel Mabus. Listen to the show here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (10/11/24)
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