Who Needs Wisdom When You’ve Got Hubris?

Felicity’s Hubris at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA

Each month we host Rock Off Main, an evening of emerging acts from around MetroWest. Tonight, Feb 10, 2023, Felicity’s Hubris shares a bill with Pretty Rotten, Robby Rowe, and Maya Saturn Band. We asked the psych-blues-jam-fusion-quartet some questions; they gave us some answers. Have a read and swing through; doors are at 7pm and the show’s only $8. 

atac: OK guys who are you?

Felicity’s Hubris: We are a 4-piece psych-soul funk band with a penchant for jams! We bring wholesome messages and music people can relate to on many levels!

atac: Positive start! Where are you originally from, how’d you get together?

FH: Two of us are from Rhode Island and the other two are from Wellesley, MA. We’re all self-taught with no classical background in music. We caught the jam bug around the same time and COVID brought us together.

atac: A pandemic silver-lining story is always nice. 

FH: COVID really gave us a fresh start. We had periodically jammed with our now-bassist Andrew, aka Silk. He was at school in Indiana and COVID sent him and I [Lorenzo] home. With the newfound free time we began gathering; the current state of the band materialized out of that.

atac: As self-taught musicians...walk me through that. What gear did you pick up first? What instruments speak most to you?

FH: I went to Framingham State my freshman year and met Lou, and we found a jam studio out of the 1960’s—I was blown away to see people still making music that wasn’t mainstream. I started playing drums there; I got my first guitar shortly after while studying abroad in Greece. Hayden, our guitarist, played in high school but didn’t think there were any “others” out there still playing 60s-70s music until I brought him to the “jam spot” for the first time and introduced him to the fine people of the jam spot.

atac: If you were locked in the Jam Spot forever—just you, a record player, and a few LPs to jam to—what’s on file?

“Awaken My Love!” by Childish Gambino

Animals by Pink Floyd

Shinola Vol. 2 by Ween

Anthem of the Sun by Grateful Dead

atac: Assuming you like Dead & Co here—seen them live? What shows have meant the most to you?

FH: Dead & Company, yes. The masterful interplay jamming we witnessed with John Mayer and the whole band was a testament to how much you can stretch a song before you bring it back home. 

A friend of mine aptly described Phish as “like Grateful Dead for the kids,” but the style they played with—while similar to the Dead—was so funny and danceable, it showed us another side of the jam-world. 

Alice Phoebe Lou live was a testament to so-called “new music.” The entire band was beautifully locked in and so atmospheric and jazzy while still remaining true to an authentic sound; inspiration we like to take in our own music. 

Also, the goofy energy of Ween always reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously, and that music should be fun and connecting. 

atac: What's a piece of advice you'd give to an aspiring performer yet to get on stage?

FH: It’s never too late to start, and there’s no such thing as being “musically inclined”. The more you practice and play, the better you get. One of the best things you can do to advance yourself is to play/jam with people who are better than you!

atac: What's the roughest gig you've ever played?: 

FH: Definitely the gig we played a set and then got kicked out of our old studio!

atac: Who are some artists around here you love and want to get people hip to?

FH: Besides Felicity’s Hubris? The Chops and Moshi.

atac: Is music your main creative output, or are you up to other things, too?

FH: While we all are chugging the music train we all also have outside pursuits; Louie is an amazing video art creator, Silk is an aspiring SpongeBob Rapper, and I chef it up in the kitchen always making new dishes!

atac: SpongeBob Rap?

FH: Haha listen for yourself. 

atac: I was not ready for that. Any final thoughts?

FH:  Love each other, the only way to the future is together, and we as a people need to come together through love to make all the necessary changes our society needs.

*

Felicity’s Hubris is: Lorenzo Fernandes, drums/vocals; Hayden Beaulieu, guitar/vocals; Andrew Silk, Bass/vocals; and Lou Grignaffini, keyboard/harmonica/synth/vocals. Catch them tonight, and follow along on instagram, Facebook, and Spotify.