Carter Felker is feeling upbeat, even though his new album is called Loser. “It’s funny,” says the Calgary-based singer-songwriter. “This record was so much fun to make. The players were so good, and Jeff Kynoch is an amazing sound engineer. I felt comfortable, so I just said, ‘Let’s be weird,’ and we didn’t put a genre on anything.”
As for the title, Felker admits that he can lean towards self-deprecation. “I make jokes at my own expense, for sure,” he says. “So there’s sad stuff and dark stuff on this album, but it can be fun, too, and catchy. That’s how I am as a person. And ‘loser’ is a term of endearment in our house.”
Felker said he wanted to be more introspective when creating this record. “I challenged myself to write more personal stuff, songs about myself. The nice thing about art is that you can say what you want to say in music. You get tragedy and rudeness, but it’s carried by melody, so it lands a little softer.”
Felker is getting ready for numerous Alberta concert dates. He’s particularly looking forward to the album release party at The King Eddy in Calgary. He’s been on stage there every Sunday for the past five years. “The King Eddy is so great. I have been doing my residency there for years, and everyone there is so kind to me. It feels appropriate to launch the record there. I love the venue. I have had so much of the last half-decade there.”
Now, he laughs, he’ll get to experience it at a different time of day. “I never see it at night! Now I can see it all lit up.”
In addition to his album release party in Calgary, Felker will play seven other Alberta towns in March. He says that if people are familiar with his music, that might just be because of the CKUA connection. “If you have your music on CKUA, people from all over will hear it. It’s incredible. People in smaller centres are hungry for music. There’s a good space for original music in this province.”
Carter Felker plays Vulcan March 19, Medicine Hat March 20, Lethbridge March 21, Calgary March 22, Edmonton March 26, Grande Prairie March 27, Red Deer March 28, Bellevue March 29.
Find info at instagram.com/carterefelker
“Losing Hand” is from Carter Felker’s new album, Loser.
