Dust bowl faeries — DUST BOWL FAERIES is a dark-carnival band based in NY. Accordion, singing saw, ukulele, lap-steel/guitar and percussion combine to create a fairytale fusion of circus, post-punk, Gypsy and psyche-folk music.
COURTESY-DBFs

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. —The Dust Bowl Faeries are headlining the Steampunk Festival, with a performance at the Harkness House at 8:30 on Saturday night, but in addition to sharing their goth-gypsy-folk music to listen to, lead singer Ryder Cooley has interactive events planned.

The DBFs dress eccentrically, to be sure, and among the Steampunk attendees they’ll fit right in — but their mascot, “Hazel,” would stick out in any crowd. That’s because Hazel is a taxidermied sheep’s head; the kind with the giant curved horns.

As part of the festival lineup, Hazel will be leading a conversation on animal awareness.

“The conversation with Hazel is the first time I’ve done it,” said Cooley. “It’s not just about animal rights but about animal awareness. It’s a bigger conversation, which includes animal rights but it’s not a lecture. Anyone who’s interested in animals and wants to talk about our lifestyles and the impact they have on animals is welcome to share resources, to share knowledge. Whether it’s shopping for cruelty-free products or driving responsibly, or other things.

“I thought Hazel would be the perfect entity to lead the conversation because she’s disembodied – there’s the decapitation — she’s become like our mascot. Some people really love her and some don’t,” said Cooley.

The band doesn’t endorse turkey hunting or taxidermy, Cooley continued. “I figured it would be a good setting in Vermont because people are closer to the natural world there than, say in the convention centers in New Jersey where we often play.”

Cooley and guitarist Jon Woodin will also be giving a Singing Saw workshop. “I met someone who played the singing saw on the West Coast 20 years ago,” said Cooley, who picked it up and has been playing it ever since. “It’s a really fabulous instrument-tool. The accordion is my lead instrument and it’s called ‘the workingman’s piano.’ The singing saw is ‘the workingman’s violin.’ I’m just going to bring my saw, which is a tenor, and Jon’s going to play along on the guitar and we’ll stop for questions and answers after.”

People are invited to try playing the saw if they want to. “You can really get some beautiful sounds out of it,” said Cooley. “You can play it with a bow or a mallet; I play it with a bow.”

The Dust Bowl Faeries hail from Brooklyn, but play a lot in Upstate New York. Cooley also plays with Rasputina, who’s “kind of a queen of Steampunk,” and who also has a cello-chamberpot driven ensemble. “She has some of the same dark content that we do,” she said.

Cooley and the DBFs were looking forward to the trip to Springfield.

“We can’t wait to be there and put on a great show.”

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Faeries, dead sheep, and singing saws