Few bands today have a story as eclectic as Then & Now.
It starts with the father daughter duo of Graham and Tori Ferreira, separated in age by more than four and a half decades, deciding the time had finally come for a family collaboration.
Then came the additions of heavy metal guitarist Marc Fraser, a drummer well versed in electronic percussion in Terrance Welch, sought-after session musician Mark Marais on bass, and classically trained flautist and cellist Bronwen Milford.
The band’s sound? It started off as traditional country rock and western (with a Mediterranean flavor) and has since evolved into something much more.
Oh, and though their lyrics may evoke images of the American Southwest, the band is based on another continent entirely – in Cape Town, South Africa.
Now, the project that started as a chance for “Papa G” to bring to life some of the songs he had written for his daughter has taken on a life of its own. Then & Now has released two albums, Tales of Long Street in 2022 and their latest effort, Aces Angels & Devils. A third record is already in the works, and a U.S. tour could be on the horizon.
“We’ve always played together,” says Graham. “One of the earliest pictures I’ve got is her about four months old with me playing guitar to her. She started on her own musical career but we’ve always played, on and off, at family gatherings and parties and soirees every now and then. We thought, why don’t we just do this as a concerted project and see if we can put a couple of these songs together and make albums? That’s what we did. We complement each other quite well, and with our personalities as well. We’re both outgoing but she’s sort of a break on me. I can get a bit wild.”
Graham (lead vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica) and Tori (lead vocals, rhythm guitar and ukulele) went to work on their debut project, which featured nine songs with titles like “Smoke With The Devil” and “Hey There Mister!” Graham wants Then & Now (the name is a nod to their generational divide, as well as old and new influences) to be the sort of band that’s instantly recognizable when a song comes on the radio.
“That first album was very much more traditional country and western and I was looking for someone to play pedal steel guitar. All of a sudden I heard somebody playing a piano accordion and I thought wow! We could make that sound like a steel string guitar. It’s like country and western with a Mediterranean flavor.”
The addition of Fraser on guitar added to Graham’s vision for traditional country music with a modern interpretation.
“He shreds it like you can’t believe it,” Graham says. “He can play any style you want. He plays finger guitar like you wouldn’t believe. Our bass player is a great session musician. He’s been around and plays in so many bands and he’s got such a command of chord progression and music in general. Everybody contributes.”
Welch, in addition to drums, also contributes to the group’s vocal ensemble. In adding Milford, the group gained an artist with a degree in music who’s played professionally in philharmonic orchestras.
And the group even added a trumpet player to the mix for Aces Angels & Demons, which added a decidedly Tex-Mex flair to Bobby Bare’s “Tequila Sheila,” the only cover on the album.
“As we’ve started writing and we started applying different sounds, I think our music definitely has matured and I must be honest, I don’t think I could have imagined we’d end up with some of the sounds we did,” Graham says. “It’s been a journey. It just grows. It’s got its own life, really, our music. We throw a tune into the band room and we just don’t know what’s going to come out the other end.”
The group’s songs also tell a story with their lyrics. The new record opens with “3 Aces” – which immediately shows off Fraser’s chops – and then Tori sets the stage with her vocals:
On a midnight train to Reno, I met up with a man
Smiled like a devil, and three aces in his hand
Graham then chimes in:
Don’t mind me kid
My advice to you, don’t think of doing what I did
“One of my favorite Johnny Cash songs is Folsom Prison Blues and he says, ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.’ The whole idea is that the guy she runs into is the guy that sold his soul by doing some really evil stuff.”
The album’s fifth track, “Lady Luck,” is a story about a gambler-come-crook who lives on the edge and puts everything on the line for one roll of the dice. The addition of the trumpet gives the song a real pop, and Graham calls Fraser’s solo “pure Santana,” while Welch’s percussion offers a Latin vibe.
“Angel Or A Devil?” is the album’s lead single, and it’s a song Graham wrote for himself.
“I’ve had quite a few relationships in my life where I think the woman I was with could be described as an angel or a devil,” he says. “And I’m probably just described as the devil.”
When she comes to me at midnight, I don’t care what you say
Angel or a devil, I love her anyway
Then & Now plans to start recording its third album in December, with a release pegged for February or March. The record will be called Cowgirls Also Get The Blues.
Stay connected to Then & Now on all platforms for new music, videos and social posts.
.png)
