Dust Bowl Faeries

Goth cabaret band Dust Bowl Faeries have kept making music through The 2020 Plague. On their latest record, The Plague Garden, the songs draw from New Orleans Voodoo rituals, Eastern European music, traditional Yiddish folk song, and vaudeville. The band members play all sorts of instruments from accordion to singing saw, lapsteel guitar to ukulele and the band's leader, Faerie Queen Ryder Cooley, may have a checkered past of using instruments as weapons, nay – machines, like Woody Guthrie. With conversation about childhood trombone traumas and full hip-wading fishing, Hudson Valley hauntings and exorcisms, and the demon cat, Hieronymous, Dust Bowl Faeries join us and play remotely for the podcast.

Set list: "Vampire Tango," "Dustbowl Caravan," "Candy Store" - John Schaefer, New Sounds WNYC/NPR

It’s not everyday that you stumble across a band who combines carnival aesthetics, occult symbolism, 19th century romanticism, gothic imagery and psychedelic folk all into one, big artistic presence… but today is one of those days! On December 2, Dust Bowl Faeries put out a spooky new single, “Vampire Tango.”
Originally forming as an all-woman trio in 2015, Dust Bowl Faeries has spent the past half-decade honing in their inimitable sound. By blending their campy style with genuinely compelling and accessible music, the band — who has added two male members in recent years — is able to craft something that is tied to a specific time and place while still retaining a universal appeal. Just listen to the major lift that comes at 1:02 in “Vampire Tango” — the way that the brightness of the melody cuts through the gloom of the instrumentation is the perfect example of this phenomenon.

Yet, “Vampire Tango” is no mere gimmick — lead singer and “Faerie Queen,” Ryder Cooley, explained to American Songwriter that the song was inspired by a Voodoo ceremony she attended in New Orleans.

“‘Vampire Tango’ was written during a Dust Bowl Faeries East Coast tour and residency in New Orleans,” Cooley told American Songwriter. “Our curiosity in the history and practice of mysticism and witchcraft inspired us to explore the swamps, graveyards and Botanicas of New Orleans, which culminated with an invitation to attend a Voodoo ritual. When the rest of the musicians declined the invitation, I decided to go alone. I followed a map to the intersection of Piety and Desire, where I was summoned by ritual drums down a dark alley to a Voodoo temple. The ritual was dedicated to La Sirène, the mermaid priestess of the ocean and of songs. Candles were lit, vevè sigils were drawn and offerings were made as the drumming intensified, and one participant fell to the ground in a trance-like seizure.”
After this experience, Ryder got busy writing. “Following the Voodoo ceremony, ‘Vampire Tango’ came to me quite quickly,” she said. “First the music and then the words. Perhaps it was written by La Sirène herself, who I had gifted some Dust Bowl Faeries music and flowers to at the ritual. I shared the song with the other musicians in residence, who contributed to the arrangement and instrumentation. Shortly thereafter, we recorded a demo of the song on reel-to-reel tape. This analogue recording became the soundtrack for the ‘Vampire Tango’ 16mm film by Lisa M. Thomas, which echoes some parts of the Voodoo ritual.”

And it’s true, the “Vampire Tango” film certainly captures the essence of the journey Cooley went on to write the tune. With a love for cinematic history, filmmaker Thomas noted that working on the video was an excellent outlet. “‘Vampire Tango’ was my attempt to pay homage to the films of the silent era with a glimpse into the world of Louisiana Voodoo,” Thomas told American Songwriter. “The idea of the femme fatale becoming a bat was the idea of Ryder Cooley, which I immediately embraced as a way to pay homage to cinematic characters of our past like Bela Lugosi’s Dracula or Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein. What I love about Ryder embodying this character is that it brought a female twist to a cinematic genre that has largely been portrayed by male actors in the past.”

Watch Lisa Thomas’ video for “Vampire Tango” by Dust Bowl Faeries: https://youtu.be/nziC_mTzvbI - Joe Vitagliano, American Songwriter

The Dust Bowl Faeries perform at The Foundry as part of the Gothic Valentine's Cabaret on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022

WEST STOCKBRIDGE — Celebrating Valentine’s Day isn’t all chocolates and roses — not according to Dust Bowl Faeries leader Ryder Cooley.

On Saturday Feb. 12, the Hudson Valley, N.Y.-based band takes to The Foundry’s black box theater stage with a “Gothic Valentines Cabaret,” haunting romantic circus carnival songs mixed with candid, offbeat humor from opening musical duo The Fremonts.

Dark is the theme, promises Cooley.

“It’s not going to be your Hallmark Valentine’s show,” said Cooley in a recent interview by phone. “We have a morbid sense of humor and make fun of ourselves and ridiculous cultural traditions. We’ll have songs for everybody, people on a romantic date and those who think Valentine’s Day

On the bill are favorite hits plus new songs written on a recent West Coast artist residency.

“We have tragic tales and dark fairy tales, hits like 'Cyanide Hotel' and 'Beloved Monster' written for Valentine’s Day. 'Cuckoo' is a song that’s really fun about going crazy in a pandemic. 'Loon Lake' is a pretty lovers’ song where nothing goes wrong, bittersweet 'Ghosts of Love' is about love, loss and animals.”

While Valentine’s Day is “one of these silly, sappy holidays that have been co-opted,” Cooley added, “I’ve always liked doing something around then because February is such a bleak time.”

Accordion and singing saw player Cooley describes her band as “a faerie-tale fusion of dark cabaret, gothic polka and post-punk music.” She performs alongside guitarist Jon Woodin, bassist Liz LoGiudice, percussionist Andrew Stein and Rubie LaRue on lap steel guitar. Founded as a trio in 2014, “this is really the best version of the band,” Cooley said, “Everybody has been very committed to the music,” — not to mention steampunk, Victorian fairytale-themed costumes.

Joining Cooley is her taxidermy spirit animal Hazel the Ram. Descended from a Barbados Blackbelly Sheep, the “non-binary gender fluid hybrid” has worked with Cooley since her 2011 XMALIA song cycle cabaret about extinct animals.

Also a visual artist, Cooley spent 12 years in California then 12 years in Hudson, N.Y. before moving to Catskill, N.Y. Growing up with folk music in America and England, Cooley’s accordion mentor, klezmer player Jeanette Lewicki — they met when Lewicki busked in San Francisco’s subway — steered her towards eastern European music.

“There was a renaissance of circus and accordion [in San Francisco] which also carried over to New York,” Cooley noted.

The band performed outdoors at The Foundry for the first time last summer.

“This is really something special, I’ve wanted to do a show with The Fremonts for a while,” Cooley explained. “I asked [The Foundry] if we could reach out to them.”

Stephanie Dodd and Justin Badger who form The Fremonts, in a recent phone interview, are fresh from a two-month run of their show, “The Failure Cabaret” at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox... - Berkshire Eagle

Welcome to Audiofemme’s monthly record review column, Musique Boutique, written by music journo vet Gillian G. Gaar. Every fourth Monday, Musique Boutique offers a cross-section of noteworthy reissues and new releases guaranteed to perk up your ears.

“It’s hard to sing while wearing masks.” Welcome to the spooky, surreal cabaret hosted by the Dust Bowl Faeries, where you can expect the unexpected. Their latest LP, The Plague Garden, draws on the sounds of past to create music that has a powerful resonance in modern times.

Along with guitar, bass, and percussion, the music is given a phantasmagorical touch with the addition of a well-to-the-fore accordion, ukulele, castanets, and the quavery wailings of the “singing saw” (the latter instrument dubbed “the poor man’s theremin” by illustrator/musician Dame Darcy, whose own gothic aesthetic would fit in nicely with this troupe). The album opens with the doomy sound of Chopin’s “Funeral March,” but then ends with a laugh as the group launches into “Dust Bowl Caravan,” a number written at the beginning of the pandemic “to cheer ourselves up!” It’s certainly jaunty enough to prompt a smile. But there’s also a dark thread underscoring the merry mood, as lead singer Ryder Cooley offers the sobering reminder, “Life is short, and then you’re gone.”

But until then, there’s plenty of time to dance, and the Faeries are happy to provide the soundtrack. “Serpentine Samba” conjures up visions of the ethereal aquatic realm where the titular serpent resides. And there’s two tangos to choose from. “Vampire Tango,” inspired by a trip to New Orleans, has a decided gothic sensibility, while “Pandemic Tango” sees Ryder making the best of a dreary situation: “As people hide themselves away/The animals come out to play.” A similar ploy is used in “Candy Store,” the Faeries’ reworking of a traditional Yiddish folk song in which the protagonists find a way to make the obstacles they face go up in smoke — literally.

The song titles are as atmospheric as their music; who knows what awaits you at the “Cyanide Hotel” or in the “Forest of Breath”? The Plague Garden is a carnival of beguiling delights, ready to whirl you around the dancefloor of your mind. - Gillian G Gaar, Audiofemme

Art is subjective. Music too. And we’re passionate in our opinions. Music and art can be pleasant, designed to take us to our bliss. Other music and art can challenge us, make us question what we know, even broaden our conception of what art and music are.

Ryder Cooley is an artist and musician. Her band, Dust Bowl Fairies, is an eclectic fusion, and Ryder’s work is esoteric and packed with meaning. She will challenge you, and reveal an art that is more expansive than you’d imagined.

I sit with Ryder and we discussed Jurassic Park. All of them.

RRX: When I first became hip to you, admittedly recently, I saw Hazel, your disembodied goat’s head. Though maybe I shouldn’t say “yours” because it seems Hazel might belong to the world. Giving a soul, if you will, to Hazel, was it always there, or did it come about through a creative act?

RC: Oh yes, Hazel has a soul, we all do, don’t we? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I think the crux of this question is about death. Being pre-disposed to morbidities, I have given death quite a bit of thought (and observation) and I have come to the conclusion that energy leaves the body in death, and is released into the world. Though I cannot take any credit for the existence of Hazel’s soul, I do think that our collaboration has helped preserve her energy and wisdom by providing her spirit with the opportunity to act as a guide, a spirit guide.

I’m not a big fan of ownership or the “P word” (property/language of capitalism), so I would say that Hazel first and foremost belongs to herself, and then she belongs to the spirit world. It’s an honor to be the steward of the mortal remains of Hazel, which is infused with her residual energy. I try to invoke Hazel’s spirit at performances, and after a decade of performing together, I think of Hazel as an extension of myself. I refer to Hazel as “she” since I’m the mortal body for Hazel in her afterlife. Hazel is an integral part of my identity and I’m one of those confusing changeling creatures who can’t quite fit into any conventional identity. I’m plural (non-binary if you will) and a faerie, yet drawn to the feminine, which is why I use the pronoun ‘she’ for myself, and for Hazel.

RRX: You have a band called Dust Bowl Fairies, which is described as, “dark carnival music.” I’m imagining that, with your work with animals and taxidermy, it’s quite an atmosphere, engrossing, probably. Does the band set a mood as part of a larger performance, or is the music in the lead and backed up by the performance?

RC: Dust Bowl Faeries can be quite expansive and theatrical when given the opportunity. We like to perform with projections and costumes and aerials and extra sensory elements that will transport our beloved guests to other realms. However, woe is us, here we are in a compartmentalized culture where independent music is squeezed into venues that can’t support anything beyond the music itself, and let’s be real, these days venues can make a heck of a lot more money hosting weddings than music shows! Weddings are putting musicians out of business here in the NY Hudson Valley, with the exception of wedding bands, of course. Perhaps someday Dust Bowl Faeries will hit the jackpot and be able to present music in true faerie-tale form, but until then, I would say that the music leads. I do create solo performances which are a departure from standard music shows, so I would say my solo work is more conceptual and performance driven.

RRX: It looks like there’s a lot on the Dust Bowl Fairies plate. All the way through the summer throughout the Capital Region and the Hudson Valley. With an air of extinction and the show and set you put on, is it cathartic in anyway to be getting back out there right now to perform for people?

RC: It is cathartic to be performing live again, that’s the perfect adjective, thanks for the handout Liam! I’m not much of a cyborg, nor are the other members of the band. Embodied, energetic exchanges with live audiences really drives our music. I worked pretty hard to keep Dust Bowl Faeries active during the pandemic with virtual shows, videos and a new album called The Plague Garden. Lisa M. Thomas made an incredible video with us last summer called Candy Store, which really brought the band together again after months of social distancing. But all of this is to say that yes, we are thrilled to be playing live again and we hope that anyone who is ready to brave the world of social engagement will join us for a live performance!

RRX: I mentioned extinction, because I read that it’s a favored concept for you. And I say concept, because your art attempts to symbolically and metaphysically resuscitate extinct animals. And with DNA samples and cloning advances, do you think we need metaphoric resuscitation only until science and conservation catch up?

RC: Extinction is not exactly a favorite subject for me since I am an animal advocate and I deeply care about species diversity, so ultimately, I don’t want animals to go extinct, especially not as a direct result of human destructiveness. I do have many songs and performances about extinction and endangered species, which I’ve created in an effort to shed light upon the tragedy of these losses, and as a reminder/wake-up call for all of us to live more sustainably. I don’t think that we can bring back that which we have destroyed, be it via science, DNA cloning, whatever. My song “Ibex” on The Plague Garden album addresses this. We may be able to re-create a facsimile, but the process of doing so is in itself destructive since it involves animal experimentation. Playing god is dangerous, it opens up the floodgates for ongoing destructiveness by suggesting that everything is reversible and that conservation is futile.

RRX: Taxidermy has always been on the edge of what is taboo in society. You can have a collection of figurines, but a collection of squirrels and people give you a side-eye. But what you do with taxidermy I think transcends collecting. Where did you first start with taxidermy? Do you find the animals, or have you done it yourself?

RC: I like to collect things like bones and feathers, and sometimes I find dead things and take them home to study or draw. If you open my freezer you will find a bunch of frozen bird wings and such, which I save for rituals and sometimes for art projects, but when it comes to taxidermy I consider my “collection” to be more like a rescue. Killing animals and stuffing them is not anything I would do. Cutting their heads off and hanging them on the wall like trophies is horrid, and bad luck. That’s why I rescue the animals and give them a comfortable home after they are discarded. I don’t display animals on the wall. The taxidermy creatures in my home are part of the family, I try to make them comfortable, resting them on cushions and chairs, I honor their spirits. I don’t buy taxidermy, they come to me. I don’t support killing animals for any reason, animals are my friends. I don’t eat my friends or stuff their mortal remains, or decapitate them and hang their heads on the wall. I cherish my friends, all of them, the taxidermy friends and the living friends, the animal friends and the human friends.

RRX: I share your passion for animals. I volunteered at a farm sanctuary when I was fourteen. And it’s so hard to get people to understand that animals can feel the same pain humans do. Makes it harder to eat a steak. But you don’t preach to people. How is your art a message, and how is it a statement?

RC: It’s always a relief to meet other animal advocates and empaths! The only way I was able to dive in and start making music was to come to it myself, without anyone telling me what to do, how to play an instrument, how to read notes on a page, how to write a song, etc. I guess that’s the way I think people might understand animal consciousness, through stories and songs, pictures and colors, melodies and lyrics, anything that communicates on a more subconscious and visceral level. I like to make work that lures people in, like a really good mystery novel that’s full of intrigue. I want to hypnotize people with my work and speak to the senses, not just the intellect. Just think, what a terrible world we would live in if there were no animals left, just people. What if we ate them all, destroyed them all, and there were only simulations of animals? That’s not a world I want to live in. The suffering of animals due to experimentation and exploitation is such a nightmare, which is why a lot of my work has a haunting feeling. Thank you for asking this very poignant question.

RRX: This is where you answer the question I didn’t ask. Best color to dye your teeth? Glitter bombs or silly string? Educate, enlighten, emote – the floor is yours.

It’s time to get witchy, go out into the woods, forage some wild herbs, make some tinctures and teas, find your wishing wells and cast your spells, we need magic right now. It’s up to each and every one of us to find that magic and share it with others, and take care of each other, respect each other, embrace diversity, which includes animals and plants and all the creatures and everything. Celebrate individuality, it’s what makes the world interesting and beautiful. And, if you are having trouble doing any of that, come to a Dust Bowl Faeries show, we will cast a spell for you.

Candy Store Video: https://youtu.be/jELSbCqfWxY - Liam Sweeny, RadioRadioX

“I’ve always identified myself as a faerie, but not a normal faerie. I’m a little too scrappy to be a pixie in a forest. I’m a dust bowl fairy, a fighter, a musician and an artist,” Ryder Cooley, the singer, songwriter, accordion player and bandleader of the Dust Bowl Faeries tells Rock & Roll Globe.

“The band added dust bowl to our faerie image to describe our hard working ethic,” she continues. “We have a wide range of influences in our music – folk, singer/songwriter, Balkan brass bands, Yiddish dance music, Gothic pop, tango, Gypsy rhythms and anything else that’s out there.

“My background is in visual arts, but I was always interested in music. I played a little bit of piano growing up and took up trombone in junior high and high school. I didn’t want to play a girly instrument – the flute or violin. I was rebellious, but I hit the wall after being in the back line of the orchestra pit, making bad jokes with the guys. I grew up hearing my dad play guitar around the house. He let me take his guitar to college with me. My mother got me my first accordion. It’s almost as if she knew it was the instrument I should play. It was out of the blue. My grandmother played piano and accordion. She died around the time my mom got me my accordion, maybe there was something about passing on a family tradition.”

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Cooley relocated to San Francisco. She began exhibiting her paintings and drawings and created multi-media performance art pieces. “I got involved with various art cooperatives and the riot grrrl scene. Music took over my life. My first band was The Daughters of Houdini.”

Cooley studied klezmer accordion with Jeanette Lewicki, learned to play musical saw and put together an all woman folk/rock trio. The accordion led her to Jewish, Balkan and other kinds of world music. The trio slowly evolved into the Dust Bowl Faeries, a multi-generational, multi-sexual quintet, with three women and two men. “We toured the country, made an album, Dust Bowl Faeries; an EP, Beloved Monster and just released a second album, The Plague Garden. Until Covid hit, we rehearsed every week. We’re hoping we can get back to that soon.”
Meanwhile, The Faeries are promoting The Plague Garden. Except for one track, the album was recorded remotely, during lockdown. “I co-produced the album at my home in Catskill, New York, with my housemate Mike Schoonmaker. I recorded my parts, vocals, accordion and ukulele with our guitarist Jon B. Woodin. He’s a neighbor, so we didn’t have to social distance. The rest of the band – lap steel player Rubi LaRue, bass player Liz LoGiudice and drummer Andrew Stein – sent in most of their parts.

“Since nothing else was going on, we had a lot of time to do the project. We worked on it whenever possible, mixing and mastering it, so it sounded like a live band. It was a challenge to stay motived. We recorded without a click track. My songs have a lot of starts and stops and tempo changes, so it’s hard to use a click track. We had to break the songs down into sections. Things got very surreal at times. Now and then, we got into a funk, but we finished it and got it out to all the digital services on time.”

The songs Ryder wrote for The Plague Garden suggest a freewheeling carnival set up on the outskirts of a small town. Dark, mysterious interludes are balanced by bright tangos and horahs, driven by uplifting backbeats. “Dust Bowl Caravan,” blends rhythms from Argentina, New Orleans and the Caribbean, for a playful complaint about people who seem to breeze through life without a care, even during a pandemic. Cooley and Woodin trade ironic verses, while the band romps in the background. “We wrote that one to cheer ourselves up,” Cooley said. “I can get pretty doom and gloom, but it didn’t seem like a good time for that. It’s a little bit creepy, but a little bit of fun too.”
“Sirens” references the #metoo movement and addresses the sexism in the music business. An ominous backbeat and Cooley’s somber vocal call out male privilege in a straightforward manner. The fills on musical saw and lap steel add an eerie aura to the performance. The album closes with “Candy Store,” a mid-tempo mash up of horah and tango. It takes on society’s ills with a sardonic attitude that suggests burning everything down – candy stores, brothels, jails and asylums – to get a clean start. “This one’s based on a song my grandma used to sing,” Cooley explained. “The melody’s traditional. Sometimes the Jewish people in the audience recognize it. We made a video for it during the lockdown with director Lisa M. Thomas at Thin Edge Films. There was a whole crew and we all got tested. Everyone wore masks, even the band, when we weren’t on camera performing.

“It was stressful, but we had a craving to do something creative after all the isolation. It brought the band together for the first time in months. We shot it in Catskill at an abandoned candy store. A cinematographer came up from New York City. Lisa had a script for the video, and we all went for it. Photos of all my grandparents are on the wall of the store, as an homage to my deceased relatives, especially my grandma. She loved to play music.” - J. Poet, Rock and Roll Globe

Despite long odds facing the band due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dust Bowl Faeries managed to team up with collaborator Lisa Thomas for a new video for “Candy Store.” The song is the last track on their upcoming album The Plague Garden, which will be released on November 20. It’s a modern take on a classic Yiddish folk ballad, telling the tale of building tenants – including a candy shop owner, sex worker in a brothel, prsioner in a jail and a resident at a madhouse – facing long odds who just decide to burn it all down. Today we’re premiering the new video, which features the members of the band taking on the various characters sung about in “Candy Store.”

The song was taught to lead singer and Faerie Queen Ryder Cooley by her grandmother. The song centers around a wife that’s asked for advice on what to do about the family’s struggling candy shop. Her solution? Burn it all down. The video takes a fairly literal approach to aligning with the song’s lyrics, showing scenes at a candy shop, brothel, jailhouse and asylum. Cooley is joined by fellow Faeries Jon B. Woodin (Rocket Faerie) on guitar and castenettes, Rubi LaRue (Feisty Faerie) on lapsteel, Liz LoGiudice (River Faerie) on bass and Andrew Stein (Time Faerie) on percussion.

“The visuals for ‘Candy Store’ have been vividly in my imagination from the first time I ever saw Ryder Cooley and the Dust Bowl Faeries perform the song live and I’d honestly been longing to film this video for three+ years,” said producer and director Lisa Thomas. “That said, when we finally went into production on Candy Store we were in the middle of a pandemic and the small town of Catskill, NY where we filmed the video like the rest of the world had many stores closed up; one such store was the former Mayflower confectionery which was in business from 1933-1990. The location which was empty with a “for rent” sign in the window in many ways called out to me to restore it for the shoot so along with the help of our amazing Production Designer, Jesika Farkas, we brought back all the former details of the one time candy shoppe down to the original candy cases, fixtures and lights. The space transformed into a Candy Store in a matter of days so much so that the locals of Catskill kept stopping in to try to buy candy. The challenge of the video always from a directing standpoint was to make it seem like the store was actually slowly catching on fire as the song progressed. We were able to achieve a really great look for this by working with two fire effects specialists and Thin Edge Films long time editor, Fabrizio Fama’.

“We were in the midst of a brutal heat wave in mid July when out of the blue, film faerie Lisa M. Thomas said ‘lets make the “Candy Store” video!'” said lead singer Ryder Cooley. “Businesses were just starting to open after months of being boarded up, and people were crawling out of their COVID bomb shelters for socially distanced activities. I had finally cut my losses and made peace with the current situation – all shows, productions and social functions were cancelled until further notice. The thought of rallying the band for a video seemed unfathomable. I could hardly stand all of the logistics and complications. I tried to convince Lisa to postpone the shoot, or at least simplify the script, but once she gets her mind set there is no stopping her, not even a world pandemic!”

“It was the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement when we started pre-production for the video and we wanted to show our solidarity, so we decided to do a role reversal in the jailhouse scene and have the jail warden be African American and the prisoner be a white man,” said Cooley. “We also wanted to queer up the narrative and bend gender clichés a bit, so in the brothel scene one of the window dancers is a non-binary/gender obscure performer. The video takes place in the tenements of the depression era where a failing candy shop is rented out as a brothel, then becomes a jailhouse of the mind, and a nightmare madhouse. When the shop goes up in flames the band plays on. The final scene offers a surreal vision of euphoria and bliss as the two main characters celebrate their freedom.”

The video is set in Catskill, NY on the town’s Main Street, where set designer Jesika Farkas restored a historic candy shop to its original state. On the wall of the shop are photos of Ryder’s ancestors.

“The ‘Candy Store’ video is much more than a music video,” said Cooley. “In fact, we are calling it a music novella since it is over eight minutes long. It was no small miracle that producer/director Lisa M. Thomas was able to get a film crew together and COVID tested, with so many safety protocols to adhere to. The moral of the story of the making of the ‘Candy Store’ video, for me, has been about letting go. When you let go of something, sometimes it comes back, and ‘Candy Store’ came back like a gift from the faerie gods! I can’t thank Lisa enough for making this video, against all odds, she is my heroine.” - Mat Matasci, MXDWN

For those who’ve been watching the rise of the dark carnival band, the Dust Bowl Faeries  on the steampunk circuit over the past few years you may have noticed some avant-garde music videos being released by the band’s Film Faerie Lisa M. Thomas. One such video  is their most recent music novella for the band’s hit song, “Candy Store.” 
The recently released video (which is being coined as a “music novella”) was directed and  produced by Thomas in late 2020. One of the first productions to take place in New  York’s Hudson Valley after the onset of COVID-19, the production team restored the historic Mayflower candy shoppe in Catskill, NY to recreate the look and feel of the  business as it was in the 1930’s when it first opened. The efforts pay off with more than  just eye popping candy, but visuals that dance off the screen and pay homage to band  leader, Ryder Cooley’s ancestry. 

Structured around a traditional Yiddish folk song, Cooley, the band’s fearless faerie  leader, learned the song from her own grandmother. The video much like the song recounts a fascinating and alluring Eastern European immigrant’s tale with added lyrics  to flesh out the story. “My grandmother taught me the first verse of ‘Candy Store’ when I was a kid,” Cooley reminisces. “I have a good memory for anything morbid or  morose, like twisted old faerie tales and nursery rhymes, so when I got my first accordion, the song just sort of just played itself.”  
Thomas who’s been making visuals for the band since 2018 knew the first time she saw  the Faeries perform Candy Store live that she wanted to make a video for them. “The  song had such a great energy and always got the crowd going” Thomas recounts, “I  knew making Candy Store was going to be epic because the story was so over the top. I lost a lot of sleep over how to deal with visually burning the candy store down, but in  the end it really came together. In many ways all the videos I directed prior for the  band was my warm up to getting Candy Store just right for them.”  
To learn more about Thin Edge Films’ filmmaker, Lisa M. Thomas and The dark carnival band the Dust Bowl Faeries go to: http://www.thinedgefilms.com https://www.instagram.com/thinedgefims & http://dustbowlfaeries.com - Steampunk Times