Beau James Wilding photo by A.L.E.S
Beau James Wilding, aka Food For the Wyrm, crafts dark folk songs with a psychedelic edge. He delves into some of our greatest fears about mortality and the darker side of our conscious mind in a fearless way, both musically and lyrically. One notable choice Beau made on this album was to reinterpret the traditional English folk ballad “The Unfortunate Rake,” which has been shared and performed under many alternate names over the centuries, stemming back to the late 1700s or earlier. This choice is a paradigmatic demonstration of Food For the Wyrm’s perspective applied to a timeless form of human expression. His new album The Wicked Huntsman will be available on May 23, where more songs in his unique style will be available. We had a chat with Beau James Wilding, aka Food For the Wyrm, about his music and more.
Americana Highways: Your music generally explores themes of death and the unconscious—what draws you to these darker concepts?
Beau James Wilding: I’ve long had a sense of impending death. I grew up in a household in which my father experienced a debilitating stroke when I was five. He was my best buddy up until that point, when the gentle father I loved was taken from me. I watched him lose everything that he loved, everything he was and try and try to rebuild and rehabilitate himself up until he died. I felt like I witnessed the fact that who you are, your faculties, your skills and even your passions can be taken from you in a split second. I’ve lived under a constant sense of not knowing when, but knowing that my death could occur, or my physical and cognitive capabilities could be taken from me at any point. It’s something that I try to maintain in my mind all the time. How am I making the most of this precious life in this moment? Am I being true to myself? True to my gifts? Am I treating myself and the people around me with kindness?
I’ve felt a lot of loneliness and been through a lot of depression in my life, and I noticed a tendency for people to shy away from these topics. I want to make talking about dark things okay. I want to express darkness because it’s an essential part of life. True community for me means holding the darker experiences as well as the lighter ones with the support of one another, in witness to each other’s true lived experience. .
AH: What made you want to reinterpret the traditional Anglo folk ballad “The Unfortunate Rake” for your release?
BJW: Love. Probably in part due to the above reasoning of wanting to turn toward the darkness, to turn toward the outcast. The song tells a tale of some of the most unfortunates of society, people whose stories of destitution, addiction, mental health issues and venereal disease are often ignored because they are not fun, not convenient to hear.
The first version I heard was “The Lock Hospital,” as sung by Christy Moore on the Prosperous album. I found it to be a sweet exploration of a person who was down on their luck, or “cut down in their prime” as the song says. So that was my first introduction, probably around thirteen years ago. A couple years ago I heard the version sung by Radie Peat of Lankum, and was blown away. Her version is so dark and foreboding. I could feel the experience of the unfortunate rake in my body while listening to her sing, it so entranced me in that way.
Ian Lynch, also of Lankum, has a podcast called Fire Draw Near in which he explores folk ballads and he dedicated an episode to the Unfortunate Rake, which further captivated my interest.
There is also a confessional quality of the narrative voice that I relate to, especially as one who has enjoyed a drink or several in my time. There is a feeling of “that’s me, they’re singing my song”… and there’s a feeling of vulnerability and brutal honesty in that confession that I can certainly relate to. I also like the paradox. The narrator is confessing that he or she has done wrong, that they have lived a “bad” life and they are ashamed of themselves, but there is a sense of resignation to their lot in most versions, a resignation which borders on a sense of boastfulness or pride, especially if you think of the grandeur of the funeral procession that is being requested in the song. That pageantry would seem to belie the story of the miserable, unfortunate character in the previous verses.
AH: How does your version differ from traditional renditions of the ballad? The song balances a lively tone with a tragic message, how did you approach creating that contrast?
BJW: I wanted the song to have bite, to have energy and to really feel as dark as I have felt in my darkest hangover or loneliest night. I wanted it to have rhythm and a consistent, driving tone. Which is something I felt was missing from all of the traditional versions. Most trad versions are sung unaccompanied or with very minimal instrumentation. But when I feel the sentiments expressed in this ballad, punk rock and doom metal come to mind most prominently. I also wanted my narrative voice to be less resigned, in a way, to the fate of the unfortunate rake but to be a little more boastful or celebratory in tone, as if to say “yes, I did it. But so what? This is the life I choose to live and I’m not hurting anyone.”
AH: What message do you hope listeners take away from this cautionary tale?
BJW: Find people with whom you can explore your dark feelings and darker life experiences and who will hold those with a sense of grace, space and silence. Even (or perhaps especially) the outcast has something to teach and is worthy of compassion.
AH: On your forthcoming album A Wicked Huntsman, would you say the darker concepts are continued?
BJW: Absolutely. In fact, that is the main theme of the record—moving through the shadow sides of various life experiences with openness to feel them, to truly learn from them. There is a reason some of these folk songs have been around and have travelled around the globe for centuries, it is because they speak truth, a truth not sugar coated or softened for fear of upsetting the listener, and this is in large part why I wanted to tackle this material. I get tired or bored of things feeling good or tepid or shying away from upsetting concepts in popular culture and artistry.
AH: How would you say your music might be considered cathartic?
BJW: I’m not sure if I would or not. It certainly is for me when I perform it, and I’m hopeful that the tones and ideas expressed can allow people to feel things that they otherwise might not have felt or been aware of in themselves. I hope it let’s people allow themselves to feel their dark spaces and look honestly at them. Or if this is a song that makes you want to hoist a glass, I’ll not stand in your way. I’m not here to judge you or condemn you. And I hope you do not judge or condemn yourself either.
AH: If listeners were unfamiliar with your music and were going to listen to the album, which three songs would you direct them to, and why?
BJW: “Unfortunate Rake,” “The Lowlands of Holland” and “Lovers and Friends.” Viscerally these are all compelling to me. The music tells a story that compliments the lyrics and they feel like a complete statement. These feel like perfect folk songs, or sum up what I love about folk music. A raw honesty in dealing with uncomfortable topics and a sense of rebellion and feeling deeply into life’s experiences. Additionally the tonal landscapes are broad, imaginative and allow one to get lost in the story, or the emotions of the story. There is a sense of woe in “The lowlands of Holland”, a forlorn quality that makes me think of a ship lost at sea, cracking and sinking in a storm. “Unfortunate Rake” contains the incisive confessional paradox of emotions; that sense of stinging shame coupled with braggadocio in it’s delivery, while finally “Lovers and Friends” contains a firey call to community that we must pull through conflict as a society by connecting directly with one another, warm hand to warm hand. I like these songs because they all feel theatrical, like the music is carrying the weight of the emotional thesis just as much if not more than the lyrical content.
That being said, I love all my children equally and I’m proud of all the songs on the record!
AH: Do you have plans to tour when this album comes out in May?
BJW: I’m working my hardest on booking gigs on the west coast to promote the record, but at the moment we have one show in downtown LA at the Redwood Bar on May 29 and one at the Sardine in San Pedro on May 31. We would like to get up to The bay area and Oregon and Washington though, and I’ll keep knocking on doors to see who opens them. If any bands or venues want to throw something together I’m all ears! There is a mailing list that fans can sign up for on the website http://www.foodforthewyrm.com and I usually just send out one email per month to keep people up to speed on the goings on.
AH: What else is on the horizon for you in the coming months?
BJW: The full vinyl record release is on May 23 at the brewLAB in Carpinteria, CA. After that I plan to book as many gigs as possible throughout the summer and fall on the west coast. I have a lot of songs and ideas for the next record but I really want to let this collection of songs live and breathe, to let them sink in and effect people before I move on to recording new material. We have been incorporating a trap kit drummer into our sets from time to time and it brings a more lively, rock energy to the performance. So that is the trend for the next direction—leaning into the more dark rock vibes. I have been listening to a lot of new wave of traditional heavy metal in the last couple of years so that influence is starting to come through a little.
Thanks for chatting with us, Beau James Wilding.