Interview: Save Ferris Brings a Much-Needed Ska Show to Park West

What should fans expect from a Save Ferris show in 2026?

What people have to expect from a Save Ferris show this year is kind of the same that they've always been able to expect, just a really amazing live show. Our main goal is to create an experience for people where they feel like they're a part of something really special. And, you know, a little profanity because I’ve got a mouth (laughs).

Do you have any memories of Chicago from past times you’ve played here?

Chicago is one of my favorite cities in America. It really is. I remember maybe the first time we visited Chicago in the mid-90s, and it was just starting to snow. And I was walking down the Magnificent Mile, and I just remember saying—because, you know, Southern California gal through and through—so moments like these were something I only saw in movies. And having that first experience really marked my initial love for your city. There's just so much to see and do there. And the food is phenomenal. And the people are great. And I love it there. 

Besides the show, do you and the band have any plans for while you’re in the city?

Usually I confer with the band and we sort of plan our outings together. Sometimes I can make it with them and sometimes I can't. But oh my God, there's so many things to do in Chicago.

I'll have to ask the guys. I don't know. And then we'll come to a decision together. Last time I was there, I went and saw the Bean, which I've seen a million times before. But it's just magic. Just all of it.

Save Ferris went on hiatus in 2003 and re-emerged about a decade later, and now you've been at it even longer than the original run. What's kept you going for the last decade? 

What's kept me going is the immense amount of responsibility I feel to our fans, and just love of the live performance. Something I really feel like I was, I don't know, meant to do. It gives my life purpose and meaning. The last tour we did was just magical. It was so beautiful, just everybody was so excited to be at a live show. They were having the time of their lives. They were just bright, shiny, positive, happy. It's so cool. And I kind of live for that. 

What's the sensation that you're getting up there on stage, getting that direct interaction and feedback from fans that are loving it? 

You know, I have to slow myself down to be able to take that in because there's a lot of moving parts on stage. I feel an immense amount of responsibility to the people who paid money to see that show and to kind of hold the band together and be the glue. So I do have to stop myself sometimes and be like, ‘Just take this in. Just take a moment to see what the product of all this hard work has become.’ And that gives my life meaning.

Next year marks 30 years since your cover of “Come On Eileen” became a big hit. Do you remember the feeling, first hearing it on the radio, seeing it on MTV? What was that like?

I just remember hearing “Come On Eileen” for the first time on a major radio station and pulling my car over and having a cry. I'm so proud of that moment. All of it was a whirlwind. It all happened really fast. We were signed for all this money to a major label, and we were the first band in our scene to be signed to a major. And we were also very young, so it was a lot of trusting the people around us, the management and the A&R people and the label. And in hindsight, knowing what I know now, I'm sure I would have made some different decisions, but it was a lot of excitement. 

I can imagine the hype and adrenaline rush made it hard to take stock of everything.

Yeah, we played so many shows in those first years. I mean, I don't remember spending a holiday at home for like six years. It was a lot. They really kept us working, you know. And I don't know if I could tour like that anymore. I would love to, but I just don't know if my voice and my body would be able to handle it. And I don't know if it was the healthiest thing for us to be doing at that time. But it sure was a lot of fun. I got to see the world as a result, and that was just incredible. 

What I love about the cover of “Come On Eileen” is that I feel like it's like exactly what a cover is supposed to be. It's drastically different from the original, but it's not changing things just for the sake of it. I know it was a staple of your live set at the time, but were there any reservations that you and the band had about introducing Save Ferris to the world with a cover song? 

Yes, it wasn't our first choice for our first single, but we did make it our own, and I love that song. That's why we covered that song, because I was a fan of that song when I was a child. That song made me really happy. I wanted to be able to bring it to a new generation because it's such a great song. But I always say if you're going to cover a song, you've got to make it your own, because if I'm going to listen to something that sounds exactly like the original, I probably prefer just listening to the original, you know. So I love the way that song was reimagined. It's always great to play it. 

Are you familiar with the Pitchfork review of It Means Everything? 

I am.

There’s that explicit line at the end—

Hold on, what statement are you...tell me, tell me. 

“That’s when their cover of ‘Come On Eileen’ came on. I think I came.”

(Laughs) That was obviously written by someone who...the way I see it was being sarcastic. But I still love it. I mean, listen, the age I'm at now, would I like a band like Save Ferris? I'm not sure. And there was always—for years, there was that feeling that was like, ‘Why can't I write songs like Thom Yorke in Radiohead? Like, why do I have to be in this band?’ The last ten years, I've seen the reach of this band. 

The saying that we came up with, “Ska Now More Than Ever,” gave me new faith in what it is that we do. We create an environment for people where they feel they don't have to give a shit about what anybody thinks about them, and we're all there just to have a good time and forget about the things that divide us and instead be in the moment with the things that bring us together and unite us. And I do believe that the world needs ska now more than ever. There is a greater good behind this kind of music. And let's just say every time I play for 10,000 people and they're all waving their arms, I come a little (laughs).

Well said. Would you ever want to explore that non-ska side further?

I have, I've written with other artists and submitted songs for film and TV, and that's always fun, but I’m always brought back to the live show with Save Ferris. Maybe one day. Everything is possible. 

Since relaunching Save Ferris, you’ve recorded an EP and a few singles. You scrapped an album that was written before the pandemic. What was the reason for that?

I think that my perception of art—and it's just mine, I'm not saying this is anybody else's—but my perception of art is that it should be a reflection of the time that you're living in. I change as a person and my voice changes and my opinions change and the world changes, and I didn't feel that those songs were right for the time. I wrote a new record with Michael Bradford and it's going to be coming out this year.

Excellent, I’m looking forward to hearing that. Going back to that first question of what to expect from a Save Ferris live show in 2026, what can we expect from a Save Ferris album in 2026?

Certain songs will probably surprise people and some songs will just make them go, ‘Ah,’ because that's the Save Ferris they remember. I'm kind of pushing the envelope a little bit with some songs because I feel like for me, art is about sort of stretching the borders, opening them up. We'll see how people react. 

Do you think it's going to make the Pitchfork reviewer come again? 

I mean, maybe him admitting that he listens to Save Ferris on a first date will get him a relationship, so he doesn't have to stay at home jerking off to my records (laughs).

Save Ferris appears at Park West (322 W Armitage Ave) on Sunday, January 18, at 6:30pm. Tickets (starting at $41.65) are available now. All ages.