I had the chance to interview Oliver Sayani from Blind Feline again! The Outlaw Psychafunkadelic Folkbilly Jam band from Louisville, KY!! This time we talked about the stories behind the songs on their new album, Kentucky Drifter!!!
Oliver Sayani is an Appalachian award-winning musician specializing in songwriting, guitar work, production, and lessons.
He’s shared stages with Laid Back Country Picker, Greg Koch, members of Exile, Little Texas, Umphrees McGee, and many more. As a member of the band Blind Feline and solo, Oliver has been featured on Red Barn Radio, as well as Number Juan Tequila hosted by comedians Ron White, and Alex Reymundo. He performs and records music with the Kentucky Poet Laureates, Ron Whitehead and Lee Pennington, and has played hundreds of original, independent shows across the region.
Listen to the new Blind Feline album Kentucky Drifter while reading this interview! The opening song, “Rollin'” is my favorite . . .
The Interview
James D. Casey IV/Caun Mutt Press
Oliver Sayani/Blind Feline
JDCIV/CMP
Honored to get the chance to speak with you again, Brother Sayani!! I dig the new album. What inspired “Rollin’?” That’s my absolute favorite song from Kentucky Drifter. I know there’s always at least some truth to outlaw country lyrics, and that is most definitely an outlaw country song.
OS/BF
Thanks for having me and the kind words. Rollin’ was inspired by the story a biker told me on the road.
The story unfolded years later in this country ballad that I started playing.
I’ve always loved The Outlaws, The Highway Men ‘n them.
JDCIV/CMP
Bikers always have great stories! “Roger Goins” brings the tone up to more of a rockabilly party beat. Talks about moonshine and good-ole-boys. Also missing someone. Where did that song come from?
OS/BF
Sounds right, man. It’s an ol’ boot stomper, we’ve been playing RG for years cause it just never fails to just raise a lot of hell. We’ll be jamming ‘m for days on it. Everybody is having a damn good time. Yet the lyrics are about a tragic story of my friend in middle school that got plum way too wild!
JDCIV/CMP
Man, I’ve had a few friends like that. I can relate. Your song “Good Vacation” almost has a Bob Segar feel. Where were you when you wrote that one? Sounds like a fucking blast! Great song.
OS/BF
Thanks, man! I woke up with it in my head one day. In the background of this dream that I was having. Of tigers, severed limbs, and girls making cookies! Drifting through New Orleans.
JDCIV/CMP
Out-fucking-standing dream! Sounds like some of the realities I’ve had living down in Louisiana! I’m kidding—Or, AM I?
I enjoy how “Caroline” ventures into honky tonk. Sounds like a song you’d hear at a little dance bar. Who is Caroline?
OS/BF
The song has deep folk roots. Brought to life in Berea, Kentucky. In campfire fashion. The lyrics are kinda wacky and playful as I fantasize about the end of the world. Caroline is used as a double meaning of a mystery girl AND the state of Carolina.
JDCIV/CMP
Nice, I dig the double entendre. “Manic” drops the tone down low again, At First. What seems like a good slow dance tune becomes a groovy cocktail bar jam with bongos. A pleasant surprise. I like that in a song. Where did that one come from?
OS/BF
It’s based on a true story from Louisville. Of summer love and battle with the mental illness of a loved one.
It also disses her sister’s (my friend’s) band.
JDCIV/CMP
A good diss track is necessary sometimes, and I’ve dealt with mental illness. It isn’t fun. Then blasts in “Buck!” Blowing off the doors!! That is an all-around fun song. Who is/was Buck? Real or fictional?
OS/BF
Buck is a real guy in East Tennessee!
He really did steal a wildcat apparently. My teacher at Gap High said so. That man would ramble out these stories. And being as Buck’s niece was one of the students in my class, he asked her how he’d been and she proceeded to tell us all about her uncle. Whether he was exaggerating or not I was taking notes, and named my band Blind Feline!
JDCIV/CMP
Holy Shit! I do remember you telling me that tale about Blind Feline in our first interview! You didn’t mention his name. That’s a great story behind a band name!!
“F.Y.L.” is obviously a love-making song. That’s my second favorite tune from the album. Were you writing about someone specific, or the act in general?
OS/BF
It was a silly little love tune.
Groovy, though, so we kept it around. Added sax to it, my friend Matt and me recorded it.
JDCIV/CMP
Enough said. The title track makes me think of train jumpers and hobo codes scribbled on boxcars. The freedom of having no ties but the love of your home state. Go and do as you please. Is that the vibe you were going for, or is there more to the story?
OS/BF
Kentucky Drifter is pretty much the spirit of the album overall. Rock ‘n’ roll, fuck the law, do what you want. Thank the lord for who you are and be grateful, and doing that is pedal to the medal. Taking chances, forever young, an alter ego of excess.
My friend Jake who you may know from Colter Wall’s band did some killer harmonica playing on it.
JDCIV/CMP
Fuckin-a, I love the harmonica on that track! I dig Colter Wall, too. The next tune is hilarious! “Jellico” is definitely a song you’d slap on to get the party going. Where is Jellico?
OS/BF
Jellico is made up of two stories from east TN. One a farm that I worked on, and the other in the Gap Mountains when my friend talked to the river. Jellico is a town not far from there. I was listening to a lot of Jerry Reed at the time, and wanted a Smokey & The Bandit feeling song with my own stories to it.
JDCIV/CMP
Jerry Reed has some killer music! You brought that vibe for sure. “Swimmin'” is another honky tonk tune. Something you’d hear after everyone has had a few, and wants to bring someone home. Where did the inspiration for that one come from?
OS/BF
I’ve been humming and hearing that song since I was a little kid, inspired by life and love. I went back and wrote the verses over a decade later.
We had my friend David record pedal steel on it in Louisville at Logan Street Studios. After we recorded the original tracks at Thunder Sound Studios in Franklin, KY. I think it turned out well. There’s a video on my Instagram and Facebook of me telling the story of this song. If you want to see that, follow Oliver Sayani and Blind Feline.
JDCIV/CMP
Well, my friend, it’s been an honor to interview you again! Kentucky Drifter is a phenomenal album! I dig that it plays on so many different genres. “Rollin'” is still my favorite, but the others are equally Kick Ass in their own way.
Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout-out to? Or thank personally for helping bring this album together?
OS/BF
Thank you, sir. I appreciate the feature and glad you’ve enjoyed the album.
Special thanks to;
Matthew Griffin, Matt Thomasson, Jimbo Valentine, Linda Smiddy, John Cox, Donald Vish, Lisa Vish, Max Erskine, David Tuttle, Kurt Spoelker, Dylan Forester, Osama Kurdi, Jake Groves, Laid Back Country Picker, Ron Whitehead, Lee Pennington, Jordan Puckett, Becky Owens, Justin Miller, Ryan Smith, Loretta Friend, Angela Oldfield, Laura Shine, Tom Wickstrom, Robby Goins, Roger Combs, Jeff Farthing, and Ted Messer for being a part of or supporting the album in some way.
And to each and every one of our supporters making funding the album possible through tickets and merch sales at shows and on Bandcamp the last few years, thank you, I hope you enjoy the album and look forward to seeing youuns at a show soon.
Kentucky Drifter is available on all platforms. You can buy CDs and other merchandise from us on Bandcamp or social media as well.
You can also see my shows and find all my services at OliverSayani.com
Thanks,
Oliver
JDCIV/CMP
There you have it, folks!! Another interview with Blind Feline in the books. The Outlaw Psychafunkadelic Folkbilly Jam Band from Louisville, KY!!! Huge thanks to Oliver Sayani for letting me pick his brain again. I thoroughly enjoyed Kentucky Drifter, brother. Especially the opening tune! “Rollin'” is a no.1 hit if I ever did hear one!!
Y’all check this band out. They come Highly recommended by Cajun Mutt Press. I had the chance to briefly meet Oliver at Gonzofest. Didn’t get a chance to talk long, but that’s all it took for me to see that he’s a great guy.
This truly is a kick-ass album from start to finish. Y’all give it a listen. Orders of Captain Gold Beard.
Love Y’all, Write On,
JDCIV
🤟💀🏴☠️
James Dennis Casey IV is a Gonzo Journalist/Poet/Artist, and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Cajun Mutt Press. He’s authored eight poetry collections, and his work has been published in print and online internationally by several small press venues and literary magazines. The 2016 La Voce dei Poeti, La Catena della Pace International Poetry Contest gave his entry “Warriors of the Rainbow” a critic’s choice award, and his poem “That’ll do Pig” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by New Pop Lit in 2019.
