Future Folk is a New York City-based
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
duo
Duo may refer to:
Places
*Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
*Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland
* DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore
Arts, enterta ...
. Founded as a live act in 2004, the duo includes the characters General Trius (Nils d'Aulaire) and The Mighty Kevin (Jay Klaitz).
Career
After co-starring in an
Off-off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...
musical comedy titled ''Who Is Wilford Brimley?'',
d’Aulaire and Klaitz brainstormed ideas for an act that involved roots music from outer space. They composed songs for the project, which revolved around a fictitious planet named Hondo, and crafted costume helmets from plastic buckets and duct tape.
After a performance in New York’s East Village, they evolved the act, expanding back stories and developing their characters with each performance. They first appeared as Future Folk in 2005 at
Tonic in
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
, performing at a party celebrating the
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...
.
In 2012, they released a studio album titled ''Future Folk, Vol 1''.
''The History of Future Folk''
In 2012, Future Folk filmed a feature-length movie, ''The History of Future Folk'', which chronicles the duo's
arrival on Earth and their subsequent attempt to save both Hondo and Earth from annihilation. Jeremy Kipp Walker and John Anderson Mitchell, who provided writing, production and directorial guidance, simplified the pair's back story to accommodate the narrative within the film's modest budget.
In the film, d'Aulaire plays Bill Hunt, AKA General Trius, who has been on Earth for some time and has a wife and child, while Klaitz plays Kevin/The Mighty Kevin, who has been sent from their home planet to find General Trius. The cast includes
Julie Ann Emery
Julie Ann Emery (born January 16, 1975) is an American television and film actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''Better Call Saul'', ''Preacher'', and ''Five Days at Memorial''. She has appeared in films such as '' H ...
as Holly, the wife of Bill who believes that General Trius is just a name he made up for stories he tells their daughter.
The feature film was distributed by
Variance Films
Variance Films is a privately held film distribution company founded in 2008 that uses an innovative model of self-distribution combined with select elements of traditional theatrical distribution to allow filmmakers to achieve quality theatrical ...
in 2013.
and became available on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
in 2014.
Future Folk received positive critical reviews, with the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' describing their film performance as "goofy, endearing and wholesome,"
and the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' praising their "sweet harmonies" and "impressive acoustic picking."
Post-Film
The band's second album, ''Future Folk Live On Earth'', was released in December of 2014. It included live versions of many songs from their first album, as well as three new tracks (''Hondonian Band, String Theory,'' and ''La Luna Extranjera''). The band continued to play regular live gigs until 2016.
Two new singles, ''Hondo'' and ''Rocket Tow Truck'', were released in September, 2017, before the band went into an indefinite hiatus.
When asked by fans if the band planned to eventually return, General Trius explained they were "on vacation about 2.5 light years away"
but did in fact plan on returning. As of July, 2021, the band said "We have some things cooking.
"
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American comedy duos
American comedy musical groups
American folk musical groups
American musical duos
Science fiction comedy
Musical groups from New York City
Science fiction music
Bands with fictional stage personas