Sometimes, examining the nature that surrounds us can teach us what we need to know. Finding less significance in our differences and more in the connection between living things. Legendary Canadian folk singer Ferron, with a more than 30-year career, and Bitch, a NYC-based indie rocker, may seem an unlikely match to create an album together, but that's just what they did. Boulder, a new recording of Ferron's work was produced and mostly recorded by Bitch, calling on Ani DiFranco, Samantha Parton (Be Good Tanyas), Indigo Girls, JD Samson (Le Tigre), Lyndell Montgomery (Ember Swift band), Tina G (God-des and She), Ulali and Julie Wolf to contribute. On May 1, they launched an extensive tour, and they've quickly grown a reputation for their "odd couple" chemistry and charming banter. Between stops on the East Coast leg of the tour, they took some time for a phone interview with OurChart.

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Do you see changes in the audience demographic when you play together from your solo shows?
Bitch: Yeah, I've already started to notice it. I'm interested in how Ferron sees it.

Ferron: I don't know that I've been able to see it yet. The Philly show was pretty mixed up. You [Bitch] didn't think it was as mixed up.

Bitch: I thought that show was more your crowd.

Ferron: I'm surprised. Wait, who are my people again?

Bitch: They're the, uhm, older women and men.

Ferron: Somehow I think that both audiences trust us. You know, if I'm standing up there with you, then they're gonna take a look.

Bitch: Exactly. Before this tour started, my manager was getting e-mails from Ferron's fans being like, "How loud is this Bitch?" "How loud is her band?" — worried that we were gonna blow them outta the house. I think once they feel me playing with her and see how much I understand and respect her, I gain their trust.

Bitch, in your words, how would you describe Ferron's work to a person who hasn't had the opportunity to know it?
Bitch: I always tell people she's one of the best poets of our time. That she's like a Neil Young or Bob Dylan. Very straight to the core, emotional folk songs. I picture myself riding the back of a train with her. Very rustic and of the Earth. She's a folk singer, and one of the best.

I'll turn the question around to you, Ferron. If you're introducing Bitch to an audience that's come to see you perform, how would you describe her and her style?
Ferron: I'd say that Bitch has more theater going on than I do. Some people are gonna love the theater, and some people aren't gonna get it... I think that Bitch's work pushes us into the present tense that I dreamed about. This is the first person I've been on stage with that is really in the present tense; and I don't look like I am, but I am. Just like a trapeze artist can't grab the next bar until they completely let go of the first and are hanging in the air. That's kind of like where we walk on stage.

Bitch: That's so true.

How did the two of you meet?
Ferron: We met when I saw her doing some of her songs, and I thought, "Okay. This is where it's at. This is personal politics being manifested." Then, as usual, I ask somebody to come up on stage, even though I don't know if they know my stuff or not. She came up, we did a song together and laughed our heads off. We were both caught off-guard, and that felt like life to me. So, I've been eager to crawl around on stage with her again. [Both laughing.]

It's hard to miss some parallels with Boulder and a project like Jack White and Loretta Lynn doing Van Lear Rose. Taking music that's reached a strong audience at one point and re-introducing it with a younger influence to a new generation of listeners... When you decided to create this album, was this the point? Or was this an added benefit because you've enjoyed collaborating?
Ferron: I think that was B's point. She would mention to her friends a Ferron song, and they didn't know what it was. But she discovered that if they heard it, they loved it. She wanted to open a door so that they would have the opportunity to listen to it. I don't need everyone to love me... but I like them to like the songs. I think that brings us under one roof, you know, of being human over time.

Bitch: [Agreeing] I wanted to make a collection of my favorite songs, and I wanted them to sound the way I wanted my friends to hear them. Anytime they would sit in front of her and listen to her play, they would come up to me just weeping. They were so moved by her, and I wanted a recording that captured that.

Boulder will be in stores in June, and advanced copies are available online:
www.shortstoryrecords.com

Check out tour dates at:
www.ferrononline.com
www.bitchmusic.com