Morri’s Rock Boutique
Release Date: March 6, 2026 (Digital/Streaming) · March 20, 2026 (CD) Label: Melodic Revolution Records Produced by: Ian Beabout and Refestramus
About the Album
Morri’s Rock Boutique is a surreal desert-western dreamscape filled with Ferris wheels, neon temples, and wandering ghosts of memory. The album blends cinematic atmospheres with adventurous progressive rock, charting a path through collapse and illusion toward clarity — where the joke turns serious and the idea emerges that right and wrong still exist, and we remain accountable to them.
The album features an extraordinary roster of guest musicians, including saxophone legend David Jackson of Van der Graaf Generator, violinist Joe Deninzon of Kansas and Stratospheerius, guitarist Rick Witkowski of Crack the Sky, vocalist Lynx of Old Blood, and Japanese vocalist Nam Chumo, alongside core contributions from Jan Christiana and Dyanne Potter Voegtlin of Octarine Sky.
Track Listing
- Storms (4:33) — Frames human life like a thunderstorm — powerful, beautiful, and temporary
- The Cossack’s Dream (5:37) — feat. Joe Deninzon
- Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (7:37) — feat. Lynx. Dark, dreamlike — plays out like a David Lynch noir film, questioning reality and memory until forgiveness is found
- Lakeview Samurai (4:15) — feat. Nam Chumo. Surreal, satirical urban character sketch set in modern Chicago. Traditional Japanese instruments by Tanaka Seijin
- Hell or NYC (6:02) — feat. David Jackson. Dark, chaotic comedy with a sense of vertigo
- Deathless (8:32) — Three-part suite: “Above Volkov’s Mill,” “Goodbye, America!,” and “And He Always Will.” An allegory using the Russian folklore figure Kashchey the Deathless — a villain immortal because he hides his soul outside his body — for modern empires detached from moral accountability
- The Lucky Ones (4:10) — feat. Rick Witkowski. Features Witkowski at his own Studio L in Weirton, WV, where the album was partly recorded
- Wasteland, pt. 1 — CD bonus
- Another Country — CD bonus
Total running time: 40:47 (streaming) / ~52:00 (CD with bonus tracks)
The “Goodbye, America!” Backstory
Returning from HRH Prog 15 in November 2025, Ferguson experienced a disturbing bureaucratic encounter at Heathrow Airport. A routine customer-service dispute escalated when he mentioned documenting the interaction online — the comment was recorded as “threatening.” No actual security incident occurred, but it crystallized how ordinary speech gets weaponized. This experience birthed the “Deathless” suite.
Credits
Refestramus:
- Derek Ferguson — Drums
- Ian Beabout — Production, Mixing, Mastering
- Mitch Lawrence — Clarinet and Saxes
Special Guests:
- Jan Christiana — Bass, Guitars, Keyboards, and Vocals (Tracks 1–3, 5–7)
- Dyanne Potter Voegtlin — Keyboards and Vocals (Tracks 1–3, 5–7)
Jan Christiana and Dyanne Potter Voegtlin appear courtesy of Octarine Sky
Featuring:
- David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) — Saxophones
- Rick Witkowski (Crack the Sky) — Guitars
- Joe Deninzon (Kansas) — Violin
- Lynx (Old Blood) — Vocals
- Nam Chumo — Vocals
- Tanaka Seijin (田中正人) — Shamisen, Koto, and Shakuhachi (Track 4)
Additional Musicians:
- Derek Pavlic — Additional Guitars (Tracks 1–4) and Viola (Track 2)
- Dan Bozek — Additional Bass (Track 4)
Production:
- Arrangements by Refestramus and Jan Christiana
- Produced by Ian Beabout and Refestramus
- Mixed and Mastered by Ian Beabout at ShedSounds Recordings
- Engineered by Ian Beabout, Jan Christiana, Dan Bozek, and Rick Witkowski
- Cover art by Refestramus and Veselić & Veselić
Recorded February–May 2025 at:
- Aardvark Productions & The Rec Room, Steubenville, OH
- Studio L, Weirton, WV
- Uberwald Elektroakustik, Chicago, IL
All words and music by Derek Ferguson, except “The Cossack’s Dream” — traditional Russian song, lyrics translated by Derek Ferguson.
Press
“Enjoyably vibrant and hooky.” — PROG Magazine
“Grown-up prog, full of great musicianship and songwriting.” — Powerplay Magazine (8/10)
“A cinematic landscape with its surrealistic wonders, ghost-town amusement parks, and the haunting ghost that spooks the location… sparks like a jolt of electricity.” — Echoes and Dust
Listen / Buy
- Bandcamp — CD, Digital (24-bit/48kHz)
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- Deezer