Words, not music, led to Ethan Healey’s entrance into the recording industry.
Healey, 19, a 2021 Fox High School graduate and budding music mogul, said he didn’t take band or choir classes in high school, but he did take a lot of writing.
“All during school, a lot of my teachers complimented me on my writing, a lot of different kinds of stuff,” said Healey, an Arnold resident. “I excelled at different kinds of writing.”
Healey parlayed his enthusiasm for writing into becoming a rap music artist. He’s released three songs, all original compositions, all on his own record label.
His most recent release, “Lemonade,” a collaboration with labelmate and fellow hip-hop artist Feedbackotw, came out in April.
Healey said his writing is informed by his personal experiences.
“I think I’m known for my low-fi production and simplistic way of telling stories,” he said. “I like to write from different points of view so I can interpret what’s happened. A lot of times, you don’t understand what’s happening until later, when you have 20/20 vision. I like to work with that a lot.”
Healey’s first release, “Blondie,” is an example of bringing his life into his music.
“It’s about a girl who I saw for about a year in high school and our relationship,” he said.
Healey said he’s not sure whether his muse for that song has heard the song.
“I haven’t talked to her in a while, so I have no idea whether she’s ever heard it, but I think I’d be OK if she did listen to it.”
Healey records under the name Save Ferris, a nod to the classic 1986 movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“I’ve always been into those kinds of movies, those John Hughes movies, like ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’” he said. “In fifth grade, one day I dressed up like Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox’s character from ‘Back to the Future’). My classmates really didn’t understand what was going on.”
He said once he decided to try his hand at rapping, he needed a more street name.
“Ethan Healey sounds a little bit too Hebrew, I think,” he joked.
Healey said the name came to him during his senior year at Fox.
“I’ve always been a straight A student, but I got into a period where I was skipping school for two or three days to work on my music,” he said. “When I’d come back, my friends would say, ‘Save Ferris’ to me, from that movie. It just seemed natural.”
Healey said he’s aware that a pop-ska-punk rock band from southern California also records under that name.
“I think they’re like my archnemesis,” he joked. “I know about them, but I haven’t heard any complaints or anything from them about my name.”
Healey’s second release, “Therapy,” was a collaboration with Lil B, a rapper who has had some commercial success.
“That’s a really crazy, fun song,” Healey said. “Lil B added a lot to it, bringing in his own beats. I learned a lot from him. He’s worked with a lot of other rappers I really like, too.”
While Healey said he enjoys rapping and that his tunes have brought him some money, what he’s really interested in is producing other people’s music.
“Rick Rubin is probably my favorite inspiration,” said Healey of the co-founder of the legendary Def Jam record label, whose roster has included Jay-Z, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys.
Healey said he admires Rubin’s foresight for blending rap with rock music, particularly with the Beastie Boys.
Healey founded his own record company, God Speed Records, that also provides production services such as mixing and mastering to outside artists for a fee.
“The name (for the production company) also comes from an ’80s movie, ‘Back to the Future,’ when Doc Brown says (‘God speed’) before he enters the time machine,” Healey said.
Healey, the third-oldest of seven children, said his parents, Tom and Tina Healey, are a little puzzled about his foray into the music world.
“They don’t quite understand what I’m doing, but they support me.”
Healey said he taught himself to play the guitar, keyboards and bass and he’s learning his way around a drum kit.
“My dad plays the guitar, so there was always music in my life when I was growing up. I kind of got started with this with my friends at school. We’d find different beats, and the next day at school, we’d compare them on our phones, kind of like a garage band ethic.
“Garage Band Ethic, that sounds like a great name for a band,” he said like a music executive.
Healey said when he’s not working, he enjoys listening to all types of music and particularly enjoys rummaging through the 99-cent bargain bins of albums at record stores.
“I like to listen to some really weird stuff,” he said. “I listen to them and that’s where I get a lot of my beats to sample.”
Healey said the production side of his operation has brought in enough income that he considers music his full-time job.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I think music will always be part of my life,” he said.
Save Ferris’ music can be accessed through iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and iHeartRadio, among other platforms.
The record label’s website is godspeedrecordings.com and it has links to other social media sites.