Fond Recollections: Barn Owl Edition

Some of my fondest musical experiences were with Barn Owl-- self proclaimed Rock/Folk/Gospel band. We blurred the lines when it came to genre and even with our unpolished sound, somehow people kept inviting us back! It wasn't just the music that captured my heart, it was the experience of making the music. This took place back before I was married when I was still Leslie Fidler and got ragged on for playing the violin These excerpts are taken from a CBC Radio 3 write-up and are a great account of the kind of antics I experienced:

"Barn Owl formed in 2004 for a Cock n' Bull Christmas party. They played six songs, broke four strings and two sets of drum sticks. Guitarist and songwriter Jared Both screamed so loud during the end of “Death of a Submariner” that after the performance he sounded like a sixty year old smoker.

The first year at York university the band played where ever they could-- usually at open mics at the Cock 'n Bull but also once on the rooftop of the Ross Building. That is the origin of their Do-it-Yourself folk spirit, which is best heard on their first album “Wooden Hall Show”. "Wooden Hall Show" was practiced and recorded live on one fall weekend of 2005 at Alex Unger's apartment.

Sebastian Ostertag, the youngest person to run for the NDP during 2005 federal election, officially joined the band during the weekend of recording. He has been committed to the band ever since, even though he also studies classical music in London, recorded and toured with the Basia Bulat and Jared traumatically spilled beer on Seb's unbelievably expensive cello.

After a year Barn Owl expanded aesthetically to become more dance-able and top forty hit oriented with a drummer. Jared brought his drums down from Owen Sound to his new home downtown TO and for a year Drew Taylor moved back and forth from bass to drums.

Pat Piper entered the stage and proved to a Rancho Relaxo audience that Barn Owl could play the 'punkiest' version Motherless Child since Richie Haven's version to open Woodstock. As a drummer Pat is fearless for the reason that Jared, at the climax of most songs, will smash his kit with his guitar and body. [Not on purpose, but due to lack of awareness of where he is within his physical surroundings] Once at the Savanna Room on College Street, Jared was stomping so hard during “Young Explorers” that he slipped and fell onto the cymbals and broke one of the stands. This effectively testified to the audience that Barn Owl has little regard for its own safety or material belongings.

The last person to complete the current line up was piano and violin player Leslie Fidler who was a high school friend of Jared and Sebastian. Actually the trio of friends had performed together before in the high school musical H.M.S. Pinafore. It was Leslie's station wagon that traveled during a February snow storm to record the first chilling tracks from “Chasing the Glow” at Zion Kepple Church near Wiarton. The heater was so loud that they had to turn it off while Alex recorded. Everyone put on their winter coats and hats and huddled around candles in wine bottles to stay warm. To use the rural church a deal was brokered with the small congregation's representative Mrs. Hill: $50 for the weekend but only if they played some gospel songs on Sunday.

Lable: Journeys End Studios

Influences: Neil Young, Against Me!, Ghost Mice

Albums: Wooden Hall Show, Chasing the Glow -- Available on CD and Vinyl"

And that was the birth of a wonderful creative experiment. Cheers to my band mates and friends! I hope to play again with you sometime soon.