Victoria based, eastern European influenced indie rock and folk band the Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra are excited to return to Lethbridge to play the Windy City Opry, Wednesday, June 13 at the Slice.
“We‘re excited Shaela (Miller) asked us to do it because we‘ve never done that before,” said frontman Kurt Loewen from his home in Edmonton.
They are supporting a new EP “We make Really Party, which was released late last year.
“This album goes back to our beginnings, when we were really interested in eastern European music,” he said.
“There are songs we‘ve been playing live for a while. A lot of them have a gypsy vibe to them and went well together. And a lot of them, like ‘Bella Ciao,’ have really changed so we needed to get them onto wax,“ he continued.
The name of the Ep comes from a friend they met while touring in Eastern Europe.
“He always says, ‘We make really party,’ which is what we do,” he continued.
As expected, the fiddle plays a prominent role on the CD.
While the band is based out of Victoria, the band members live all over the place.
“We live all over Alberta, B.C. and on the coast,” Loewen said from Edmonton, though he is planning on a move to the Kootenays.
“Just life changes. I have a lot of friends and family living out there,” he said, adding that affect the band that much.
“We’ve been doing it so long, we’re used to it, but when we get together, we always have something to talk about and life experiences to share,” he said.
He said their Windy City Opry show will be all about the music.
“We’ll be playing a lot of the new EP and and some older songs. We don’t leave a lot of space for talking between songs. When we do, even that is carefully prepared and rehearsed. We like to jam a little, but the songs are carefully composed, but we still leave room for improvisation and a little jamming and making mistakes,“ he continued.
The windy City Opry open at 8 p.m., at the Slice, June 13. There is a $10 cover for the show.
