Calgary born, Vancouver raised and now, Salmon Arm based eclectic folk duo Chicken-Like Birds are “moving on” with their new EP, aptly titled “Moving On.”
Upright bassist/vocalist Jasmin Frederickson and acoustic guitarist/ slide guitarist/ cornet player/Suitcase drummer Ari Lantela return to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, April 14.
“ We have family and friends in Salmon Arm,” said Jasmin Frederickson.
“ My parents have a cabin here where we’re living so they’re here a lot,” she continued, noting the move inspired much of the music on “Moving On.” They all explore some definition of the term moving on, if not being directly about moving.
“All of the songs on the CD are about moving except for the first one, except the first one,” Lantela added.
“ It’s like our ‘Panama Red,’” chuckled Frederickson.
“And Easy Way Out is about leaving a relationship,” he continued.
The duo had a few extra hands to make “Moving on” including viola/ violinist John Kastelic, who plays with the band No Mother, with whom the duo last played Lethbridge.
They also included drummer Liam MacDonald, keyboardist Chris Gestrin and producer Winston Hauschild added extra keyboards and organetta, but the duo wanted the music to sound as close to the live experience as possible.
“ Liam MacDonald was so professional,” Frederickson said.
“We only had two rehearsals with him and he knew the songs after that, which is very challenging because our songs have such weird time changes, so to be able to come in and turn around and learn them that fast was impressive,” Lantela enthused.
“ The album sounds a little bit more full but it is still pretty representative of who we are,” Frederickson added.
“I’ve been to shows and bought the CD and say doesn’t sound like you at all,” she continued.
She is pleased with the move to Salmon Arm in December, where it is not only cheaper to live, but a lot more relaxed.
“ The music scene in Vancouver is cutthroat. All of our friends are musicians. But here, people are happy to see us and hear us play,” she said.
“But it does push you to become better,” Lantela observed.
“ And living in Salmon Arm is great for touring because it is so central. There are loads of opportunities Vancouver isn’t far away and neither is Calgary. We had a bad winter. We were half way to Revelstoke and we had to turn back,” Frederickson said.
““We won’t tour a lot during the summer because — the Okanagan, ” she said.
“But we’ll be doing a cross Canadian tour in the fall all the way to Newfoundland,” Lantela added.
“We’re going to take our time and visit national parks because of Canada 150.”
But they will be doing quick tours around the area including the Lethbridge stop, which will also include an April 13 stop in Kimberley and April 15 in Calgary.
They have some surprises in store for Lethbridge.
“We’ll be playing the new songs and we may play an old ’80s metal song, swingified metal style. And I have a resonator guitar and I’m playing more hi hat in addition to the suitcase,” Lantela said.
Chicken-like Birds play the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Friday, April 14, at 9 p.m. Admission is by donation
