Armed with a hearty five studio albums and a wicked sense of humour, Sebastian Owl and their self-described 鈥渢hrow-back鈥� style are no strangers when it comes to the stage.
Known for their energetic live show, the band formed with Blair Atkinson and Ian Russell bonding over a mutual love of music.
鈥淭he band has gone through some changes over the years;鈥� said Russell.
鈥淲e now have the prolific Glenn Radley banging drums for us and the Brothers McKillop dual-wielding electric guitars.鈥�
The impressive back-catalogue of albums from the band shines through especially in their latest effort, From The Ashes.
Recorded with Lloyd Peterson of Paintbox Recordings in Winnipeg, Atkinson says the writing and recording process evolves with every album and personal growth.
鈥淭here is one track that Logan (guitar, back-up vocals) and myself wrote many years ago called 鈥楢s the Crow Flies鈥� which is on the album.鈥�
The effort and time put into the album seemed to really pay off.
鈥淥ur parents like it, so there鈥檚 that,鈥� said rhythm guitarist/vocalist Blair Atkinson.
鈥淭o be honest, the style of music we play is not necessarily what is 鈥榠n鈥� for contemporary music blogs and radio stations.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 control what is popular, we can just control what we like.鈥�
On tour, the band tends to spend time on their own unique rituals.
鈥淲e used to have a saying wherein if I did not vomit before a show, it would not be a good show,鈥� said Blair.
鈥淓rgo, my ritual is usually to sequester myself in a room or to pace outside chain smoking cigarettes.鈥�
It doesn鈥檛 stop there.
鈥淥ther than that we do have a ritual where we all put our left sock in a hat and we each put on the hat whilst singing 鈥楶apa鈥檚 got a brand new bag鈥� whilst spraying Lemon Pledge into the air as we stomp our feet on the ground. This isn鈥檛 true by the way. Or is it?鈥� asked Russell.
鈥淓very show is us, who we are, doing what we love. The songs may change but we want the songs to be the focal point. We鈥檙e excited to play the Whistle Stop again, it was one of the highlights of our tour last year.鈥�
Sebastian Owl will be at the Whistle Stop on Sunday, May 14 at 9 p.m.
Tash Loh
Special to the 51暗网
