Fish & Bird a Hit at Lakeview

Written by Reader Submission on 06 October 2010

Article/Photos by Beverlee Coulter, © Beverlee Coulter 2010

MARATHON, ON – The first concert of the “off” season for Concerts in the Parking Lot took place this past Tuesday evening, October 5th. As you have likely surmised, the concert was not held in the usual parking lot locale but instead, was set in the cozy comfort of the Lakeview Manor B & B. Owner Christina Welch not only graciously offered the beautiful venue but, also prepared a table full of refreshments for concert goers.

The entertainment for this particular evening was “Fish and Bird”. A plain and simple sounding name to be sure however their music was anything but. Originally a duo, but now grown to four and sometimes five members, this band is all about playing those instruments hard and fast. The crowd could not contain themselves as the band played with wild abandonment and were absolutely a joy to listen to. Lead vocalist, Taylor Ashton, explained that their original goal was to play traditional type folk music. And they still do but also mix it up a bit too. At one point, they did a rousing version of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.

The band is also unique in their environmental values and DIY ethic. In the “do it yourself” side of things, a handmade stamp was used on one of their current Cd covers while the other sports a silk-screened cover. They also design and silk-screen the Ts and other merchandise that they sell. And on the environmental side? If the fact that the entire band, their personal belongings and all of their instruments fitting in one Mitsibushi Delica right-hand drive van isn’t itself a small miracle, the fact that the vehicle runs on … vegetable oil? That’s right, these folks know sushi restaurants from Victoria, BC to St. John, NF and every where in between. Apparently, they change their oil most often so it is the cleanest to use. The used oil is pumped into jerry cans which will last them for a couple of days driving. If they ever find themselves in an oil-free zone temporarily, they can always use their back-up diesel. Talk about traveling on the cheap!

The members included Taylor Ashton, lead vocalist, writer and banjo player; Adam Iredale Gray, vocalist, writer and fiddle player; Ryan Boeur, back up vocalist and acoustic and electric guitar; Zoe Guigeno, back up vocalist and upright bass player. The fifth member, drummer and percussionist Ben Kelly was unable to join the group until later on in this particular tour. The tour began in Grand Forks, BC and will end October 24^th in St. Catherines, Ontario. At that point, the band members will go back to their “day” jobs – graphic designer, recording studio engineer, bike mechanic, social worker and fish market – for awhile until it is time to promote their new album.

The next schedule concert will be Rob Szabo on November 10^th. Details to follow at a later date.

MORE INFO

Keep reading OntarioNewsNorth.com for details of upcoming concerts in the series and/or sign up on the mailing list at concertsintheparkinglot@hotmail.com to be informed of upcoming concerts
Check out www.concertsintheparkinglot.com for more information.
For more information about Fish & Bird; visit www.myspace.com/fishandbirdmusic and/or www.fishandbird.ca .
For more info about the beautiful Lakeview Manor B&B visit http://www.bbcanada.com/3917.html