Don’t try to pigeon hole Chicken-Like Birds.
Unconventional and creative in their outlook and music, Ari Lantela, who is known for his refined sloppy blues guitar picking, and bass player Jasmin Frederickson are new to Salmon Arm and will perform in Ted Crouch’s Acoustic Avenue series of concerts on March 16.
With a name Frederickson chose from a bird book, this intriguing duo sings original country blues and ragtime songs about adventure, independent women, how to cook a mean batch of cornbread and relationships.
The pair met at an open-mic café in Calgary before setting off on a circuitous path to Vancouver. While Fredericskon planted trees in Alberta and B.C., Lantela used newly-acquired skills to build a guitar for a friend.
During a two-year stay in Vancouver, the couple busked at farmers markets and train stations and performed in as many shows as were available.
Acquiring a mini-van allowed them to venture farther afield and in 2016, the duo performed at a festivals across Western Canada, including the Mission Folk Fest and the Fire &Water Festival in Manitoba.
They have opened for acts such as Petunia &the Vipers, and original blues brother Curtis Salgado.
No chicken, Frederickson volunteered at Roots and Blues a couple of years ago where she managed to slide brazenly and unnoticed into a performers’ after party.
Volunteering again the following year, Frederickson convinced Ari to replay her 2015 adventure.
They describe that adventure on their website: “the two brought a couple guitars, followed the sound of music, walked right in as if they belonged there, sat down and started jamming.”
The duo also followed the call of another dream – leaving a hectic city scene for life in the country. And while they do miss the vibrant energy of Vancouver, life there was not entirely satisfying.
Since arriving in Salmon Arm in December, the pair have been writing a lot more because there are fewer distractions.
As well as making music, Lantela and Frederickson love to dance, something they say they could do any night of the week in Vancouver. They took swing dance lessons there and are interested in starting an informal swing dance club here.
A mini Western Canadian tour and cross-Canada tour are in the works, but the couple will perform at The Handmade Shoppe on Thursday, March 16, where they will introduce their new five-song EP called Moving On.
Lantela laughingly describes one of the songs on the duo’s first professionally produced EP.
“One song is like an old-time radio commercial trying to encourage people to move from the country to the city,” Lantela says. “It’s just a joke obviously, because we just came here.”
What can the audience expect at the couple’s Acoustic Avenue performance?
Along with a suitcase drum, upright bass and interesting harmonies, listeners will be treated to what the Canadian Pacific Blues Society has called a “fantastic old-school acoustic experience.”
The evening will begin with two of Frederickson and Lantela’s favourite Vancouver artists – autoharp wielding songstress Cassidy Waring and dark-folk songwriter Brian O’Brien.
Waring combines powerhouse vocals with the haunting sounds of the autoharp, serving up unapologetic lyrics and a raw delivery.
Originally from Limerick City, Ireland, and winner of the 2015 Landmark Events Artist Showcase, O’Brien has been described as using an interesting recipe for song, amalgamating the darker tones of North American Folk to the lamentation and storytelling inherent to Irish culture.
He cites Brendan Behan, Liam Clancy, The Dublinners, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits among those whom have influenced his music.
With the attitude that to live is to write, O’Brien continues to write and record original music.
Lantela is currently working on the completion of his first Canadian EP due for release this year.
“Cassidy is an incredible songwriter; her lyrics are the best,” says an enthusiastic Frederickson. “And Brian plays guitar and is a singer songwriter with an incredible voice – a little bit Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen.”
Tickets for the Thursday, March 16 show at The Handmade Shoppe are $20 and are available at Acorn Music. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30.