When his primary band , Owls By Nature took a break in between tours, Edmonton musician and banjo player Cory Dee 
decided to return to his Maritime roots with his side project Eyes on Ivan.
Dee and fellow Owls mandolinist/ guitarist Doc DeGroot and drummer Freddy Brenton along with Captain Tractor accordionist Jason Kodie plus Matt Landry as well as John Calverley from the Dryland Band on fiddle plus bassist Thom Golub come to Lethbridge to play, fittingly the Owl Acoustic Lounge with Spencer Jo, Sept. 20.
“ There is lots of fiddle. I grew up around these traditional instruments. Growing up inthe Maritimes, it was pretty normal to sit around the kitchen table playing music with a bunch of friends and family,” Dee said.
“ So it seemed like a natural progression to go back to something I’ve done my whole life,” he said noting Owls By Nature had a busy summer of festivals and cross Canadian tour dates and are on a break until they begin recording a new CD November, then they got to Europe in December and January.
“So now seemed like the perfect time to release this album. The music has been done for a year. But these songs didn’t quite fit in with Owls by Nature,” he said.
He noted this is a side project he is doing for fun.
“It’s nice to be able to play music just for fun. Because Owls By Nature is a project we all pursue very seriously,” he said.
He is excited about having Captain Tractor’s Jason Kodie on board for this project.
“Producer Jay Sparrow brought him in. We had only hired him to play on a couple of songs, but it worked out so well, he appeared on seven or eight songs, so whenever he is available, we play with him,” he said.
Eyes on Ivan has been together for approximately six months.
“We started recording when we could in between Owls By Nature,” he said.
They are excited to share another stage with Spencer Jo.
“He’s a great guy. We’ve played with him a lot and we’ve shared many stage with him. So it’s always great to play with him,” he said.
The show begins at approximately 9:30 p.m. There is no cover.
