Victoria based folk/ gypsy, roots collective The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra are excited to spread their multi-faceted and influenced brand of Canadian music overseas.
They play a special ticketed event at the Owl Acoustic lounge, on Friday, July 5.
Percussionist/ drummer Paul Wolda is still psyched from the band’s March tour of New Zealand.
“We spent 10 days touring in New Zealand,” he said, adding that came on top of a tragic shooting in Christchurch.
“People are so peaceful there, that the shooting really took them by surprise. They had a hard time accepting something like that happening there. They weren’t sure if they were allowed to smile again. So we hope we were able to help,” he said.
“People there are very nice. We were well received and treated really well,” he said.
“And the landscape actually reminded me a lot of B.C.,” he mused, adding they were able to make some contacts there for a possible return to New Zealand as well as an upcoming tour of Australia.
“It’s interesting. Though we sound really different, and have a lot of different influences, when you tour overseas you’re representing the music of Canada,” he said adding people appreciate having a Canadian band travelling overseas to play for them.
“They respect that,” he said.
“We played the CubaDupa festival in Wellington,” he said, adding he had the contact info of a journalist friend in Wellington.
“And we just accidentally ran into him at CubaDupa. So I got to hang out with him,” he said, adding they spent some time listening to some New Zealand musicians during some down time, in between shows.
“ So we were able to get a dialogue going there,” he said.
He noted other than the New Zealand tour, the band has been staying pretty close to home to their home town of Victoria.
“We’ve been staying pretty close to home until recently. It’s not as important to have new music when you’re going some place for the first time. But we’re going to sit down and write some new music in December before we go to Australia. And we’ll be doing a lot of touring in Canada,” he said.
“ We like to toss around a lot of different musical ideas. And that keeps it exciting for us,” he said.
“We have a lot of ideas we haven’t turned into songs yet. But they reflect how much we’ve grown musically. It’s still going to be fun for the audience. It will still be fun, dance oriented music,” he said, adding the type of show will depend on the audience.
“ It’s in line with our mission statement which can be stated in four words — of Nourish, Connect, Culture, Music. Which is achieving connection with our audience though our music” he continued, adding the band always looks forward to Lethbridge shows. They were just at the Slice in February.
“ We‘ve played a lot of different venues in Lethbridge from places where people want to dance and party mike at the Slice and venues where people are really listening like the Geomatic Attic. Both are really good for us,” he said.
“It’s always a great experience for us in Lethbridge,” he said.
The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra play a special ticketed show at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Friday, July 5. Tickets are $10 for the show which begins at 9 p.m.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
