The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra will play the fourth show in the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture’s performance series on Nov. 14 at the Miners’ Hall.
The band is on the second part of their album release tour for Love, which is their fifth album and was released on Aug. 16. The album was recorded on Quadra Island during the winter of 2013-2014.
The band formed in 2006 and has always been a five-piece.
“On this tour we’re touring with sort of like three of our original personal and two newer guys,” says Kurt Loewen, guitarist and vocalist.
The band plays a mix of genres, and can mix things up depending on the vibe of the venue, and depending on whether or not the crowd wants to dance.
“We play a lot of venues, like all different kinds,” says Loewen. “Be it like a literal crowd-surfing type, 45-minute festival show, and all the people are like 25 years old, to a sit-down 300-person venue where the average demographic is like 60 and … they like the dancing stuff and they enjoy it, but it’s like an opportunity to also play the quiet stuff and not crowd surf.”
Loewen says the new album is quite a departure from the band’s previous releases.
“There’s a lot more drum kit, a lot more electric guitar, a lot more keyboard stuff, and a lot more ambient type instrumental stuff, which has really been fun to perform and play, but it’s way different it’s not so dancey,” he says. “It’s a lot of introspective songs…. The album’s called Love but almost ironically. It’s sincere I guess in it’s way, but it’s an album that has a lot of lyrical content about ends of relationships, ends of friendships.”
The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra has played in Rossland twice before, once at the Old Fire Hall and once at the Flying Steamshovel, but that was a while ago.
“Wow man, that was probably more than four years ago,” says Loewen. “I’m really, really glad that it’s worked out for us to come play again.”
Loewen is also hopeful that the band will have vinyl copies of their album by the time they reach Rossland, and hopes residents will come check it out.
“We’re really excited to play in Rossland for the first time in a lot of years,” he says.
