{"id":2517,"date":"2011-10-07T11:03:57","date_gmt":"2011-10-07T17:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stylusmagazine.ca\/?p=2517"},"modified":"2011-10-07T11:03:57","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T17:03:57","slug":"bog-river-muddy-and-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2011\/10\/07\/bog-river-muddy-and-simple\/","title":{"rendered":"Bog River – Muddy and Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nPhoto by Brendan McGuire<\/em><\/span>
\nBy Victoria King<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a near perfect August evening \u2013 hot without being sweltering, vanilla ice cream in a cup and conversation about music, travel and inspiration with one of the city\u2019s newest and arguably most talented groups, Bog River.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the ninth grade, I had a really awesome band teacher who just made me want to go to band camp every year. He just made me love music,\u201d Ben Hadaller of the local folk trio tells me as the four of us sit around a picnic table at Sub Zero Ice Cream. Carly Dow, lead vocalist of the group, jokes that the extent of her family\u2019s influence in her musicality came from the occasional inebriated family member banging on a piano at parties. On her left, Dave Barchyn, former associate at a music store, explains that, \u201cIf you work at a music store long enough, you end up owning a music store.\u201d
\n
\nWhile Carly, Ben and Dave may have found their own paths to musicianship independently, as Bog River these three young musicians have created a sound that seems to flow amongst them effortlessly, one that is unique while retaining a traditional folksy quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess musicians means more practice,\u201d Dave says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what, it\u2019ll still come out as a \u2018Bog River\u2019 sound and style,\u201d Ben explains, \u201csince it\u2019s only the three of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to their backwoods sound, the band\u2019s name came from a river near the cabin where they choose to do the majority of their recording. \u201cI just drove by that sign so many times and always wanted to call a band Bog River, regardless of the genre. Now we have this muddy folk trio,\u201d Ben recalls. Their debut EP, Lost in the Woods<\/em>, was recorded in a single day and can be described by the group as a \u201cbare bones approach to recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI specifically remember having a set of headphones on and bangin\u2019 on a cabinet to try and get a drum track down,\u201d Ben laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe opted to record at the cabin because, (a) we couldn\u2019t afford studio time and (b) it\u2019s just such a nice environment to be in,\u201d Dave explains. \u201cYou\u2019re not worried about spending too much time on a certain track. If you feel like taking a break, take a break. Make dinner, or if you feel really brave, you can go cut a hole though the ice and jump into the lake!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s perfect for what we\u2019re doing. It\u2019s just relaxed,\u201d Carly later adds.<\/p>\n

She reflects on their upcoming first full-length release, Hands in the Ground<\/em>; \u201cThis one was a couple weekends over a couple months, and it\u2019s a lot more polished than our first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning to the end of the album, you definitely do feel that happier side go to that darker side. The bog and the mud,\u201d Ben comments. Looking at the inner slide of the new album, the instrument list includes banjo, upright bass, mandolin, kazoo and \u201cwood yard percussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn \u2018Mountains for Sale,\u2019 Ben wanted a more percussive sound . . . We daisy-chained a bunch of mics and Ben went and chopped some wood, and started banging on rocks,\u201d Dave recalls as Carly and Ben laugh.<\/p>\n

Jokes aside, the band is motivated. \u201cWe have little goals that we set for ourselves. We\u2019d really love to play the Winnipeg Folk Fest someday, that\u2019s a big one for us. That\u2019s a stepping stone that we\u2019d really like to reach, and someday soon,\u201d Carly asserts. Another such goal is their then-upcoming tour. The band left in late August and was on the road for three weeks, kicking off in Clear Lake. Afterwards, they headed west to Regina and Maple Creek in Saskatchewan, then Calgary, Kamloops and the BC islands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tour itself is one of those next steps that we\u2019ve been working really hard to get to, so we\u2019ll see how it goes. We\u2019re really excited about it,\u201d Carly tells me. \u201cWe won\u2019t know a lot of people in most of these towns, so it will be a really good experiment to see how people like our stuff.\u201d I\u2019m waiting to hear some wildly long to-do list from one of the members, but I\u2019m assured that everything is in place for the tour. \u201cIt has to be,\u201d she replies simply.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a tourist, I want to see some giant trees on the Islands,\u201d Ben claims, only half jokingly. As a band, Carly notes that they\u2019re most looking foreword to a gig at iconic folk venue, the Ironwood Stage & Grill in Calgary. When asked who\u2019ll have the biggest suitcase, the questions is barely out of my mouth before both Ben and Carly affirm that it\u2019ll be Carly. \u201cShe\u2019ll have more dresses than we do instruments\u201d Ben jokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to perform in nice dresses. That\u2019s my excuse for buying new ones all the time,\u201d she reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of us [referring to himself and Ben] as the table cloth and napkins and Carly as the centerpiece,\u201d Dave kindly offers.<\/p>\n

The West End Cultural Center will be the site of the big release on October 13, where they\u2019ll be performing with locals Red Moon Road and Dan Frechette. The band explains to me that ultimately, this album should give the sound and feeling as their live show. Ben adds, \u201cWe want people to hear the smiles on our faces when we\u2019re playing. It\u2019s fun. It\u2019s really, really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stylus Magazine<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Victoria King<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a near perfect August evening \u2013 hot without being sweltering, vanilla ice cream in a cup and conversation about music, travel and inspiration with one of the city\u2019s newest and arguably most talented groups, Bog River.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the ninth grade, I had a really awesome band teacher who just made me want to go to band camp every year. He just made me love music,\u201d Ben Hadaller of the local folk trio tells me as the four of us sit around a picnic table at Sub Zero Ice Cream. Carly Dow, lead vocalist of the group, jokes that the extent of her family\u2019s influence in her musicality came from the occasional inebriated family member banging on a piano at parties. On her left, Dave Barchyn, former associate at a music store, explains that, \u201cIf you work at a music store long enough, you end up owning a music store.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[563,818],"class_list":["post-2517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-local","tag-roots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}