as the crow
flies' music is fresh, confident and clear. It music runs
through fields of folk and mild 'grass; to traditional and original
tunes, all arranged in a distinctly warm and lavish tone. It's the
music you hear wafting into the street from the porch in the summer.
It's the music that tells the stories of ordinary folks, with thickening
plots and hopeful endings.
as the crow flies first flew in the windy Crowsnest Pass, Alberta where Shawna Plant and Anie Hepher - the original two - served up helpings of homegrown vocals with a side dish of guitars. The duo toured East Kootenay coffee houses and benefit concerts, gaining a reputation for their blended voices and intertwining harmonies. A couple years later Ben Van Der Werf (guitar and dobro) and Steve Jones (upright bass) clambered on board the band's wagon. Their instrumentation enriched as the crow flies' original simplicity with strong melody leads and sure footed rhythm. In the fall of 2001, Michael Brendan hitched up, and brought mandolin, whistles and digeridu, offering more range and detail in the songs played. The two part harmony of the original duo is now known to split effortlessly into three or four part harmony as the 'new guys' jump in. Most recent is the addition of Neil MacDonald of The Honeymans fame on fiddle, rounding out the sound and adding thickness to an already voluptuious sound.
as the crow flies sashayed onto the national
radio scene in April of 2001, first airing on CBC's Basic
Black. Since then, the band was interviewed and aired regularly
on CBC's North
by Northwest with Sheryl McKay. as the
crow flies has been thrilled to have been featured on shows
like The
Vinyl Cafe, Richardson's Roundup and BC Almanac, Uptown
Bluegrass, as well as airplay on radio stations like CKUA,
CBC Radio One and Radio Two, and other radio stations all over
Western Canada. The band has played to sold out audiences at concerts
all over BC. as the crow flies has performed at festivals like the
Starbelly Jam in Crawford Bay, B.C. Fernie's The
Gathering, the High Country Bluegrass Festival in Invermere,
and more. Other kudos include openings for The
Duhks in Mayook BC, and headlining the music at The
Kootenay Carol and filling up theatres like the Key City Theatre.
This year as the crow flies will continue to churn up turf all over
western Canada. Their first full length recording, Miles
to Go, is in stores now and has been selling like hotcakes since
it's release in june 2003, with their second album One
Small Acre set to hit the stores in June 2005.
Stay tuned as they flock to the airwaves and cook up more soul food. Oh yeah, and make sure you snatch up their albums and head for the concerts to see what the good folks are raven about.
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