- BTU (Barney Bentall, Tom Taylor and Shari Ulrich) perform at Centennial Theatre, Friday, Feb. 24 at 7: 30 p.m. Tickets $30/$27. To reserve seats phone 6049844484 or go online to www.centennialtheatre.com.
THE three storied musicians in BTU all have North Shore connections, but for one member their show at Centennial Theatre next Friday night is a homecoming performance.
"When we are in North Vancouver it will be different because there is so much history for us there," Barney Bentall says. "I lived so much of my life in North Vancouver."
Bentall formed the Bentall Taylor Ulrich (BTU) band with singer/songwriters Tom Taylor and Shari Ulrich in November of 2007 after they all played together at a Bluebird North show.
"That led to us deciding to play with each other. This oneshot deal that turned into a couple little tours a year and it's always fun when we go do it," Bentall says. "We still maintain that songwriters' circle element at every show."
BTU are looking forward to playing in front of family and friends at the North Vancouver venue.
Not only will fans get to hear their music but also how the songs were made with stories leading into each tune.
"They will get a lot of great songs and great music and probably a fair bit of humour," Ulrich says.
While they consider themselves a mix of contemporary folk and pop, each artist brings their own unique style and experiences with them to the BTU project.
Ulrich was born in San Rafael, California, and at the age of 18 left the United States for Canada. One of the founding members of the legendary folk trio Pied Pumkin, she has released 19 albums over the course of her career. The B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee and Juno Award winner also performs regularly with her daughter Julia Graff and in the High Bar Gang roots band.
Taylor has been recording since 1991 and is perhaps best known as the frontman for one of the North Shore's great live party bands She Stole My Beer. As a solo artist he released the King of July album in 2005.
In 1988 Bentall formed the band Legendary Hearts and that same year they released their first self-titled album. The Legendary Hearts debut sold over 100,000 copies and went on to win a Juno in 1989 for most promising group of the year. His solo career includes the albums Gift Horse in 2007 and Inside Passage in 2008.
BTU selects music from their individual solo careers to perform as a trio.
"We respect each others' writing," Bentall says. "We settle on songs that work well for the three of us."
As veterans of the music scene they all enjoy working with each other as BTU.
"When you record and do various things there is an element of tension and hard work and it can be frustrating and all sorts of emotions can be in there," Taylor says.
"Sometimes that really helps the creative process but really you want to work with people who are easy to get along with."
That sentiment is especially true when it comes to travel.
"I think we have all played with great players that were just too big of a pain to travel with," Ulrich says.
The Centennial Theatre show will be the largest venue the trio has performed in as a group.
"There is nothing better than playing in a soft seat theatre as far as I am concerned," Ulrich says.
"To actually come to a major theatre in the Greater Vancouver area is really important to us," Taylor says. "I think people will really enjoy this night."
