- John Mann with Fish and Bird, Friday, April 5, 7: 30 p.m. at North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre. Tickets $30/$27 at centennialtheatre.com or 604984-4484.
IT doesn't take a roof to become a fiddler; it takes a man and one with talent to boot.
Enter Adam Iredale-Gray, fiddler, vocalist and more for West Coast band Fish and Bird.
The band is playing for the first time in North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre on Friday, April 5, which has Iredale-Gray excited to finally cross the bridge to play for new fans, and hopefully some of their older ones too.
"I think it is our first North Van show, and it's kind of funny because our drummer actually lives in North Van," Iredale-Gray said during a phone interview from his studio on Vancouver Island, referring to drummer and North Vancouver resident Ben Kelly.
When asked if he feels nervous about performing at a venue he's never been before, Iredale-Gray brushes it off, as an experienced music veteran would, seeing as Fish and Bird has been in the music scene since 2006.
"We spend a lot of time on the road, most of our time on the road the last couple years and are comfortable playing for new crowds," he says. "So I wouldn't say nervous. Maybe excited. Especially for me, and probably for Ben too, because we've never played in North Van."
This may be their first North Shore performance, but that's not to say they haven't been keeping themselves busy.
Ever since their self-titled debut album was released in 2006, Fish and Bird - comprised of four active members: Taylor Ashton (vocals, banjo), Adam Iredale-Gray (fiddle, vocals), Ryan Boeur (electric and acoustic guitar) and Ben Kelly (drums) - has been working show after show as a solid unit.
But their fifth and final position in the group - belonging to a bass player - has been a bit trickier to maintain, Iredale-Gray said.
For example, in the next three months they'll be working with three separate bass players, Zoe Guigueno, Oliver Swain, and Jenny Ritter, all of whom have contributed to Fish and Bird records in the past.
No small feat, as Iredale-Gray described the band's creative process as long and difficult, but with massive payout in the end.
"We make it so complicated. We play complicated music," he said. "Sometimes I wonder why we do it, but it's great."
All of Fish and Bird's recording and arrangements are done from Iredale-Gray's Vancouver Island studio.
He describes their creating music as a collaborative, organic process where any member of the band may freely contribute as long as they feel it's right.
Each member has a role they generally like to play, such as Taylor Ashton doing most of the songwriting and guitar work.
"I haven't gotten into writing lyrics yet myself," Iredale-Gray said. "So I'll bring in instrumental material, and we've played a couple of my tunes instrumentally, but also Taylor's put words to at least one of my tunes."
If forced to guess, Iredale-Gray says Ashton kicks off 75 to 80 per cent of their songs, but a kind of bare-bones version, which they then add layers and layers to as the recording goes on.
"So it's quite a collaborative process," he said, adding that on their newest album, which they have already begun recording, they will continue this style of creation.
"It's pretty fun and it's really creative and often takes a long time," he said. "We're pretty picky when it comes to that stuff, so we do tend to spend a lot of time working on arrangement. But then they're fairly well-crafted."
He wouldn't trade his band for any other as there's a special chemistry he feels between the group, and one that's more satisfying than any other, he says.
"It feels like it really flows well for me with these guys, and it's kind of like, it's, once you've put a bunch of time and effort into something it actually is something, whereas you know every time I play with somebody else, you know it's a good break, it's fun, and it's nice but it's not quite as creatively satisfying because it's not. I'm not quite as quite deep into it, and I don't feel a sense of ownership the same way I do with Fish and Bird," he said.
Fish and Bird will be playing a set after long-time Spirit of the West front man John Mann at Centennial Theatre on Friday, April 5 which will feature older songs, as well as unreleased material.
Their newest album (not yet named) is expected to be recorded at Iredale-Gray's studio in the spring and summer months, with an early 2014 release date.
For more information, check out the band's website fishandbird.ca or visit centennialtheatre.com.