Artist of the Day | LAST BIRDS
ARTIST OF THE DAY
16.11.2020
LAST BIRDS
LOCATION
North Portal, SK
GENRE
Folk-Americana
CURRENT MEMBERS
Lindsay Arnold & Mike Davis
With the current pandemic, the state of the music and touring industry has dramatically changed. Where were you when everything was brought to a halt?
Fortunately we were at home when everything was put on pause. Just a week before, we were recording the instrumental tracks for our debut EP. We were lucky to get that part of the recording completed before everything shut down.
How has that affected your plans for the coming months? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
The pandemic put our EP recording on hold, so the dates we had in mind for releasing singles and the album had to be shifted. We also had to cancel several performances and a trip to the Canadian Folk Music Awards in PEI with our other band, Hook & Nail.
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home?
Since we had the instrumental tracks completed for the EP, our producer, Brad Prosko, sent them to us so we could perfect our vocal parts. We have also spent a lot of time writing songs and recording demos. We decided early on that video production would be a vital part of our artistic practice during the pandemic. In April we produced a song and video at home using equipment we had on hand. "Oh Well: Lockdown Version" was screened as a part of Trinity Square Centre's "Power to the People" exhibition of protest songs for Nuit Blanche in Toronto.
We have livestreamed a couple of performances, including one for the Open House Series presented by SaskMusic, CBC Sask and Creative Saskatchewan. In July we recorded a full length concert for SaskTel Max. We have gained a ton of experience performing for the camera since COVID-19 came along.
What was the first thing you did/place you went to now the country is starting to slowly re-open?
Although we could not return to Touchwood Studios where we planned to record our vocal tracks, we found a way to work with Brad to complete our album. Using a portable recording rig, we rented adjoining rooms at the Days Inn in Estevan. Brad used one room as the control room while we used the other as a vocal booth. It turned out to be a really comfortable set up for everyone. We highly recommend it!
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Our favourite Starlite Room moment is having the opportunity to be artist of the day. We look forward to performing for you soon!
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Search for the silver lining in this strange experience. The beautiful thing about being a human is that we can change, adapt and continue to learn.
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
