A lone performer sings to a crowded bar – in the audience his band members and long-time friends prepare to join him. As he finishes the opening song, his three bandmates populate the stage and without a moment of silence the band’s explosive energy fills the room. The crowd is drawn to the front of the stage to hear Biloxi Parish play new songs and old favourites.
The group had planned to begin recording a new album this month but decided to push it back, according to frontman Zach Passey. He says he has been writing a lot of new content and the group wants more time to explore it. They are now hoping to record in spring, he says.
Biloxi Parish’s unique songwriting, high energy and humble demeanour keeps crowds coming back to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, where they play regularly.
“I always get uncomfortable with the idea of having fans or something like that. It never feels like that, it feels like we’re all just like one big hang out,” comments drummer Cole Howg.
Guitarist Taran Duncan says the band is lucky to have The Owl when playing songs for the first time because it feels like home after playing there so long. Since recording their first full length-album, Providence, they have taken on a new bassist and grown into their sound.
“I feel like everybody kinda found their groove and they also are a little more confident with their instruments. Even though I have been playing guitar for a long time, I feel like I’ve been able to shine a bit more on this album,” says Duncan.
Ben Wattie learned to play bass guitar specifically to join the band, “it was cool to go from being a fan to being a part of the process,” he says.
Biloxi Parish focuses on original music – Passey writes lyrics and brings them to the other members to be shaped into a finished product. He says he draws much of his inspiration from cinema and literature.
“I think lyrically my biggest focus is trying to have emotional qualities to the lyrics that people can grab on. I think that’s important – people have to be able to not just relate, but kind of feel it,” said Passey, adding that even if listeners cannot relate to a song, he wants them to at least understand the weight of its subject matter.
Passey says he finds it more interesting lyrically to avoid love songs and delve into different subject matter.
“Most songs these days are love songs. My favourite songs are love songs, but Zach has been really good at doing storyteller songs that aren’t always about a girl,” says Howg.
The band’s passion for storytelling is evident in live performances. Passey sings with high energy, engaging the audience and taking up the entire stage.
“We try our best to give people a show and we do it for them. If they legitimately like our music, we want to be the best we can be for them,” says Passey.
After playing for many crowds, starting at around age 15, both the drummer and frontman agree a good crowd is about quality over quantity. The band strives to put on the same show, regardless of the size of the crowd.
“It’s more or less we play for ourselves because no matter what the show may look like, we do try to have fun. So if we are only playing for the crowd, that means if there was only five people there, we’d only play for five people worth of a set,” says Howg.
Passey said the band is ready to take the next step to get their new music heard and build a broader audience. They want to play more shows and try to tour outside of the province.
“I think the goal is to consciously just keep moving forward and whatever that looks like, or whatever that feels like, as long as it feels right for us, that’s satisfying enough,” says Passey.
