A Dirty Dozen with ROSS FERGUSON from OWLS & EAGLES – February 2023

According to a recent press release: “Owls & Eagles, a two piece psychedelic doom band from Calgary Alberta announce their debut album Patience Vol. 1 and release the first single from the album called “Enlightenment”. The track recently premiered via The Obelisk. The album will release on June 1st through Moments Records. This upcoming album is a concept album, its taken 2.5 years to get it out.”  We get guitarist / singer Ross to discuss new music, influences, and more.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Patience Vol. I is our first release. It’s a story of what I think of as a feminine entity, personified, and her trials to become whole with herself and the spaces she dwells/finds herself within. It’s a story from start to finish.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

LOL for me it was listening to the intro for “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits. I remember cranking that on my Walkman over and over, and remember the tone of the guitar when it kicks in after the drums, just epic!

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

OG Cavalera era Sepultura has always been the biggest influence on me and my writing/playing style. I was a huge fan of thrash and death metal as a kid and still am but my musical taste has expanded dramatically. Just slow it down and you have stoner jams haha.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Max Cavalera for sure! I love his song structures and riffs, but the entire band of King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard would be a close second, amazing musicians and incredible songwriters, check them out if you haven’t already.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I enjoy gaming in my downtime, mainly RPGs. I loved the Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Mass Effect series, GTA etc. but I do have a soft spot for COD MW online from 2017. Oh and smoking weed but I do that all the time lol.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Psychedelic, slow heavy riffs with aggressive and melodic vocals with a little bit of 90’s grunge thrown in for good measure.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We are in 2 bands together, O&E and Citizen Rage, so we do hang out a lot. Mark doesn’t drink much so I have to do it for both of us (love my tall vodka/sodas). We both enjoy cooking, but not really the acoustic singalong… not heavy enough!

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Not really one to get starstruck, but meeting and interviewing Barney from Napalm Death was super cool. Very humble and has a great outlook on life.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

For me it’s the tones/sounds you can produce and how they affect people. I love creating music that engages people and makes them think or takes them to different place in their mind, it’s incredible what sound can do. There is a theory out there that sound is the 5th element and that makes sense to me. My alternate dream job would be a preschool/kindergarten teacher. Children are a blessing and they need to be taught critical thinking from a very early age, something that I think is missing from most education systems in general.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

This one LOL. Any question is a good question if you don’t know the answer.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I wouldn’t have put playing guitar on the backburner for the years I spent raising my children, I didn’t play much at all for 15 years or so. I don’t regret it but I would be a way better guitarist if I hadn’t.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Beneath the Remains by Sepultura. I have an unopened copy on vinyl and have the CD in my van consistently. I love the music, lyrics, all the energy these kids from Sao Paolo put into this album. They were pissed of at the state of the world and made sure everyone knew it. Shame is it hasn’t much changed since ’89. The sculpting of the raw talent that was in that room must have been a sight to behold and to produce a masterpiece like that at such a young age would have been fantastic.

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Category: Interviews