Here's a bit of our story so far...
Chicken-Like Birds is the combination of Ari Lantela who is known for his refined sloppy blues guitar picking and Jasmin Frederickson who has recently but dedicatedly taken up the double bass. Together they sing their original country blues and ragtime songs about adventure, independent women, how to cook a mean batch of cornbread and the pair's strange relationship. Slap in some on-stage antics, a few funny stories and some strangely endearing awkwardness and you've got Chicken-Like Birds.
Soon after the two met in March of 2014 they hit the road and found themselves volunteering at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Music Festival where they decided to sneak in to the musician afterparty. They lugged in their homemade suitcase kick drum and started jamming. No one guessed they were just volunteers. It was a very inspiring night, despite the drummer from the Sheepdogs kicking a bit of a hole in their suitcase. Since moving to Vancouver, the two have been pursuing a life of playing music on the road with a fervour and dedication, playing at the Likely BC music festival and Verses festival in 2015 along with a couple of small tours around BC and Alberta as well as opening up for Leeroy Stagger (winner of the Alberta Peak Performance Project in 2015). This year their third EP “On the Dusty Trail” is set to be released in the Spring.
The Artist!
The Characters
Jasmin
Using her upright bass (just recently taken up in November 2015) and her saucy charm (which she's been honing for her whole life) Jasmin strives to create a fun and entertaining show that is engaging and silly. Coming from a small town outside of Calgary, Alberta and now residing in Vancouver she see's the beauty in both rural and urban life, in the prairies and on the coast. Her passion lies in creating songs with interesting or non-obvious subject matter, powerful dynamics and clever but seamless changes that are surprising but infectious.
Ari
A sloppy blues specialist, Ari can be considered as awkward but he's definitely not graceful. Although his gracefulness is improving since he's taking Lindy Hop dance lessons. He usually plays the guitar, but sometimes he'll play the geetar, or the gitbox. Recently he has picked up the cornet and the mandolin as secondary methods of making noise. He also sings, bashes on the suitcase, and sometimes will play the blues harp. Mmmhmm.