Crow Quill Night Owls are an old-timey band dealing with some 21st-century problems. The musicians, based in Port Townsend, Washington, are all set to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a new tour vehicle and to upload their latest record to Bandcamp — only problem is they can’t get their computers to work.
“I’m looking for the hand crank,” jokes vocalist-guitarist Kit “Stymee” Stovepipe.
Joking aside, the band is gearing up for some pretty big changes, including a move to Asheville, North Carolina — bringing their classic hillbilly tunes to new audiences, an area steeped in that sound. “People there really love old blues and dance music,” says vocalist-banjo player “Windy City” Alex.
Stymee explains that simple geography can make touring in the Northwest a challenge. “You’ve got to get some good paying gigs to get from Eugene to Sacramento,” says washtub bassist “Baylin Adaheer.” Stymee adds that in Asheville, driving the distance from Port Townsend to Eugene, you’ll get to New Orleans.
The group finds inspiration in collecting old 78 rpm records. “We’re big collectors of old music. We do originals in a kaleidoscopic amalgamation of what we really like,” Stymee says, adding that the Crow Quills also play “traditional songs — not the ones everyone knows, the ones that slip through the cracks.”
Windy City explains that the Crow Quill Night Owls harken back to a time when many bands played the same song in dance halls and saloons all over the country. “It wasn’t considered a cover,” she says. “Our creativity is in the arrangement of the songs.”
Crow Quill Night Owls play 9 pm Wednesday, June 12, at Sam Bond’s; $5.