Sometimes there is a certain musical magic that comes out of a random jam session and no one knows this better than local duo the Wooly Buggers.
Musicians Art Norris and Mark Bretherton had known each other for a while and were known to meet up at local coffee shops and chat about politics and local issues.
Then one day about three years ago they jammed together at the Tuesday night open jam at the Cumbrian Arms, and their musical journey began.
“We wound up playing together at a jam session. We jammed with other people and on each other’s songs,” explained Norris. “We looked up at the end of the song and said ‘well that was cool.’”
Norris said they instantly decided that they should be making music together and the Wooly Buggers were formed.
Norris and Bretherton are both avid fly fisherman and, over coffee one day with a group of friends, they began pouring over terms that could possibly make for a good band name. They decided on ‘wooly bugger,’ a classic fly-fishing lure used around the world to catch a wide variety of fish.
The duo is known for their unique take on cover tunes, with Norris describing a Neil Young song they cover as “flamencodelic”.
But they also have originals with a few instrumental pieces they have written together.
Overall, Norris described the duo’s sound as roots fusion, with both of their styles being very different.
“The big thing was listening to each other and playing off of each other with my country blues finger style guitar and his Spanish classical flamenco style,” said Norris. “It is a great example of what happens at jam sessions.”
You can catch the duo at the Cumbrian Arms Nov. 29.
For more information visit thewoolybuggers.ca.
