Silver Starling Built On Pieces Of Montreal Indie Rock Royalty

09/21/09 3:06pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

Silver Starling's Marcus Paquin found out the hard way that centre stage can be a lonely place.

After years spent on the periphery of Stars, Torngat, Arcade Fire and countless other acts, the Montreal-based guitarist started popping into cafes and open mic nights to hawk his own wares. It wasn't long before he decided it was time to expand his one-man-band's membership.

"I wanted to branch out, so I was looking around Montreal to see if I could find some interesting musicians," he says. "I wound up at a jazz show and saw Liam O'Neill (Young Galaxy, Zeroes), our drummer, playing with a free-jazz band. I was really into his style and his vibe so I approached him, unsolicited, after his set... I managed to talk to him and not freak him out."

The duo started jamming together and were soon joined by Paquin's wife, Marika Shaw, on viola. Now an official band, they decided it was time to name themselves.

"We were playing a show... at this little club on the waterfront," says Paquin. "It just so happened that at that one show, all of our parents were there. We decided it might be kind of cool to call ourselves Mothers Fathers. That was our name for a little while."

They trio eventually hooked up with We Are Star 69 bassist Peter X and Marathon guitarist Gab Lambert, and then changed their name to Silver Starling, completing the band's current lineup.

The music that resulted — their self-titled debut is out this week — has been compared to an interesting mixture of past and present acts, including Arcade Fire (makes sense, as Shaw is a touring member), The Beatles, Jeff Buckley and Bill Frisell. Much of the credit for his career as a musician, says Paquin, belongs to The Beatles and their Abbey Road.

"The stuff I grew up listening to as a kid was a huge influence. I think we all pull from everything... everything in the pop idiom, but also the jazz world and classical. I think that the combination of all of our voices together... it makes for something that's pretty eclectic but also has a binding gel that holds it all together."

Here's where you can check out Silver Starling:

Sept. 22 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
Sept. 24 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
Sept. 25 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Underground
Sept. 26 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
Sept. 27 Guelph, ON @ The Albion Hotel
Oct. 23 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (CMJ)