Migration Theory

Comprised of Jared Southard (vocals / guitar), Andy Wagner (guitar / keyboard), Michael Bruce (bass) and Sam Coe (drums), Low Flying Owls have become favorites on the Sacramento, CA, music scene thanks to their hypnotic live performances and eccentic songs. The band has taken the road less traveled with their sound and songwriting, and now, with a new full-length CD due out in July 2003, Low Flying Owls are on the move again.
“Anything that is off the beaten path attracts me,” Jared Southard says over the phone during some down time at his day job. We start the interview by discussing his latest choice in reading material, Mr. Nice, an autobiography of Howard Marks, one of the most prolific drug traffickers in British history. “The funny thing is, he had all these ties to the mafia and CIA, but he never meant to do anybody harm, and he’s a real nice guy. He just made millions; never killed anybody. It’s like if your next door neighbor was a big hash smuggler.”
Southard’s affinity for subjects that stray from the norm is apparent in Low Flying Owls. The name alone seems to carry a certain mystique, but Southard isn’t quick to attach any grand meaning to it.
“I just think it sounds cool, really,” Southard admits, though he does go on to say that there is a bit of significance behind the Low Flying Owls moniker.
“For one, it feels good — I’m pretty into the vibration of sounds on all levels, and the sound of a band name means a lot,” he says. “Another is my grandmother collected a lot of owls when I was a kid — owl salt and pepper shakers, owl clocks. That’s about it. There are other things involved, but if we were to give up too much, you know… We can’t give away the whole story of the name, but those are a couple of different insights.”
As for their sound, Low Flying Owls are not so easy to pinpoint. Instead of drawing clear parallels to bands that have come before, this Sacramento quartet blurs lines between explosive guitar-driven rock, British-influenced pop and swirling psychedelic grooves. Their song “Glad to Be Alive,” a live clip of which is available on the band’s Web site (www.lowflyingowls.net), seems to be indicative of the band’s approach — with mantra-like lyrics, turbulent guitars and hypnotic rhythm, Low Flying Owls creates a distinct and captivating soundscape.
The band’s knack for tackling somewhat grim subjects in an ironic, satirical way has led their music to be described as a type of “dark happiness.” Southard believes that this depiction is rather fitting.
“I think dark happiness is a good description, because the songs can deal a lot with the darker side of life, and in my opinion, take that dark side of life and make it somewhat humorous or amusing,” Southard explains. “I think we can be doing a song where the subject matter is kind of…on the dark side for the lack of a better term, but leave you with an uplifting feeling, and I think it’s kind of crazy.
“We’re [the members of the band] all kind of screwy in the head,” Southard continues. “And we look at things kind of tilted, but there’s so many dimensions to any person. Sometimes I don’t understand certain bands that just go with one thing. ‘We’re going to be a dark band,’ or ‘we’re going to be pure happy pop,’ or ‘we’re going to be just spacey’; it just doesn’t make any sense. To me, they’re holding back on so many other emotions that we all experience.”
Equally as eclectic as the band’s sound is the subject matter of their songs. Opting to take a less weathered approach to their songwriting, Low Flying Owls choose to explore more peculiar emotions, situations and characters. According to Southard, the tracks on their upcoming album — Elixir Vitaé on Stinky Records — should cover some curious topics.
“This new album has a song called ‘The Last Day on the Planet,’ which is basically saying the world is going to explode tomorrow, and we’re all ecstatic that this is the last day and just live it for what it is,” Southard says. “It’s like a big party, but tomorrow’s the last day. Track two is called ‘Swinging Sam,’ which is about all these murders in the Hamptons [in Long Island, NY] — it’s a pretty wealthy community — and all these houses are going up for sale at discounted prices. The song is the story of that real estate agent — a kind of sick and twisted real estate agent — who’s showing these houses off and telling the stories.”

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