By David DeRocco dave@gobeweekly.com  https://twitter.com/?lang=en 

If you had to put a list together of bucket list items you may want to accomplish by joining an indie rock band, winding up as opening act for Canadian Olympic figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir would probably not make the typical top 10. But after talking to Toronto-based alt-rock outfit BIRDS OF BELLWOODS, you might change your mind.

Based on their well-received 2018 debut LP, Victoria, and a slew of accolades and achievements since arriving on Canada’s indie music scene, the BIRDS OF BELLWOODS (Stephen Joffe, Adrian Morningstar, Kintaro Akiyama and Chris Blades) scored the opening act slot warming up crowds as part of the ROCK THE RINK tour, which besides Virtue and Moir also includes Kaetlyn Osmond, Patrick Chan, Caroline Kostner, Elvis Stojko, Jeremy Abbott, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. The skating spectacular integrates live music with cutting edge sound, lighting, video and special effects to offer a fitting farewell to these superstars of the ice. It’s a unique opportunity for an indie band like BIRDS OF BELLWOODS, and one stand-up bassist Kintaro Akiyama chatted with GoBeWeekly.com about to promote the upcoming show at St. Catharines’ Meridian Centre.

GOBE: You’re touring with Rock The Rink. When you picked up the bass years ago did you ever think you’d be backing up ice skating legends?

KINTARO: (laughing) Definitely when I started playing bass I didn’t even know if that would become my profession. When it started to become my profession I didn’t think I’d be backing up ice skaters, but it’s been a wonderful turns of events and a fabulous experience.

GOBE: When it comes to this event, how is the live music incorporated into the event? Is it an interactive component?

KINTARO: It’s set up like a rock show in the sense that we’re the opening act. Birds of Bellwoods come out and we play about a half an hour set. They take half an hour to take down our stage, then Zamboni the ice. Then the skaters take to the ice, and most of the show is just pre-recorded music, but we do come back onto the ice and we do an acoustic set right on the ice. The skaters are then skating all around us.

GOBE: Has it given you any ideas for what you may put in your stage show once you hit the stadium-level as a touring act?

KINTARO: For sure. We’ve joked that they can open up for us next time, but I don’t think that’s in their plans. It’s quite a task to set up all the stuff on the ice. It has been an amazing learning experience for us to play in an arena, but also to learn from the skaters. They really know how to engage an audience and give a show to people 30 feet away from them and 300 feet away from them. We’ve been trying to pick up some of those skills and little tricks. Whenever you see someone who’s the best at something you can always learn from watching them. There’s definitely something to be learned from all those skaters.

GOBE: When you were young aspiring musician what inspired you to pick up that big dog house bass you’re carting around?

KINTARO: I went to an arts school as a kid. There was day in grade six where you got to go around and try all the instruments and see which one you wanted to play. I put that one at the top. I don’t know what compelled me. I played piano and guitar before that. There was something about the sound. I didn’t think about having to carry it around though.

GOBE: Do you have bass players you look up to? Who are your influences?

KINTARO: I studied classical music for a long time in middle school and high school. Then I went to McGill University. I have a degree in jazz bass performance. At that time my three big influences on bass would probably be Dave Holland, Ray Brown and Charles Mingus. Since I left music school I tried to pull my head out of the jazz world a little bit and see what other things are possible on the bass. There are so many musicians I look up to, but two of the biggest on the upright bass right now are Bridget Kearney, who’s in a band called Lake Street Dive. She’s phenomenal. Another guy, Miles Mosley, plays with Kamasi Washington. He does a great job of taking the stand-up bass out of the jazz and classical world.

GOBE: Well, you’re currently into this wonderful indie collective. How has the Victoria album moved the goalposts forward in terms of where you want to be professionally, individually or in a band?

KINTARO: When the band first started out, we were almost folk or bluegrass instrumentation. We decided that wasn’t where we wanted to stay. So with Victoria we opened up some doors sonically, just to explore different sounds. There are still some songs with banjo and upright bass, but there are also some rock songs. And we just put out a new single, “Easy,” that leans more into the pop world. We continue to explore many different sonic realities. It’s nice to have the flexibility.

GOBE: In the infancy of a band the whole world is your oyster. You can eventually morph your sound in any direction you want. Do you have a sense of the direction you want to go in, or is it just fun to be experimenting.

KINTARO: I think we’ve kind of naturally honed in on something. The thing of us being rooted in that folk thing, doing four part harmony has always been a part of our sound. A lot of the recorded material is influenced by what the live show has created. Doing this tour has been a fantastic opportunity to learn about that. Most of our shows have been small clubs. To see home the music translates in an arena environment, when we go back to the drawing board for the next album we’ll consider a lot of those aspects.

GOBE: Are you disappointed that at no time you are actually performing on skates during this show?

KINTARO: I ask pretty much every day when I’m allowed to go out on the ice. Maybe in the last show I’ll put the skates on and go out there. They can’t kick me off the tour at the last show.

GOBE: Aspirationally for you, what would success

KINTARO: It’s almost funny. Going back to one of your earlier questions, what made you play bass. It kind of fell in my lap and a lot of things have kind of happened that way for me. There’s no lack of hard work. If I do something I want to do it well. I’m not sure what the future holds. I’m definitely interested to see what the next couple years holds. I never thought I’d be on tour with Olympic figure skaters, but here I am. The joy of music has always been number one, or up there in top three. It ties closely to the joys of life. J

GOBE: Final question. Who would rather be dating, Tessa, Kaetlyn or Tatiana?

KINTARO: (laughing) They’re all wonderful folks. I will say it’s been a real honour getting to know all the skaters. They’re all super kind and hilarious in their own right. They hold a perception with the public, but to meet them and learn about their real personalities has been amazing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Looking for things to do in Niagara? Need Niagara event listings? Searching for Niagara’s best entertainment, music and theatre? Want to search Niagara concert listings? Before you GO out, BE informed. Log onto www.GoBeWeekly.com.