The Beagle Ranch

June 15, 2011

If you've ever played beer-league hockey, coed volleyball, soccer or any other casual adult rec league, you know there's always that person.

There's always that delusional someone, no matter what the age, who plays as if there's a scout among the four or five onloookers, who acts as if this is his or her last chance to make it to the big leagues, who goes out all the time, while everyone else is there as an excuse for the malted beverages and camaraderie at the end of the evening.

Veteran songwriter Steven Bandola is the nicer, slightly more grounded musical version of that person. It's how he approaches his local pop project The Beagle Ranch, while still allowing for the enjoyment of the experience, of just being able to play and be a part of the team.

"Maybe I still do have 'the delusion ' but it's the spot where I have to be realistic, being an adult and having responsibilities, and wanting to maintain a certain standard lifestyle - you have to be realistic," Bandola says over a cup of coffee in Kensington. "But at the same time, songwriting to me is an enjoyment. And you write the basics of the different parts and then you get other guys who actually play their instruments better than I play them, and they put their own flavor into it, watching it come to life, I guess it's like watching a plant grow...."

"I think if I don't spend time doing that, I find myself being more anxious and moody, and frustrated. I feel like I'm accomplishing something....if I am not doing it, I feel like I'm just sort of existing."

That's he and his band The Beagle Ranch, are set to release the excellent accomplishment A Moment Away, their second full length effort and first since 2002 was superb Starcrossed.

Recorded in town with producer Jeff Burns - who was also a member of Bandola's late 80s, early 90s act Citrus Park - it's very much the sound of the songwriter who's been doing it for more than three decades, is comfortable where he is, but can still prove that he should be further.

"I see the Lady Gagas is out there, and I think that level of commerciality appealled to me when I was 18 and wearing the eyeliner and wearing crazy get ups, now it has no appeal for me." He laughs. "And I don't think where in the right type of music for that, anyway."

No. Sadly not. A Moment Away continues to band practice of delivering small, precious packages of jangly Anglo melodicism which have a refreshing familiarity to them, and follow the same breadcrumbs laid out by acts such as the Lilac Time, XTC, Teenage Fanclub and Julian Cope. It's a rich, light sound that's filled out by guitarist Jeff Kushner, bassist Conan Daly, drummer Dave Horrocks and producer Burns adding their flavors to the solid core of Bandola's well-crafted three minutes of romantic inspiration.

"I know people have said this before, and it's a bit of a cliché, but the song comes first," he says. "That's what we've always felt, can we play the song, can one person sit down and strum the song and does it still hold up?"

But, Bandola is quick to note, The Beagle Ranch is very much a band and a collaborative project, one that relies on the skills and personalities of each member.

And, he says, it also benefits from the fact that each member, like himself, has a long history in the city's music scene, having had their own successes in the past - Kushner with projects such as The Beauty Myth and The Unsightly, and Daly and Horrocks with popular Celtic act Scatter the Mud - but still filled with the passion to keep playing, for all the right reasons.

"There is a certain kinship between guys who have done it to a certain level and they want to keep doing it, but they're honest, they've got their integrity to what they want to play. And they are just good guys to hang around with.

"If that ends up being all it is, then a lot of people would think that's as good as it needs to be, really," he says, before offering a flash of that person. "But if you can make it something to support yourself… you're lucky, really lucky."

mbell@calgaryherald.com. Follow on Twitter@mrbell_23 - Calgary Herald

Jan. 6 - Jan. 12, 2005

THE BEAGLE RANCH
Mr. Ordinary World
Blue Star Records

* Just when I was gonna give up on jangly straight-up pop.

The second release from this Calgary pop quartet is lyrical,
sweet and alarmingly good. Venturing bravely into territory that had been pretty much abandoned since The La's released "There She Goes", Mr. Ordinary World is a simple acoustic take on Brit pop with sugary singalong vocals. At times reminiscent of Ben Lee's Breathing Tornadoes, The Beagle Ranch, with the help of Calgary-scene veteran Jeff Kushner (on guitar and at the mixing board) make music laced with nosalgia and satisfaction.

Jason Lewis - Fast Forward Weekly

March 1, 2004

Absolutlely essential purchase for fans of acoustic driven pop in the vein (influenced and inspired by) The Go-Betweens, The Black Watch, Jazz Butcher and The Blue Aeroplanes. Hints of late 80's/early 90's New Zealand pop peek clearly behind corners and, here, song-after-song of gorgeous, beautiful songs. Plenty of songs here are ending up on my iPod to carry around, let's put it another way. "Melodic, bittersweet, and evocative of the wide-open landscapes that feature on its cover, it recalls the meticulously layered jingle-jangle of early Byrds and their 80's progeny like R.E.M. (circa Reckoning) pr California neo-psychsters the Rain Parade. It also drives home how many CD's pad themselves out with substandard filler: Rubber Soul and It's a Shame About Ray also needed less than half an hour to make their point." -Calgary Straight. "...contains smart, dreamy, finely crafted acoustic pop that recalls such acts as The Lilac Time and The Railway Children...a warm, jangly dose of pastoral melodicism." - Calgary Sun. Definitely one to check out with confidence!

www.notlame.com - Not Lame

Feb 01, 2003

By Michael Edwards

As part of Calgary's Citrus Park in the early '90s, Stephen Bandola had his initial dalliance with success. These days, however, he's going it alone under the guise of the Beagle Ranch, having played most of the instruments on Starcrossed. The album was actually recorded between 1997 and 1999, but it took an additional couple of years before it was finally released due to financial restraints. Yet that delay may have worked to their advantage, because in that time the world has become more accepting of melodic pop again and more doors are open than closed. Fortunately, the songs don't sound dated at all - good pop music has always had a timeless quality. The band cites comparisons to the Lilac Time and even talk about the influence of the Lightning Seeds, although the chiming guitars evoke more memories of the Byrds than anything else. With goals in mind that can only be achieved with brevity, Bandola goes about his business quickly and with a focus that gives the songs a real urgency. And with nine songs in 25 minutes, Starcrossed never outstays its welcome. (Blue Star) - Exclaim!