How does a one time varsity soccer star, a student of political
science and a descendant of Florence Nightingale get mixed up in the
world of rock? And furthermore...where does a band get a name like
Birds of Wales? Vancouver singer/songwriter and frontman of Birds of
Wales, Morgan Cameron Ross, tells the story best...
"While
living on campus at the University of Northern British Columbia in
Prince George I spent most of my time either playing soccer or writing
songs on acoustic guitar in my room," recalls Ross. "Friends of mine in
a band called Stabilo, from Vancouver, eventually convinced me to move
back and pursue my songwriting skills. They encouraged me to record
some tracks and even joined me in the studio for the sessions. As for
the band's name....I grew up with a pet cockatoo. My mom was
patriotically Welsh and adored birds. The rest is history".
In
the spring of 2005 Morgan packed up and moved to Toronto where he
attended York University's french campus. By the fall of that year he
had auditioned and picked what would become Birds of Wales: Mike Caputo
from Windsor on guitar, Dan Taylor from Toronto on bass and British
newcomer to Canada Ben Standage on drums. Successful stints at Lee's
Palace, the Drake and various other Toronto clubs caught the eye of
Ralph James, President of The Agency Group, who soon after signed them
to his roster. A return trip to Vancouver saw similar audience interest
with a packed house at Richard's on Richards.
In the summer of
2006 the band took their maiden voyage as Birds Of Wales to London,
England. That would be the first of several successful tours in the UK.
The Agency Group UK signed the band and Invisible Hands Records /
Universal released an early EP in 2007. Return visits across the pond
saw the band venture into Ireland, Holland and Spain plus play on a
tour opening for Xavier Rudd on his European dates.
Consistent
attention from British audiences soon paid off. The BBC and regional
radio started spinning the band's songs, resulting in one of their
singles, "My Lady in July", breaking into the national charts published
by Music Week Magazine. Supportive press followed, including photos of
the band's charismatic frontman, Morgan Cameron Ross, gracing the pages
of England's largest teen magazine "TV HITS".
Their imported
British EP started to filter back into Canada and constant touring
continued. Birds Of Wales gained significant airplay and performed on
XM satellite radio[The Verge]. MuchMoreMusic took notice, voting Morgan
Cameron Ross as one of the top three hottest guys on their end of year,
top 10 show. MuchMusic also showed support having him guest star as a
professional songwriter on their homegrown production of the show
"Disband". You could hear several Birds of Wales songs if you flipped
over to the CBC and tuned into their show "Heartland".
In
early December of 2009 the band signed with Toronto indie label Sparks
Music/ EMI. Their new full length CD "Belgravia Hotel" will be released
on April 13, 2010.The first single/video from the project is a song
entitled 'Uninteresting' which was penned by Morgan while staying at
the Belgravia Hotel in London!
The album was produced and
recorded in Vancouver at Mushroom Sound by Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter,
Kelly Rowlands) and mixed by Jeff Dawson, Mike Fraser (Aerosmith, Franz
Ferdinand) and Mike Gilles (Metallica, Bryan Adams). Birds of Wales are
managed by Christi Thompson of Thompson Artist Management whose clients
include Xavier Rudd and Mishka.