Stoning Mary

Written by Tatum Anderson
Friday, 16 April 2010 13:55
Stoning Mary plays for a varied audience

Stoning Mary, local to Calgary, is an alternative rock band that has three members: Angus Wilson, Bryan Wilson and Marc Eshleman. The trio came together at a ‘battle-of-the-bands’ competition, where they discovered they would have a good sound if they combined their talent.

Bryan and Angus Wilson, fraternal twin brothers, have had an interest in music since they were kids.

“All of us in the band are a lot like brothers," Angus Wilson said. "For me and Bryan, we’ve always been playing music together in some fashion.”

“When we’re playing, it's usually just business but there’s always those times when you bicker and get in arguments," Angus Wilson said. "But business is business and we’ve been pretty good at separating that. But (Bryan’s) always been quite a pleasure to have with me, to have a really solid, good drummer. To always have him there to lean on, it’s been really good.”

Bryan, Angus and Marc went to junior high together and have played on and off ever since. They officially became a touring group after high school in 2006. They play around Calgary at varied types of venues to appeal to those who appreciate rock.

“So we started playing in (the Wilson’s) basement with acoustic guitars and a really old drum set,” Marc Eshleman said.

Since then, Stoning Mary has been playing shows around the city. They will be releasing their first album in May. They are also having a CD release party on May 20 at the Rusty Cage Bar and Grill on Heritage Dr.

The trio says they believe in creating original music for their fans. Eshleman said those that influence them most are “the bands and musicians that make music to make the music they want to make. Not what their record label, producer, or whoever, wants it to be.”

Bryan Wilson also said that they play for the sake of music and playing something for themselves and the audience.

“What inspires us to keep making music is the feeling we get as you play your own tunes,” Bryan Wilson said. “The energy behind it and the message inside it creates an untouchable feeling of absolute freedom, and as musicians that is basically what we are looking for."

Angus Wilson said much of what they play is influenced by who they grew up listening to.

“The bands we grew up on were the Foo Fighters, Our Lady Peace, Incubus and Pearl Jam,” Angus Wilson said. “My brother and I also grew up on a lot of grassroots and blues kind of stuff so there is quite a variety of music for our influence.”

Much of their inspiration for writing comes from circumstances they encounter in life.

“For the most part, it’s life experiences for sure,” Angus Wilson said. “Sometimes there’s definitely fictional aspects to our songs, when you just want to tell a story, whether it’s been an experience or not.”

http://www.calgaryjournalonline.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1202:back-to-the-roots-of-rock&catid=37:ae&Itemid=56 - Calgary Journal