Meghan Parnell (Bywater Call)

Could you please introduce yourselves to us by telling the readers your names and who plays what in the band?

The Band is Bywater Call, out of Toronto, Canada.  I am the singer (Meghan Parnell), Dave Barnes on guitar, Mike Meusel on Bass, John Kervin on keys, Bruce McCarthy on drums, Julian Nalli on saxophone and Steve Dyte on trumpet.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada … but we moved every four years until I went off to University … so really identify the most with Toronto where I went to school and settled. But let’s go with Peterborough since my parents live there now, and I still visit whenever I can.  Homey, small, supportive, nostalgic, eccentric.

You recently released your latest single ‘Sweet Maria’. What was the thought process/inspiration behind this song?

This one came to us originally from our keys player John.  We were really drawn to the warmth of it right from the start.  Definitely fits the vibe of The Band, Little Feet, Wood Brothers which we are very inspired by right now.  Lyrically, we wanted to mirror the warm, joyous tone John set … in the end it’s really a call to love and accept people for who they are, in the form of the adage, if you love someone set them free, if they return it’s meant to be.

The new single is also accompanied by a music video. How did you want to approach the making of that?

We wanted to also capture the warmth of the tune in the video, while giving a little behind-the-scenes peek into the recording of the song.  Our good friend, musician and producer Kevin Howley works out of a gorgeous, rustic barn studio in the countryside of Ontario which was perfect.  We set up there for the day with an incredible video crew, they captured b-roll while we tracked a handful of tunes, and then we gave a little performance at the end of the day.  The videographer did some great things with colour correction to help reflect that warmth we were seeking, even in the visual tones of the video.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments/effects/pedals?

Dave on guitar is a big fan of his vintage 1960’s Fender Super Reverb amp.  John on keys is pretty stoked any time at Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie Speaker are available to use … in fact we’re trying to find a way to bring one with us on the road … but it takes up a lot of room and requires a lot of heavy lifting … we don’t think we’re quite ready for that yet.  Mike on bass is really into his Eletro-Harmonix Freeze pedal right now.

How do you look after your voices?

I do neck stretches and some vocal trilling before a show to warm up.  I try not to talk too much during the day on longer runs and always carry a steamer or mister to help keep the vocal chords hydrated.  And of course, a proper night’s sleep whenever possible and lots of water are key.

In addition, you will be embarking on your first-ever headline UK tour in October 2023. How are you feeling about the dates and is there anything that you would like to do if you have time e.g. sightseeing?

We’re really stoked … our only experience with the UK so far was Dave and I going out there in February to support Robert Jon and the Wreck out of California on their tour.  We had a wonderful time, met so many great music fans, and luckily will be visiting a lot of the same venues in the fall.  We can’t wait to see familiar faces, and hopefully make a bunch of new friends and fans.  We are playing in London, which is very exciting, and have a day or two off following that show … so we’re hoping to use that time to see the city.  None of us in the band have had a chance to explore London.

Do you have any plans for an EP or another album release and have you been able to start any writing/recording in amongst your busy live schedule?

We are actively writing and work shopping tunes now.  We have fallen into a pretty good flow recently and are very excited about bringing new material on the road with us.  We haven’t set a firm date on a new album, as we want to take proper time to create something really special for record number three.  But we are well on the way to hopefully have something finished and out early next year.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

First and foremost, we hope we have successfully taken the audience on a musical and emotional journey. And of course, we hope to have made some new fans who will help spread the word.

What makes Bywater Call happy and what makes you unhappy?

Feeling as if we’re productively progressing with the quality of our writing and our live show always makes us happy. 

Feeling stagnant makes us unhappy.

Photo Credit: Erin Enricos

Bywater Call embark on their first headline tour of the UK from 3-13^th October 2023. Tickets are available from www.bywatercall.com

Their new single “Sweet Maria” is available on all streaming platforms from https://bywatercall.hearnow.com/

Their latest album “Remain” is available on vinyl, CD and digital from www.bywatercall.com