Beautiful Wild Animals feature two members of Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, Jacques Mindreau and Ian Griffiths who perform operatic folklore. Operatic voice in a babelesque language, haunting and resonant violin with a European folk like twist and a driving accordion that haunts, describe the sound of this group.
Mindreau has played for the MYO Orchestra and the Port Credit Chamber Strings Ensemble. He also started the Strings Attached Musical Ensemble, his first string quartet in 2000. He later was in many bands, including Ten Thousand Creatures, Key Witness, Crowdis Bridge, the Grass Mountain Hobos (who officially opened the 2009 Canada Games), the Freckled Arm and many more.
Griffiths is one of the three original members of Tequila Mockingbird. In a world where accordions are played by many, but understood by few, he has worked hard to bind classical accordion playing with experimental sounds. Griffiths can currently be found in Winlaw building a house on a trailer bed. His band mates believes he thinks it will be portable… but no one is sure.
Beautiful Wild Animals play Ellison's Cafe in Nelson on Saturday at 2 p.m. and at Ricardo's in Winlaw on Monday evening. Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra plays The Royal on Saturday night.