Amongst the aroma of steaks and enchiladas, and the chatter of attending guests, flourishes the velvet voice of Miles Harris. Harris plucks funky tunes on his guitar with long-time friend Jerimiah Austin soothing the crowd on his cornet horn.
Harris and Austin continually put on the “Miles Harris Experience,” every Monday at Boundary Bay Brewery. Guests can purchase tickets online, which includes three courses and a serenade from the two musicians.
“It’s a funny balance of creating this dinner atmosphere,” Harris explains. “I see it as an opportunity to be able to get intimate with a crowd in an interesting way. I just love seeing people go from being hungry and kind of worn out from their day [to being] totally revitalized.”
Throughout the evening, Harris introduces bits about his life, playing only the notes that construct euphoria and a sense of soul. Unlike other artists who play Hendrix, who dress with the ascot, bandanas with a tinge of purple, his classy style and calm demeanor make a balance for a lovely dinner.
Throughout the night, Harris plays a number of hits. Mash-ups with BB King’s “Guess who,” and Oscar Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom,” are notable to their lineup.
The chemistry Harris and Austin share on stage is similar to how they met. For them, it’s fun to play at Boundary Bay after they’ve already been through two previous bands together, Yoga Man Burning Band and Baby Cakes.
That’s when the two guys started to bond over their favorite artists, John Meyer, and, of course, Jimi Hendrix, to name a couple.
“It’s funny now looking back because it’s like Jesus, we have such a funny relationship and we essentially musically fell in love,” Harris recalls.
Austin describes Miles as the only person he loves hearing play Hendrix songs. “I don’t even like it when Stevie Ray Vaughn does it.”
“I’m an exception,” Harris said, laughing as he took a sip of his drink.
As a teenager, Harris would only play with people who were solely experimenting, not trying to understand more about the equipment and how it was played, where it was coming from, and how the vibrations worked with your ears.
“From amps to pedals, to guitars, like down to a millimeter or less of a screw turn on certain things, there’s a sonic difference,” Harris explains.
Both Harris and Austin have had time to perfect their craft and mold their sound in a way where it makes people happy, especially at venues like Boundary Bay.
“Each little step you take is not about getting close to 100% perfect. It’s not that. It’s more like a grid or a map. And each thing you do to change something, it just pushes your coordinates in a certain direction. It’s less about getting better and more about getting to where you want to be on the map.”
Interested patrons can book a table for a party of 1-20 people by calling Boundary Bay or booking a table online. Tickets are $10 per person.