Whoooo is Owl?

Bassmaster Chris Wyse made a major musical mark on the Nippertown rock scene back in the late ’80s and ’90s playing in such bands as East Wall, Mister Strange and Nobody.

Then he packed up his gig-bag and headed west, where he relocated to Los Angeles. Since then he’s recorded with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Mick Jagger. He also recently filmed a DVD with Ace Frehley.

These days, you’ll find him traveling the world and playing bass for the Cult. In fact, just last weekend, Wyse was in Sweden, where the Cult was opening for Metallica at the Sonisphere Festival.

This weekend, he finds himself in a rather different musical situation, however – playing a pair of homecoming gigs with his own band, Owl.

In the power trio Owl, Wyse is reunited with his old high school classmate and East Wall bandmate, Albany drummer Dan Dinsmore, of the Clay People. Rounding out the threesome is guitarist Jason Achilles Mezilis, who like Wyse is based in California.

The band released its self-titled debut album earlier this year on Overit Records, but Wyse acknowledges that touring with a bi-coastal band isn’t always easy.

“We try to plan gigs around the Cult’s schedule, obviously,” Wyse points out, “but we try to put together a string of Owl dates on one coast or the other every couple of months.”

Owl made their Nippertown debut back in February with a pair of CD release shows at Savannah’s. This time around, the band lands at Shepard’s Cove in Lake George tonight (Friday, July 24) before heading into Red Square in Albany on Saturday, July 25.

“This is the kind of band that I would want to hear,” explains Wyse about Owl’s blend of hard rock, progressive arrangements and stellar musicianship. “We want to rock and have people be emotionally moved. We try to dazzle with our chops to create a kind of fantasy world as a passage to lure you in.”