Bob and Sam met around 1988 and discovered they both had an interest in learning to play bebop and other jazz. They got together and jammed a few times, and then Bob met Tom and asked him to get together with them and play some time. One thing led to another, and over the years the rest of the musicians came on board.

For the first couple of years, we changed our name just about every time we played in public. Most of the names are long forgotten, but among them were Zoar Beat and Sam the Sham(an) & the Voodoo Bluesmen. There was a certain whimsical perversity in this name-changing ritual. It also lent each performance an air of mystery, since we might not ever again perform under the same name. We were protean--shape-shifters of the music.

But, being the astute marketing geniuses that we are, we finally hit upon the idea of keeping the same name for a while. This way, we reasoned, we might gradually build up a large, fanatical following. It's working! We have managed to amass a small, generally attentive following, some of whom have actually returned voluntarily to hear us play again. Ah, the sweet taste of success!

Yes, but how did the group get its name???
One time, a couple of days before we were supposed to play at the Little Beirut Arts Festival, our bass player, Bob, was in the credit union. There he ran into Normando, the guy who was putting on the festival.

Normando said, "Hey, Bob, what are you guys calling yourselves this time?"

Bob looked up and saw a Sierra Club calendar on the wall. That month's picture was an owl. "The Owls!" he said.

We decided that name was a keeper.