Rawlins Cross plans big comeback in 2017
Sara Fraser | CBC News | Posted: January 2, 2017 1:00 PM | Last Updated: January 3, 2017
'As far as chops go, the voices in my opinion sound as good as they did back in '93 in the heyday'
Rawlins Cross is planning a big 2017 comeback.
The Canadian celtic-pop band formed in the late 1980s, releasing six albums, garnering several Juno nominations and releasing several popular radio hits including 1993's Reel and Roll. In the early 2000s the band took an hiatus for eight years, finally reuniting in 2008 to release and tour an anthology album, and then in 2010 the album Heart/Head/Hands.
Even though we're getting a little long in the tooth we're in pretty good shape musically. — Joey Kitson, Rawlin's Cross
"Since then ... we've done a few shows a year, nothing too major," said Joey Kitson, of Stratford, P.E.I., the band's lead vocalist.
"Everybody in the band is fairly active musically in other projects, but whenever we can get together and schedules allow, we do some shows."
'More committed'
Despite being on the shelf for the last decade, Rawlins Cross has continued to get a steady stream of requests to play folk festivals across Canada, Kitson said, but with six band members with other gigs, it was just tough to schedule.
"This coming summer, 2017, we're more committed to doing more sort of the festival circuit we'd done in our heyday," Kitson shared.
The band agreed a new album to promote would be fitting, so they've booked studio time in Halifax in January and are hoping for an early spring release of a yet-unnamed ninth album.
'Pretty excited'
The band is far-flung — brothers Dave and Geoff Panting live and work in music in Newfoundland and Labrador, Howie Southwood lives in Ontario Brian Bourne and Ian MacKinnon live in Halifax.
"We're currently going through new material, most of the guys have been writing and there's been lots of different ideas," for the new album, Kitson said. Technology allows them to file-share and group chat easily to work on arrangements, he said, although "some band members are more tech-savvy than others." (He himself teaches computer programming at Holland College.)
"Pretty excited about it," Kitson admited. "Even though we're getting a little long in the tooth we're in pretty good shape musically, so we're excited about putting out something fresh and new and something the fans will enjoy."
No acrimony
When the band decided to take a break years ago, Kitson explained, there were no tensions or acrimony.
"It was more for family needs, and some of them had been on the road a lot longer," he noted. Dave Panting had been touring with popular Newfoundland folk-rock band Figgy Duff for two decades before Rawlins Cross.
The recording and touring cycle requires about a two-year committment, Kitson explained, and not everyone was keen to continue.
"It was a good time to take a break — and it ended up lasting about eight years," said Kitson. "But when we get back together it's just like old times."
'As good as ever'
While the band ranges in age from Kitson's 47 years to their early 60's, Rawlins Cross still sounds as as good as ever, Kitson asserted.
"As far as chops go, the voices in my opinion sound as good as they did back in '93 in the heyday," Kitson said. "I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the quality."
"I think it sounds as good as ever."
Not having played a lot together in recent years amps the excitement level when they do, he added. "I think the fans will benefit from that excitement that we have."
More musical experience and new influences mean the band has more tricks up its sleeve, Kitson explained, but once new music "goes through the Rawlins Cross machine, what comes out the other end is more the sound of the band," than the writer's original sound.
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'Remembering all the words'
One age-related drawback?
"For me, it's gets a little harder remembering all the words and the arrangements," Kitson laughed.
The band has noticed their older fans bringing their kids to shows in recent years, and they hope to grow that young fan base as well as welcome longtime listeners.
They've already booked a gig for March in Halifax, the Groundswell Music Festival, and expect a spring Maritime tour will follow.