Robin was born to Ronnie and Wanda Hawkins into the rock n' roll lifestyle
of the sixties and was named after his father's guitar player Robbie
Robertson, one of the original Hawks. His mom affectionately calls him
Robbie to this day.
Many of Robin's childhood memories were of hanging out with the children of
other celebrities. He remembers visiting with Gordon Lightfoot's family and
always enjoyed playing with the kids in the miniature house in their backyard.
He also has fond memories of times at Ian and Sylvia Tyson's home with their
son Clayton.
Ronnie Hawkins' "Come on in and party!" open door policy led to John Lennon
and Yoko Ono being houseguests during their "Give Peace a Chance" Tour.
Robin remembers riding a six wheel Arctic Cat with John and enjoys looking at
the many photos from their stay.
The Hawk gave Robin a Pearl drum kit when he was 10 years old. After five years
of having his nerves battered, The Hawk sold the kit. With his drums gone, Robin
picked up a guitar and constantly played along with a great collection of records by
BB King, Muddy Waters, and Otis Redding. After playing with the blues albums
Robin could walk into a live jam session in his Dad's living room and join in. Kris
Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, Bob Dylan, any member of The Band, and
Bev D'Angelo are but a few of the stars Robin would hear singing, picking on a
guitar, or playing on the piano.
After a serious car crash, Robin totally immersed himself in the guitar. He earned
his way into his father's bootcamp and started playing rhythm guitar and doing
backup vocals for Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks. He soon graduated to lead
guitarist and played several high-profile venues including Nathan Phillips Square
(Toronto) and the Pontiac Silverdome. Robin has also travelled to Europe and he
even performed at U.S. President Bill Clinton's "Blue Jeans Bash" inaugural party
in Washington.
After working around The Hawk's schedule for 10 years Robin formed his own
rock band. With two CD's, he won two Peterborough homegrown contests,
released a single, got great local airplay, filmed four videos, and won Best Guitar
Player and Best Vocalist honours from Peterborough's entertainment magazine,
The Wire.
Robin has made a few T.V. and film appearances either as one of the Hawks or
as an extra. Among his credits are Meatballs III, Super Dave, Mount Royal, and
Night Heat.
Mel Tillis, another great friend of Ronnie Hawkins, has always had a special
fondness for Robin whom he calls "the southern gentleman". Mel once
insisted that Robin, during a visit, record some of his original material at his
state-of-the-art studio with some of Nashville's finest musicians. Mel always sends
Robin home with some new "used" outfits for stage.
After opening up for Kim Mitchell, Trooper, The Spoons, Coney Hatch, The
Headstones and many other great Canadian acts, Robin experienced a lull
in his career as the live club market focus (his bread and butter) shifted from
rock to New Country. He joined a 401-based country band, Bareback Riders,
led by high-energy keyboard man Paul Layton.
Being new to country music, Robin had to learn a new style of singing and
playing. For a guy who claims to be primarily a songwriter and not a strong guitar
player he proved to be quite flexible. His old rock buddies in his hometown
Peterborough now comment on how well he plays and sings both rock and country.
Robin was always writing songs. These songs were usually a reflection of the
music he was exposed to. Of course, his latest material had more of a country
feel and Paul was having Robin perform his songs in the band. One weekend in
Kingston, the guys all brought gear from home and built a makeshift studio in the
hotel room. They produced a demo of Robin's latest tunes and the tape was
shipped to Jason "Woody" Barry, a well-connected country producer. Credit goes
to Doug Hewie, then Bareback drummer and PA man, for introducing the two to
each other.
By the fall of '97, Robin, Doug, and Marc Mongrain, Bareback bass player, had
pretty well decided to jettison themselves from Bareback Riders and form The
Robin Hawkins Band. The departure was to be after the New Year's Eve gig at
Maverick's in London. That was on a Wednesday night. They also played that
Friday and Saturday and said their goodbyes.
Marc switched to keyboard/left-hand bass and the guys started hiring guitar
players to sit in. This new setup proved to be quite fun for the band. They got
a five-piece sound with only four guys, not to mention another great guitar player
to jam with on stage. The band still does some smaller gigs as a three-piece.
Meanwhile, producer-man Jason Barry took a grand interest in the music on
that demo tape and a CD was soon in the works.
Recently Robin and the lads were doing a show at The Palomino in Toronto.
In the audience was a lady who would end up providing a turning-point
opportunity for our little songbird. She was Mary Brown of the
Ontario Country Music Association. She'd had a chance to hear some
of Robin's original tunes and loved them. The OCMA was just weeks away from
their awards dinner in Hamilton and they were having a fundraiser at Nashville
North in Norval on Sunday March 29. This event would feature fifteen bands
including Jamie Warren and Ken Munshaw. She wanted Robin to play also.
He agreed.
At the OCMA fundraiser our boys were scheduled to play last, right after Ken
Munshaw. Robin did 30 minutes of original songs and impressed everyone
there. Robin was contacted about playing Nashville North in the future and met
an agent, Mike Lesperance, who may open up some larger shows in the year
to come.
Presently, you can catch Robin and his band at every week at clubs all over
Ontario. It might be noted that this is a rare phase in his career since his club
exposure will likely decrease tremendously once he releases a single and begins
touring. If he comes to a town near you, don't miss him!
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