Rawlins Cross

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Rawlins Cross
Origin St. John's, Newfoundland
Genre(s) Celtic Rock
Years active 1988 – 2001
Label(s) Ground Swell
Warner Music Canada
Website www.rawlinscross.ca
Members
Joey Kitson
Dave Panting
Jeff Panting
Ian McKinnon
Brian Bourne
Howie Southwood

Rawlins Cross was a Newfoundland Celtic Rock band that formed in 1988. The band took its name from a famous intersection in St. John's, Newfoundland, since all of the original members of the band lived quite close to it. After many successful tours, awards, and six CD releases, including two on the Warner label, the band disbanded in 2001.

Contents

[edit] Style

Rawlins Cross mixed Scottish, Irish, Celtic, and Rock'n'Roll elements together to create their own unique sound. Their style ranged from Celtic-instrumental to blues to folk, always with a strong rhythmic feeling, and combined contemporary song stylings with traditional instrumentation and story elements. The principal songwriters were brothers Dave and Jeff Panting. Bagpiper Ian McKinnon was and is notable for his ability to play classic rock guitar riffs on Highland pipes. The instrumental combination of McKinnon's warpipes with the Panting brothers' aggressively electrified mandolin and accordion made the appellation "Celtic rock" particularly apt for this band.

After vocalist Joey Kitson joined the band in 1993, a number of the songs on the first two CDs, including "Turn Of the Wheel", "MacPherson's Lament", "Colleen" and "Open Road" were recorded again with Kitson singing lead, and released on subsequent recordings.

As of February 2008 their website http://www.rawlinscross.ca is still online.

[edit] Band members

Joey Kitson joined the band in 1993.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Awards and nominations

  • 1999 East Coast Music Awards
    • Winner
      • Best Roots/Traditional
    • Nominations
      • Entertainer of the Year
      • Best Group of the Year

[edit] Trivia

  • The waltz "The Wedding Gift", recorded first on *Reel 'N' Roll, was written by Dave Panting as a wedding present for Ian McKinnon and his bride. The band received so many requests from couples who wished to use the tune as their own wedding waltz, according to Panting in a CBC Radio interview, that he gave blanket permission for any such use without any royalties payable except that users were asked to send Panting a picture from the wedding. He says this resulted in a deluge of postcards from all over the world.